Lockdown Theatre celebrate Edinburgh's parks in new online drama

Formed by million-selling writer turned Fringe poet Rohan Candappa, Lockdown Theatre marks the Capital’s festival month with a 14-minute film made with actor Sarah MacGillivray and shot in and around the parks of Edinburgh. Filmed on a phone, the aptly titled Parks, is a lyrical exploration of the parks that were deserted in lockdown and has been released to coincide with the first week of the Fringe.

Lockdown Theatre was created in part as a response the cancellation of the Fringe, which Candappa has performed at for the last four years. One of an ongoing series of 20 films written, directed and produced by Candappa, Parks can be viewed on YouTube - Parks was filmed by MacGillivray herself under socially distanced measures and rehearsed on WhatsApp.

The films feature performers from across the UK and as far afield as New Zealand with the project funded from the budget allocated to the Company’s 2020 Fringe show, supplemented by a crowd-funding appeal.

Candappa says, “During the lockdown I wanted to create work that made you think, made you laugh, and made you feel something. I also believed this simple form of film-making meant you could produce work that responded to, and reflected on, the Covid crisis as it was happening. There are so many good actors out there who struggle to get work at the best of times, and I wanted to support them both financially and creatively in these most challenging times.”

View Parks and the full series of short films at https://bit.ly/2OFeuoB

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