I meant to do a feature about ‘Refuse’ as soon as I heard about it, but sometimes pre-Fringe busyness means I just don’t get all the way down to the bottom of my to-do list. But fortunately I was able to catch up with writer and performer Lucy McIlgorm once the show was up and running at the Festival.

It’s a fabulous piece that explores the story of a Ukrainian bin man dealing with the threat of the Russian invasion. I put some questions to Lucy to find out more about the production and its Fringe run so far.

CM: Can you start by telling us a bit about the narrative of ‘Refuse’? Who is it about and what story does it tell? 
LM: ‘Refuse’ tells the story of Maks – the neighbourhood binman. We follow him on his weekly route around town as he catches up with the local eccentrics and keeps his town clean. Through the play, we see his world utterly transform as he is forced to confront the threat of invasion and the destruction of his community. 

CM: Can you tell us more about the themes explored in the piece? 
LM: The piece explores the beauty and complexity of everyday life. I wrote it as a love letter to the humdrum drama we all experience and forget to appreciate until it is suddenly taken from us. It’s also, inevitably, about rubbish – and about who or what is considered disposable. 

CM: It’s inspired by true stories, isn’t it? Where do those come from? 
LM: I was struck by a news story from March 2022, when Mariupol was being heavily bombed, about binmen who had started risking their lives between air raids to collect bodies from the streets.

Inspired by their incredible bravery and the starkness of this change from their usual job, I wrote a story documenting the shift that suddenly took place for Ukrainians with the 2022 full scale invasion. 

CM: What was your motivation/inspiration for telling this story? 
LM: I felt that the news headlines from Ukraine were difficult to truly comprehend and I was interested in telling a story which introduced the war in a more subtle way.

My grandparents came to England as refugees from Lwów in Poland – now Lviv in Ukraine – following the Soviet Union’s invasion in 1939, so I felt called to write something about Ukraine partly due to my own family history of displacement from this region. 

CM: Can you tell us a bit about the cast and creative team? 
LM: Anastazie Toros, the Ukrainain director and academic specialising in representations of migration and conflict, has brought a delightfully playful and stylish approach to the storytelling.

Claudia Green, currently working at the BBC in acquisitions, is our producer. Alongside myself, we have cast two wonderful actors who are establishing themselves here in the UK following successful careers in Ukraine and Europe – Maria Shtofa and Vasyl Sydorko.

Natalia Zuieva is assisting on our marketing and we have created the project under my production company Just Bcoz Productions. 

CM: Have you been to the Fringe before? How is your run going? 
LM: I’ve been twice as an actor, but this is the first time taking my own play. We are so excited to have received four and five star reviews and to be nominated for the Popcorn Award this year. Our first audience was tiny, but the word of mouth works… in the last two days we hit our biggest audiences yet! 

CM: What are you enjoying about performing at the Festival?
LM: Somehow, I’m not tired of performing the show, and every day I feel that we discover new things. We have the best audiences who leave us fantastic reviews and stay to chat afterwards, sometimes with tears still fresh in their eyes!

That is the beauty of Fringe – being up close and personal and getting such immediate feedback on your work. 

CM: Have you been to see other shows while you are here? What else do you get up to when not performing? 
LM: We are all getting stuck in seeing as much as possible in every imaginable genre. We particularly enjoyed the puppet show ‘Dream Space’, which had us hysterically laughing and also in tears! I never imagined I’d enjoy a kids show more than the kids.

Other than seeing shows, we like to sit up late chatting, stapling reviews to our flyers and eating far too many biscuits. We also love to dance and you can spot the ‘Refuse’ team on all the dance floors in Edinburgh. 

CM: Can you tell us a bit about yourself now? What drew you to theatre and performance? 
LM: I am a writer/actor and occasional stand-up comedian. I was a shy kid but I loved the feeling of being on stage. When I perform, I feel disinhibited and that feeling keeps me coming back again and again.

The electricity of live performance drew me to theatre, and the special connections you make with your company and cast-mates when bringing a show to life. 

CM: What have been the highlights of your creative life thus far?
LM: Shooting my short film in Sydney, Australia, where I got to work with incredible people and capture a surprise rainbow on a nearly empty Bondi Beach.

Doing two minutes of stand-up at the Comedy Store in LA after my name was picked from a ballot. Playing Mercutio in an all-women’s production of ‘Romeo And Juliet’ at university.

And also the audience who stayed to chat and have coffee with us after our first show here. 

CM: What aims and ambitions do you have for the future? 
LM: I want to tour ‘Refuse’ around the world, seeing how it changes in different contexts and sharing this story as widely as possible.

I’d love to come back to Fringe again with a new show, a little more weathered and wiser, using all the lessons from this year’s run.

The BIG dream is to finish writing a feature film I’m working on and return to Australia, where it’s set, to shoot it. 

CM: What’s coming up next for you after this?
LM: Hopefully, the world’s longest sleep! Then I’ll be finishing post-production on my short film, submitting to festivals and beginning my next creative adventure. 

‘Refuse’ was performed at Assembly George Square Studios at Edinburgh Festival 2025.