Elgin-born Blue Man Group performer to take on Edinburgh Fringe with unique Cabaret show Broken Planet
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ELGIN-born performer Callum Grant is gearing up to make waves at this summer's Edinburgh Fringe Festival with his show, Broken Planet: The Absurd Cabaret of Apocalyptic Proportions.
Having honed his craft from causing mischief with friends at Elgin Academy to prestigious stages worldwide, Callum, who now lives in Chicago has shared his excitement to bring his new show to his home country – and credits his Elgin roots to shaping his comedy instincts.
Callum said: “I really think growing up in Elgin and the sense of humour that my mates had when I was a teenager was fundamental. There was a lot of hanging out and being silly at fairy park and I really think that’s where these instincts of clowning and comedy started.
“I never realised until recently how ingrained it was in me and how that really did set me up for my career so far. There is a sense of humour that Elgin has that is very unique and it is quite special.”
Callum moved to Glasgow at 19 to attend the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, now Conservatoire, and a chance audition with the Blue Man Group has seen him perform across the globe with the group. Callum’s new show took inspiration from his travels and after noticing how divided the world had become, he created Broken Planet to remind audiences of our shared humanity.
He said: “One of the things I’ve learned in travelling around the world is that we as human beings are fundamentally good and we share far more than we realise. We can disagree on elements of things, but at the end of the day. everybody has a similar sense of humour and I wanted to find away to spread that message and try to pull people together.”
Broken Planet was created in this goal of finding community through fun, featuring a blend of theatre, circus performances, comedy, and live music. The show includes interactive segments like their Raptor Rave and Nerf Karaoke, where audience members take aim at a singer while they perform.
With regular performances running in Chicago, Callum has shared his excitement to bring the show home to Scotland, with a month-long run at C Venues throughout the Edinburgh Fringe. He said: “The fringe is particularly exciting for me as a Scottish artist, I’ve toured away from Scotland and learned my craft, so it’s amazing to have the chance to bring those skills back home.”
He added: “I really can’t wait, it will be really fun to perform the show each day for a whole month and I really hope a few local people will come and support it, I’ll be very interested to see how the sense of humour of Elgin can be brought to the show.”
Callum is also holding a fundraiser and looking for sponsors to help with the cost of bringing the show to the Fringe – donations can be made online here.
