MILO PENNEFATHER AND JULIAN MACHIN ON THEIR PROBLEMATIC NEW PRODUCTION
Cancelled, Four Letter Word Theatre’s brazen new production, pulls none of its punches. The musical stars one Max Richmond, an arrogant lead singer whose disastrously insensitive remarks have spelled the collapse of his musical career. With the help of THEM, a down-and-out pop icon, Max hatches a plan to get back on top and win the legendary Treble Fest music festival. His idea is simple: ‘cancelling’ every other act.
Our reporter sat down with Milo Pennefather and Julian Machin — the play’s two leads — to discuss camp, cancel culture, and the challenges of concert life:
Your play, Cancelled, has been described as a “totally camp” romp. How do you conjure up this fun kitsch energy for your characters?
Milo Pennefather – That’s a very good question.
Julian Machin – Well, I think I’m a foil to a lot of the campness in the show, where I’m kind of the straight man — unfortunately for me!
MP – You get some silly moments too.
JM – I get some silly moments, and we lean into them because they’re fun. But I’m really the foil that allows that campness to shine.
MP – Yeah, I think our characters are parallels, in terms of how they express themselves. My character [THEM] is very queer — campy, I guess, whereas Julian’s is a bit more serious. Although, don’t you-
JM – I get sillier as the show goes on.
MP – And in some points you’re sillier than THEM.
JM – We kind of do a switch. At first I’m very serious and melodramatic, and then I become a lot more villainous and [with a spooky voice] evil.
That’s a bit menacing! Would you mind giving us a brief rundown of what happens with your characters? No spoilers, but what’s the sort of arc we might see?
MP – Well, my character starts off having been in the music industry for quite a while, but not having had hits in multiple years. They’re a little bit insecure about their music and they haven’t really done well since their first big hit, so they get teamed up with Julian’s character to write their new album. Over the course of the show, they write that album and get a bit more popular and in the public eye. They also learn to be a little bit more true to themself and their feelings — at least, romantically.
JM – Also, expressively, your songs become a lot more personal as the show moves on. My character [Max Richmond], he starts off by making a very big mistake. He’s very defensive and has a very fragile ego, but then finds his role as a bit of a villain throughout the show. And eventually, things come to a conclusive end. [laughing] We’ll try not to give spoilers!
How tantalising! Your character being cancelled leads into my next question; the show Cancelled dwells on some very topical issues, including cancel culture and the toxicity of our modern media landscape. What do you think this story has to offer to the conversation?
MP – We were talking about this before.
JM – We were, actually. It definitely promotes balance.
MP – Yeah, I think it shows a very nuanced take on cancel culture. Some of the artists that our characters cancel are a little bit deserving but then some others aren’t — it really shows the differences between just cancelling willy-nilly and cancelling because somebody actually did something wrong.
JM – And our characters end up weaponising cancelling, which is the obvious criticism of it going too far and being used for people’s individual ends. However, there are definitely artists and characters in this show that get cancelled organically, which I think the perspective of the show endorses. My character gets cancelled at the start of the show, and the show definitely supports that happening and frames it as a good thing. It definitely sits in nuance on a lot of social issues. For a very fun, poppy, campy show, it has quite a lot of nuance — which is good!
A lot of really deep themes there. I’ve heard that Cancelled is a play but it is also in some ways a concert. Your show centres around the Treble Fest concert, and a lot of the original songs are performed by fictional pop stars. Would you mind speaking a bit about how you created that authentic concert vibe?
MP – Well, if you were to compare it to a current musical that’s trending, it’s a little bit like Six. The overarching storyline is there, but all of our songs are almost meta – we’re performing them as the characters to an audience while also playing characters performing to an actual audience
JM – I think it’s an interesting world that they’ve built, in terms of really being in the music scene: not just saying it but really letting the audience live that world of music. There are a few more traditional music theatre songs, where a character expresses an internal state to do with the show — but yeah. I think it’s really, really interesting and it’ll be so entertaining. The show is so much fun!
MP – It is. It’s really fun to perform, and it’s also really fun to watch. The bits that we watched are so much fun.
JM – There are so many big show-stopper numbers that the audience are going to love.
I’m sure it’s going to be brilliant. You said it’s got both types of songs, the live and also the more traditional musical-type introspective song. Do you two perform both types and, if so, what’s the difference in delivery?
MP – You definitely perform both.
JM – I do. Probably my character has the most of the musical style ones, where it is just reflecting the character’s emotions and states. My character’s in a rock band, so every time they’re doing the rock songs it’s like grabbing a mic and being like [screeching] ‘Yeah!’ But the ones where it’s more musical, they’re often a lot more contained, a lot more emotionally driven. It’s less about putting on a spectacle, more about bringing the audience in and keeping them close. There’s a song halfway through Act II called ‘Wires,’ where it’s very close, very small. I think the audience will really like that intimate moment.
MP – It’s a great song as well, so shout out to Ethan [Francis-d’Amour, leading writer of Cancelled].
I’m looking forward to it. This is a new play, and it’s been written by some of your directors. Did you have any input in the creation or evolution of your characters?
MP – A little bit. I think we get a bit of freedom in how we choose to portray our characters. There’s been some lines and stuff changed.
JM – They were very, very interested in our input.
MP – Yeah, they’re very good about that. They ask about how we feel about our characters and the scenes that we’re doing, and how our character might react: what we think, as well as just what Ethan wrote and intended. It lets us do some of the interpreting of the character as well, which is nice.
JM – This is my first show with Four Letter Word Theatre, but one thing I’ve been impressed by is that they’re confident enough to let people experiment and try new things. The team seems really secure in letting us put our own spin on things and allowing us to express ourselves. It’s a very collaborative environment that I’ve been super impressed by, working with Four Letter Word. I think that everyone involved in the show can say they’ve put a bit of themselves into how it ended up.
That’s really, really positive. Since it’s focussed around this concert, is set and costume design a big part of the characters? Do they wear really theatrical costumes onstage?
JM – Characters that aren’t us? Yes. Absolutely.
MP – Characters that are us? Not so much, ’cause we haven’t got a lot of time in between things to actually change — but we do have really, really good make-up. Our make-up artist is amazing. She’s got such a good vision, and everybody has really interesting make-up choices that make it feel a bit more theatrical. Even if I’m just wearing casual clothes, I’ve got epic green eyeliner.
JM – And the K-pop group look amazing. There’s a K-pop group in the show, and their outfits are all incredible. Make-up’s incredible. They’re so disciplined as well. They’re going to be a blast for the audience to watch.
I’m sure. Are there any funny moments or classic memories that you’d like to share?
JM – There’s a character called Jaida Bars who is a walking icon.
MP – She’s amazing.
JM – Most things that Jaida does are so iconic and everyone just eats it up.
MP – She’s great.
JM – Also, shout-out to Tate Tyler.
MP – Yes, Tate Tyler’s probably one of my favourite characters. He’s very fun and over the top.
JM – If you’ve met our writer, you know that Ethan is a very iconic person, and all these characters he’s written are such icons. I feel like every audience member will be able to pick someone and be like ‘That’s my favourite and I love them to bits.’ Should be good.
Fantastic. One more thing, before I let both of you go: is there anything you want to say to the audience before they come and see it?
MP – Come see it!
JM – Just, get ready to have fun. Go into it thinking that this show is going to be an absolute blast. You’re coming along for a ride, it’s silly, it’s camp and it’s so-
MP – It’s so over the top.
JM – It’s spectacular.
MP – It’s wonderful. It’s grand.
JM – Just sit back and enjoy, honestly.
Four Letter Word Theatre premieres Cancelled at the Union Theatre, 2/5/24 – 4/5/24. Tickets are available here – https://events.humanitix.com/cancelled-pkwmlbxt
Interview conducted by Lola Sargasso.
The Dialog Theatre website is supported and sponsored by Union House Theatre.
The Dialog 