A grandmother and mum-of-three will be performing at Brighton Fringe next year following the sell-out success of her inaugural one-woman comedy show.
Brighton railway station ticket office clerk Tracy Savage had audiences crying and laughing when she performed ‘Every Wrong Direction – a one-woman comedy’ at the Brighton Toy and Model Museum last month.
The 52-year-old talks candidly in the show about growing up with an absent father in the 1970s, having her first child at the age of 18, struggling with motherhood, being a single mother, adventures in France and battling an overwhelming laundry heap.
Tracy said: “I got a standing ovation both nights, which was particularly exciting on the last night when there were more people I didn’t know in.
“I’m delighted it was such a success and really hope to turn it into a mission – to get people talking about their families, their pain and their positive moments so that we may all eventually grow up and move on together.
“I believe that many of our problems as a society could be addressed by healing our childhood wounds and doing better as we raise the next generations.”
Tracy, who grew up in Shoreham-by-Sea, is now excited to be performing at the international open-access arts festival, Brighton Fringe, in May next year.
She said: “A three-night run may be ambitious for an unknown, but it is a great story. Everyone laughed and cried and laughed some more and people are still telling me their own stories after hearing mine.”
Speaking of her preparations for the show, Tracy added: “I literally felt as if I was working two full time jobs, fitting in rehearsals around shifts.
“Colleagues were subjected to me wandering around the Travel Centre at the station muttering as I ran my lines when there were no customers. Likewise, my youngest daughter gave up most of her mornings for a fortnight and sat through rehearsals with me.”
A Brighton Fringe spokesperson said: “We are delighted that Tracy will be performing at Brighton Fringe 2020. We are a completely open-access festival, and encourage new performers to take part each year.
“Our Fringe Academy provides skills-based training, advice and support through workshops and online documents for anyone who wishes to take part. This approach ensures that each festival offers a diverse and contemporary range of events from circus and cabaret to theatre and spoken word, and much more.
“We hope Tracy’s show will be a huge success.”
Tracy will perform 24-26 May, 2020, inclusive. For more, visit www.everywrongdirection.co.uk.
