Tanya Santini on Gibraltar’s first fully local Edinburgh Fringe production

Tanya Santini, GAMPA principal and actress, recently performed as the lead character in ‘Trust Me, I Am a Doctor’ at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, appearing for six consecutive evenings with the final performance sold out. It was the first time a Gibraltarian company had performed at the festival with an entirely local cast, writer and director. Ms Santini spoke Features Editor Maria Jesus Corrales about the experience, as well as GAMPA’s new term and its upcoming projects.

How was the experience of performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival? 

Incredible. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival being the biggest in the world, it's always been something I wanted to go to, even as a spectator. But somehow, even when I lived in the UK, things came up and I never got to go. 

So, to be there for the first time as a performer was very special and a wonderful experience. 

It was great to represent Gibraltar there. We're the first Gibraltarian group to have performed in the Edinburgh Fringe with a totally full cast of locals, and a scriptwriter and director as well. 

Were you involved in directing the play? 

No, I was just the lead actor. This play has a little bit of a history because Hannah Mifsud wrote it for the Drama Festival in 2022. In that festival, the play won Best Play of the Year, the Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress and Best Original Script as well. 

So, it was a very successful Drama Festival for us. Ever since then, we have been talking about the possibility of going to the Fringe Festival. Finally, this year we managed to pull it off and go. 

It is a very particular play because of its humorous element. How did you feel playing that character? 

I loved playing Dr. Rose Pratt. She is a very multi-layered, complex character. 

She is a woman in middle age, stuck in a long-term relationship that she is not very happy with. She also suffers from anxiety and she is struggling to battle all these things. 

Things come to a head when she meets a young doctor. Then, certain feelings start arising. 

But he is just the impetus for her to reflect on her life and those areas that she is not happy with. 

How was the play received by the audience? 

We had very good reviews from the audience. One of the biggest challenges of the Edinburgh Fringe is getting audience, because it runs throughout all of August. There were like 4,000 shows going on during the festival. 

It encompassed everything from theatre to dance, to comedy, to improvisation, to music. So, there is something for everybody and, of course, every group is fighting to get audience. 

Were you nervous about whether people would attend? 

Yes, we were a little bit nervous whether people were going to come out and see us. 

We are a newcomer to the Fringe. There are production companies that go every year and therefore are well-known and they have their own following. 

There are top comedians with a huge fan base. And so, their audiences are quite secure. 

We really didn't know how it was going to go for us. But we were very lucky that every single night we had good numbers. And on the last night we were sold out. 

How long were you there? 

Just a week. So, we performed from Monday to Saturday, we had six performances. 

On another note, the term has just started at GAMPA. How had it been? 

We had a very good registration day with almost 400 students registered now in different classes, drama, singing, instrumental... Everything is kicking off again now. 

What new projects do you have at GAMPA this year? 

We had an actor-writer-director, Alex Louise, visiting us from the UK, putting on a play at the Ince’s Hall. 

But she also held acting workshops for our acting students, working with them on acting techniques and directing, talking about her professional experience. We were very honoured to have her here. 

Furthermore, the Gibraltar Youth Choir was invited on a Fred Olsen cruise ship for workshops with the entertainers on board, talking to the students about performing opportunities in the cruise ship industry. That is new for us. 

After that, we are moving on to our Christmas show, which we are working on. We are also involved in the Christmas Festival of Lights of November. 

This is followed by the Drama Festival, what will GAMPA be working on? 

Yes, we have the Drama Festival coming up in March which is special this year because it's the 70th anniversary. 

In February, we also have the Gibraltar Festival for Young Musicians. And we are preparing the Choir for a competition in Manchester in February. 

And then we'll also have another show at the end of term in the summer. 

Where does all this talent come from in Gibraltar? 

I think for a small community, we are very blessed. I don't really know where it comes from, but I think as Gibraltarians, we're quite expressive people. And therefore, a lot of young people find an outlet in the arts.