People suck.
It's an undisputed fact.
Salty Theatre's 'People Suck' by Megan Phillips and Peter Cavell gives the worst of humanity the spotlight. It's a not-so-gentle musical reminder to just be a good person, because sometimes you just need that nudge.
Featuring songs such as 'The Man They Call The Flake', 'So What', and 'When I See You Smile (I Want To Kill You)', 'People Suck' is an independent production aiming to go beyond the glitz and glamour of what some may associate with musical theatre.
Salty Theatre Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director Ashley Taylor (who is also in the show) chats about what audiences can expect.
Tell us a bit about 'People Suck'.
'People Suck' is a bit of a musical airing of grievances. It’s a song cycle, a collection of scenes and songs, that all revolve around the central theme that people can sometimes sort of be the worst. The show was written by two wonderfully kind and talented human beings from Toronto, Megan Phillips and Peter Cavell. The show takes swings at all of those irritating things that we, as imperfect people, do to rub each other the wrong way. It touches on sillier pet peeves like flakes and office drama as well as some heavier content like religion, racism and the state of the world for children growing up in it today. The script moves and transitions quickly, so the goal is to leave people laughing in the aisles one moment then perhaps squirming a little the next. Ultimately, we’ve all been on both sides of one (or more!) of these stories.
It's a bit of a commentary on current-day society. What do you think is the biggest issue facing humanity in 2019, and why?
That’s a big question. My instinct is that humanity’s biggest issue is a lack of compassion; a kind of a fear of authenticity. But seriously, it’s probably the root of all evil. Like the Necronomicon. Or Daleks. I also think that people take themselves a bit too seriously. If we can all share a laugh about ourselves, even in the darkest times, I think we’d be amazed at the connectivity and compassion that could occur.
You're also in the show. What have been some of the challenges of being involved on stage for 'People Suck'?
The biggest challenges for me being involved on stage are two-fold; production and performance. As a producer of the show I’m constantly looking at the show from a business perspective; working with my partner, Sarahlouise Younger, to help secure sales and market the show and working with the venue to make sure everything is in order logistically, technically, and so on. This can sometimes be a distraction from my focus on stage as I try and tell the stories we want to tell. I really have to try and swap hats quickly and compartmentalise. It can be tough, but at the end of the day, wonderfully rewarding. As a performer the challenge in 'People Suck' comes when you have to play a role of a very 'sucky person'. The brilliant, late Alan Rickman said, “If you judge the character, you can’t play it”. In a show called 'People Suck' you can imagine there are some characters that are less than perfect so you need to be able to approach the role from a non-judgmental standpoint and strive to find the hilarious humanity. . . Mostly so you can laugh at it.
Ashley Taylor
And what would you say has been the most rewarding part about your involvement in the show?
Hearing all that laughter, feeling that heavy silence, the simultaneous intakes of breath and gasps. . . Then knowing without a doubt we’ve done the job we’ve set out to do. We’ve given our audience this shared experience and made them feel all the feels! Maybe they’ll leave loving it. Maybe they’ll have hated it. But we’ve made them feel something, and had a blast doing it.
Salty Theatre believes that musical theatre can have a darker/edgier side to it. Why do you think it's important people know this?
For the longest time musical theatre was seen as the fluffy, vanilla side of theatre. When you’d go to uni it was always the 'musical theatre kids' and the 'drama kids'. Independent theatre has always been considered the realm of plays and serious creatives, but it isn’t always that cut-and-dry. I love those Golden Age musicals, the toe tapping, the romance, the huge song and dance numbers. I love it! But that isn’t all that musical theatre is. Music can take you on a journey, often in a condensed amount of time compared to a dialogue. We want more people to know and experience raw musical theatre because it can challenge you and make you think, engage and relate in a way that the 'escapist' musical (that’s what they were meant to be back in the Golden Age of musical theatre) perhaps, cannot. Music speaks to people differently. We want people to know that musical theatre isn’t just song and dance. There’s 100 per cent a place for that, there always will be and I love that, but we hope that in time there will be an equally large place for musicals that speak in a more raw, in-your-face way, too. Sometimes that’s heavy-speak and other times it’s dirty jokes! There’s a place for all of it.
What do you think makes a good musical in 2019?
Any musical that makes you feel something long after you’ve left the theatre. Whether it’s a big, splashy show or a more intimate production, that’s what makes a good musical.
Image © Sarahlouise Younger/Ashley Taylor
Do you have any comments to make about your opinion of the current state of independent musical theatre?
I think it’s on the rise. Slowly but surely. But it needs more support. The biggest challenge in this industry, especially when you’re producing a show that isn’t guaranteed mega money (like the Broadway tours), is finding the financial or in-kind support to make these shows a reality, so you aren’t just a company surviving from show to show and actually have the possibility to plan a season and pay the actors more. There are so many wonderfully talented people out there who have stories to share and I think people, especially the younger generations, are keen to experience musical theatre that speaks to them and that they can relate to. I hope that in time there will be more support out there for the independent musical. It’s companies like Theatre Works that are so behind it that we need more of – they’re amazing! We’re grateful for the support and look forward to being able to help other creatives who have musical stories they want to share.
When you co-founded Salty Theatre, what were your intentions?
We wanted to create a company that supported local creatives, both people new to the industry and people who’ve been around for ages. There's so much talent and simply not enough opportunity. We also wanted to introduce shows that were different from what we’ve seen here before in Melbourne. We’re accomplishing that by reaching out to writers, producers and artists from around the globe, as well as locally. Being from overseas myself, the idea of creating this global connection of artists really appealed to me, and Sarahlouise is all about embracing diversity and challenging the norm. We wanted to share musicals that were new and maybe a little left-of-centre to audiences here. Hopefully they’ll love them as much as we do!
Do you think, since the company's inception, you've achieved these intentions?
I think we’re on the way! Salty Theatre is only 10 months old so we’re still finding our footing and discovering ourselves as a company. We’ve had amazing support both here and from our overseas colleagues on the work we’ve done so far and we’re excited to see what the future holds. Throughout the audition process alone, we’ve seen how much talent is even just in this city and are aware of how many of the same shows get done again and again with the same performers. We’re definitely working to break a mould.
Where do you plan to take Salty Theatre from this point forward?
Over time, we want to create a repertory company with multiple shows running simultaneously. A company that can create consistent, steady work for artists, producing new Australian Theatre as well as theatre from abroad that hasn’t been seen here before. We aren’t out to change the world or anything, but we hope that we can show people how awesome indie musical theatre is and give all the crazy talented creatives out there an outlet to share their talent and stories. As long as we can keep giving people all the feels, we’ll do our darndest to keep on keeping on… and enjoy the ride along the way!
