Meet Anjali and Ali, the Hanover Housemates Hosting Fringe Venue The Roost In Their Lounge
The clock is counting down to my favourite month in Brighton: May. It’ll be Artist Open Houses, Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe Festival to name a few things happening. Have you booked your tickets for the Fringe yet? One of the new venues at this year’s festival is The Roost – hosted by two artists in the lounge of their Hanover home.
Anjali Singh and Ali Blatcher have lived together for three years after meeting on a solo show writing course during lockdown and discovering their shared intention to put on their own Fringe shows, which is something they have since both achieved.
In 2021, Anjali wrote and performed A Matter of Time, which was showcased at Brighton Fringe and Camden Fringe. In 2022, Ali performed #BLEEP at both Brighton and Edinburgh Fringes, where Anjali also took shows.
Ali said: “By producing our own shows, we realised how costly and cumbersome it is to get a decent venue for a solo show performance. We wanted to provide an intimate cosy space where performers can be heard and the audiences can feel. What better place than our living room?!”
The pair has been hosting variety shows and poetry events in their living room for a couple of years, including for Anjali’s birthday and a Burns Night celebration.
Ali added: The space is small, but bright and on a hill so overlooks the streets and we have some basic equipment that can amplify the performers. All of this creates a unique experience, akin to the Artist Open Houses in Brighton, except this is theatre.”
Seven shows are on The Roost’s bill this year over the last two weekends in May. Themes vary from solarpunk climate action to growing up with deaf parents (Deaf ears) and there will be a variety show and a poetry event too.
Ali added: “We hope that the audience will feel at home at The Roost and will also appreciate that it is our living space, so there will be books and objects on shelves and the seating options need to be quite adaptable. Generally though, it is a new-ish concept and we hope to continue hosting events in the future.”
Address: 8c Southover Street, Brighton, BN2 9UA
Brighton Fringe website: https://www.brightonfringe.org/
The Roost: https://www.brightonfringe.org/venues/the-roost/
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