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FRANCES QUINN

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Get to know… FRANCES QUINN

BRIGHTON AUTHOR

By DENISE TYLER

Q Both The Smallest Man and That Bonesetter Woman are based on real and quite unique figures from history. How restrictive is that when you’re writing historical fiction?

A It restricts you a lot. The Civil War, which The Smallest Man is set against, is potentially a really boring subject. It’s full of politics, religion, battles and factions and there are long periods where nothing happened. Trying to get those events into a story is a nightmare: you have to fit those events in, but you want the structure and narrative of a novel. My rule was always that if something was documented as having happened, I couldn’t change that, but if something I wanted to happen might feasibly have happened, and it was a small thing, then I was OK with that. It’s not a history book, it’s a story.

You’re only hearing what Nat’s interested in [Nat Davy, the eponymous 'Smallest Man'] because it’s first person. If you met Nat at the end of his life in the village inn and he started telling you his life story, which he probably would, these are the things he would remember. That meant I could leave a lot of the boring stuff out.

Q You’ve been described as writing from the heart. Do you agree?

A I like books to have a heart; if I’m reading a book and I think that I don’t care about these people, I don’t care if I turn the page and they all fall off a cliff and die, that’s when I know to give up on a book. It might be beautifully written, it might have a great plot, but if I don’t care about the characters then it’s not for me. With Endurance Proudfoot [That Bonesetter Woman] I wanted to explore how we have all been in that situation where we don’t fit; we don’t know the right thing to say or we look wrong. I’m thinking about what will make you care about this person, what makes them vulnerable and what makes us relate to them.

Q You’re a big ABBA fan and hid three ABBA song titles in The Smallest Man. Has anybody found them all?

A I’ll let you into a secret – it turns out I

“I learned a lot from ABBA's attitude to writing music”

hid six! I tweeted about it and someone pointed out that Arrival could be in there so I did a search for all the ABBA songs and there were actually six. So it seems I’m putting them in there without even thinking about it! I dedicated The Smallest Man to ABBA as I learned a lot from their attitude to writing music. For all the years when there was no ABBA, Benny went to his studio Monday to Friday, nine to five, and made music. He said that on a lot of those days, nothing useful comes and it’s like sitting outside a cave waiting for a dragon to come out. There will be many days when the dragon doesn’t come out, but if you don’t sit there, you’ll miss it when it does. That’s exactly what writing is like.

FRANCES LOVES ABBA THE VIEW AT DEVIL'S DYKE

Q Why did you decide to move to Brighton and what do you like best about it?

A We were in Tunbridge Wells before and we used to come down here all the time for days out and really loved it. I felt that Brighton would have more of a creative community and it does; you can’t throw a stone in Brighton without hitting a writer! Generally, Brighton is a very friendly, open minded place; you could walk down the street with a teapot on your head and no one would say anything. I don’t, but it’s good to know I could if I wanted to!

Q Where are your favourite places to go in the area?

A I like to sit on the beach, summer and winter, watch the waves and eavesdrop on people’s conversations. I really love the undercliff walk to Rottingdean; there’s a café in the middle and a café at the end! I also

BRIGHTON PIER

love the North Laine area and discovering the lovely cafes, restaurants and pubs that are here. We sometimes drive up to Devil’s Dyke and enjoy the view with a picnic. We even did a tour of Shoreham Port on a boat as I’m a bit of a nerd about logistics; they explain all about what they unload where, where the ships have come from. It’s a huge place. They take tonnes of fish guts directly past the private beach at Millionaire's Row every day, but Brighton is full of those lovely contradictions.

Q What period of history can we expect for novel number three?

A It’s set in Edwardian times and it involves the Titanic. So I’m jumping forward about a century with every book!

Twitter: @franquinn Instagram: @franquinn21more

IMAGINE THAT

Rachel Lancaster, Artistic Director of KURIOS, talks about the new show coming to London from the Cirque du Soleil team

RACHEL LANCASTER

Q How does it feel to be part of the KURIOS family?

A KURIOS is a very special show. We’re a cast and crew of 122 from 27 different nationalities and it’s an honour to be part of such a creative and brilliant team. I’ve been with Cirque du Soleil for 13 years now, working on a few different shows including Amaluna and CORTEO, and I joined KURIOS as Artistic Director back in 2016. My job is to oversee everything artistic on the show: I work with stage management, wardrobe, coaches and performance medicine, who are all experts in their fields, along with 50 world class artists.

Q Can you tell us a little about the show?

A KURIOS is a show that really celebrates the imagination. We follow the journey of a scientist, who believes that a hidden, invisible world exists. Set in the second half of the 19th century during the industrial revolution, the show takes aesthetic inspiration from this era, which was a time of great invention. It’s about the capacity to invent and dream, and we want people to leave the show feeling like anything is possible.

Q What’s unique about KURIOS?

A Every Cirque du Soleil show is different, and KURIOS is no exception. There are acts in our show that can’t be seen anywhere else in the world. An example of this is Acro-Net… imagine it like the world’s largest trampoline. The inspiration for this act actually came from the safety net of a trapeze act on another show, which was a bit too bouncy. The creative minds took this as an opportunity to explore something never been done before, so for Acro-Net they made a net even more bouncy, to allow a team of six acrobats to propel another performer up 45ft in the air. It’s a thrill to watch and a huge crowd pleaser, when audiences realise what’s happening you can hear the excitement. Much like the show, this idea that just because something doesn’t exist yet, it doesn’t mean it can’t be dreamt up and made a reality.

Q What goes on behind the scenes?

A We have a technical team who are in charge of everything from rigging and automation, to lighting sound, carpentry and props. KURIOS has the most props of any Cirque du Soleil show, 426 at creation, but we’ve also added a few more along the way! Their attention to detail is incredible, from big to small. We have a mechanical hand used in the show, which weighs about 750lbs and is driven by two artists underneath to drive the hand forward, and allow the fingers to move and come to life. Then we have wardrobe, who are a team that collectively maintain over 8,000 costume pieces – it’s phenomenal. The artists also do all their own makeup, which can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours every day.

Q What’s your favourite part of KURIOS?

A That’s a tough question! Acts like Acro-Net, Rola Bola and Aerial Bike are wonderfully acrobatic, but there’s moments of real beauty that come from simplicity too. Continent of Hands is a very special act, where an artist creates a world just with his hands. It’s projected onto a hot air balloon so everyone can see the magic. His grandmother and grandfather were deaf, so they communicated with their hands, and he learnt this craft from them. Non verbal communication is a wonderful part of what we do and what makes our show so accessible wherever we go.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities runs at the Royal Albert Hall from 13 January to 5 March. Tickets on sale now at cirquedusoleil.com/kurios

& DRINK FOOD

JUSTIN DE SOUZA

ONE TO TALK ABOUT

INK Since opening in Brighton & Hove, etch. by Steven Edwards has rightly won plaudits for its unique tasting menus and high quality food. Now, the chef/ restaurateur has opened Ink, a speakeasy bar hidden away inside etch., which is likely to become one of the hottest destinations in the area in 2023. We find out more on page 26. etchfood.co.uk

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