I was really excited when I saw that Gaël Le Cornec was set for a return to the Fringe this year, because we have loved seeing her performances at the Festival in past years, and even gave her one of our Editors’ Awards back in 2016. 

It’s been nearly a decade, and I was interested to know where she has been, why she is back now and, of course, what to expect from her newest show ‘Amazons’, a semi-autobiographical piece that investigates her Brazilian ancestry. 

I spoke to her to find out more. 

CM: Can you start by telling us a bit about the content of the show? Who is it about and what story do you tell? 
GLC: It’s an investigation into my Brazilian grandmother’s ancestry as a way to reclaim my Amazonian identity. The show is also a retelling of the history of Brazil through the voices of my indigenous and African ancestors.

CM: What are the primary themes of the play? 
GLC: Identity and ancestrality, the effects of colonialism on its native people, and female empowerment.

CM: I know that there are autobiographical elements, but to what extent is it based on you and your experiences?
GLC: It’s partially based on me and the Amazonian women in my family. But it’s much more about what I wish I knew about me and my ancestry.

My DNA test result points to Indigenous and Black African ancestry but there are no official documents or archival information beyond my great-grandmother. 

So, one storyline is me investigating that, the other is about reclaiming the stories of my silenced ancestors. I have never done a solo show this exposing before – it’s simultaneously thrilling and scary!

CM: Do you regard it as a political piece? 
GLC: Definitely. And you’ll know why when you see it!

CM: What made you want to create a show about this? What was your inspiration? 
GLC: Doing a DNA test was a motivation to further investigate my Brazilian ancestry.

But also, I was unhappy with the history classes I attended at school in Brazil, it highlighted our colonial past and disregarded the knowledge and history of the local indigenous and black communities around me. 

I got inspiration from reading the history of my state Pará, particularly the stories of  the Amazonian women who fought against deforestation and urbanisation.

And of the quilombos – villages created by enslaved people of African descent who had fled forced labour.

CM: Can you tell us a bit about your creative process? How do you go about putting a show together? 
GLC: Every creative process for me starts with historical research. When I have gathered enough information, I start creating.

With ‘Camille Claudel’, I wrote a full play before rehearsals, so the text came first; in ‘The Other’, I wanted to tell a universal story about a child fleeing persecution using shadow puppetry. I had a concept, a character and the story was developed through the creation of imagery with shadows and colours. 

With ‘Amazons’: I did two strands of research: Firstly, I selected some snapshots of Amazonian history and brought that to rehearsals. Creatively, the text here took a more poetic format.

The second part of the research was auto-ethnographic: remembering my childhood, collecting family archives, chatting with my aunties and mom about our heritage. Here, I knew I wanted to use a bit of technology, live camera, voiceovers.

Then me and the director, Ben Samuels, weaved the two together. I’m still weaving.

CM: We’ve seen and loved your shows at edfringes past, but we haven’t seen you for a while and it’s lovely to see you back. Why the return to the Festival now? 
GLC: Thank you so much. That’s so kind. Yes, it’s been a while. Just before the pandemic everything was happening career-wise then it all stopped for two years. I lost people, felt lost myself, was homesick.

One day, I put all my Amazonian objects on my desk and started filming them with a live camera – then I thought why not do a show about my homeland? I approached several venues in London about it, but no one wanted to support it.

I applied to edfringe last year via Summerhall but couldn’t afford to bring it. Then the Brazilian consulate and Summerhall granted me the Guimarães Rosa Institute Award. It was a nice surprise. 

It’s been nine years since ‘The Other’, I feel old to be at the Festival! But I’m coming back with guts and a big heart. 

CM: What do you love about the Fringe? What do you like about taking part in it? 
GLC: Watching shows! Meeting new people! Going to the top of Arthur’s seat! And seeing my Scottish aunty.

CM: What will you do when not performing this summer? Do you have plans to take in other shows? 
GLC: Definitely planning to see other shows. But I noticed many of the shows I want to see are at the same time as mine – 7.50pm – but maybe I’ll clone myself…

CM: I think we last did an interview with you in 2012 about ‘Camille Claudel’, which is quite a while ago now! Can you tell us a bit about what you been up to since then?
GLC: You also reviewed my show ‘The Other’ in 2016 and even gave me an award! But yes, it’s been a while. In the past few years, I focused on developing my film skills, my writing practice, did bits of directing and also started teaching at universities. 

CM: Can we go back a bit: what drew you to a career in the arts? Was this what you always wanted to do?
GLC: I started theatre very young, but didn’t know back then it could be a profession. So I ended up enrolling in a BA in biology and environmental studies In Brazil.

Then I moved to England for a masters degree with three words/phrases in my vocabulary: hello, please and thank you. Then I saw an advert for a community college’s course ‘Learn English Through Theatre’.  Well, it changed my life.

CM: What have been the highlights of your career thus far?
GLC: Being a runner-up for the Amnesty Freedom Of Expression Award with ‘The Other’, playing 90 shows of ‘Frida Kahlo: Viva La Vida!’ in Humberto Robles’ amazing play, appearing in one scene in ‘Ted Lasso’!

CM: What aims and ambitions do you have for the future?
GLC: Writing a musical and performing/writing/directing for the screen.

CM: What’s coming up next for you after this?
GLC: I’ll be adapting the WhatsApp show ‘All The Water In The World’, which I made with Ben Samuels, into a podcast. It was conceived and performed during the pandemic and we feel it deserves a new home.

Gaël Le Cornec performed ‘Amazons’ at Summerhall at Edinburgh Festival 2025.

LINKS: gaellecornec.com | instagram.com/gaellecornec_