Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?
Yes of course. Hello, Reader. I’m Myra DuBois. The pleasure’s all yours.
How would you describe your show?
My show this year, A Problem Shared is an interactive self-help seminar that was destined for the 2020 Fringe but was put on ice for reasons obvious. Not one to be deterred by global catastrophe, I took the gig online! We streamed weekly across lockdowns, and I solved every problem shared from both the public and a few celebrity wellness seekers too. The incarnation of the show at the Fringe is much the same, me healing the public, but LIVE and in the flesh. We can even lay down hands if we want to. With consent; of course.
Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe?
I adore the Edinburgh Festival Fringe! What a melting pot of culture, of art, of expression and inter-connected human joy (not from concentrate). It would be irresponsible of me not to throw myself into that mixture, wouldn’t it? I couldn’t deny the waterproof-clad patrons of the Fringe the opportunity to perch in a make-shift theatre for an hour to drink in my words.
What differentiates it from other festivals?
Duration and location! Other festivals exist, sure, but they last a weekend at most and you’re in and you’re out. The Edinburgh Fringe because a way of life for an entire month, you become indoctrinated. Can I say it? Maybe even institutionalised. By the 10th of August you find yourself motionless and slack-jawed outside the Princess St Primark with every executive function compromised as you think to yourself “…was it always like this?” – It’s nice to have it back.
What first motivated you to enter the industry? Who were your inspirations?
Capitalism. They do insist on us earning money, don’t they? And whilst I’m forced to earn money, why not earn it in showbiz? If I had my way, I’d be on a lovely warm beach somewhere, St Ives perhaps, somewhere like that, wearing a tropical bikini and sipping something lovely and rum based through a tinsel-adorned straw from a coconut receptacle. Alas! Karl Marx lost and here we are.
How has your background, upbringing and education had an impact on your artistic career?
I was born into a family with modest means, and my education was haphazard and accidental. But I’ve clawed my way up from the gutter with my bare hands, scraped my way to the top with no help from anyone. I did it all myself, me, the one person I can rely on, and I didn’t need help from any of them. Well, I showed them, didn’t I? Everyone that said I couldn’t do it. Who’s laughing now? Me! Myra DuBois! Off the television! And I’m laughing all the way to the bank!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’ll show them! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. That’s me getting the last laugh so there!
I’ve never discussed any of this with a therapist and don’t believe I need to.
What is your earliest childhood art memory?
When I was a very small girl in pigtails and pleats, I recall an art-class during one wet play-time where another child produced a beautiful rendition of an Australian landscape, evoked with red and amber hues. The artist’s chosen medium was powder-paint on sugar paper. It was beautiful. I stole the work and told Mother I’d done it.
If you didn’t have your current job, what would you probably be doing?
It’s been a pipe dream of mine for some time to… oh, I don’t know. I feel silly saying it, really. Perhaps even bashful, but I’ve always wanted to write Q&A questions for Voice Mag.
Did Covid-19 change the way you create work? Do you approach shows with a different mentality now?
Yes! It has! And yes! I do! Now, everything I create is done so with the niggling feeling that it’s going to be taken away from me. It’s the sort of all-consuming adrenaline-burning anxiety that can really power a girl through a day and I, for one, am delighted to have it.
Describe the last year in 5 words or less?
Better than its predecessors.
Do you subscribe to the idea that art should be exempt from ‘cancel culture’?
I think ‘cancel culture’ is a myth peddled by a paranoid few who, up until remarkably recently, have been able to say what they want about who they want with little to no clap-back. Social media has levelled the playing field and given a platform to anyone with internet access. People are being held to account for their words and actions. ‘Cancel Culture’ is the sound of surprise on hearing a retort for the first time. This of course is only my opinion, but I am always right.
If you could work with anybody, from any point in history, who would you pick and why?
Myra DuBois. No, it’s true, don’t scoff. Think on; how can I have already worked with me when I am me? Bring on that cloning technology I say.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to take a show up to the fringe?
My advice would be to invest in a parent who is already famous.
When and where can people see your show?
Myra DuBois’ A Problem Shared will be at Underbelly Bristo Square every day at 7.45pm.
And where can people find, follow and like you online?
I’m @myradubois on every social media platform I’m on.
Myra Dubois: A Problem Shared, Underbelly, Bristo Square (Dairy Room), 7.45pm, 3-28 August (not 16). For tickets, visit: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/myra-dubois
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