Brian Watkins, the creator of the hit Amazon TV series Outer Range, brings the world premiere of his play Weather Girl to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
This blistering dark comedy follows Stacey, a California weather girl whose routine of wildfires, prosecco, and teeth whitening descends into a scorched earth catastrophe before she discovers something that could save us all. Described as a “dizzying rampage into the soul of American strangeness,” Weather Girl reunites Watkins with director Tyne Rafaeli, with whom he previously collaborated on the critically acclaimed Epiphany.
Off-Broadway star Julia McDermott takes on the demanding role of Stacey in this tour de force performance. Weather Girl will be performed at Cairns Lecture Theatre, Summerhall, from August 1st to 26th (excluding 17th and 19th). Tickets are available now.
You’re bringing Weather Girl to Cairns Lecture Theatre at Summerhall for the Edinburgh Fringe. What can you tell us about the show?
It’s a dark comedy about a California weather reporter who has a mental breakdown because of climate change. She journeys from artifice to truth, down a spiral of American strangeness, and discovers something unthinkable in the process. We have an incredible team lead by producer Francesca Moody whose record with Fleabag, Baby Reindeer, and more, seamlessly fit the aims of this play that dares to laugh into the dark.
Weather Girl is described as a “blistering dark comedy about wrecking the places we love.” What inspired this unique premise and tone?
It began with wanting to write something for a small audience, something that could be bold because of its intimacy, paired with a story about our increasing sense of detachment from the environment, a story of how we are consumed by our consumerism.
Throughout the play the main character attempts to perform a miracle with a few insufficient tools (a green screen, a karaoke machine, some wet chicken), mirroring our fraught relationship to climate change. The tone that started to arise took on a sort of gonzo speed and humour. For all those reasons Edinburgh and Summerhall felt like a great fit.
The play follows Stacey, a California weather girl whose routine descends into chaos. Can you share more about this central character and her journey?
It’s a character who is suddenly confronted with a hidden yearning for connection. With the climate speeding towards crisis, she finds herself slowly becoming more and more detached from her sense of self and the very thing she reports on every day. Soon she begins to crack from that detachment, and goes through the process of shedding a consumeristic self to find something more, something deeper, and then finally something unfathomable.
You’ve reunited with director Tyne Rafaeli for this production after your previous collaboration on Epiphany. How has your creative partnership evolved, and what does Tyne bring to Weather Girl?
Tyne is a master technician. She brings a precision and relentless fascination with both the comedy and the specific world of the play, so much so that she travelled to the strange reaches of California where the piece takes place. She’s also great at balancing the pathos and the humour of the play. It was a joy to get to work together on a larger scale in a place like Lincoln Centre, and this feels like a thrilling new kind of task to intentionally craft something for an intimate audience.
Julia McDermott, an Off-Broadway star, makes her Edinburgh Festival debut in this “tour de force performance.” How did you approach casting for such a demanding role?
Julia is one of my closest and longest collaborators, someone that understands what I’m going for on a molecular level. We both share a fascination and fondness for California and all its strange corners. She is a Californian through and through and immediately got not just the particular tone and rhythm of the piece, but the mythic nature of the area in which it takes place. I could go on, but I think the main thing to know is that her performance is unsurprisingly virtuosic and not to be missed.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see Weather Girl?
Book now! If you want to laugh and gasp and witness an incredible performance of an unthinkable journey, come join us.
