Returning to the role gives Wood the chance to approach the production with more confidence. "I was so thrilled with the reception to the Comedy Festival season of Mrs Lovett, and I am elated to play her again. This is the first solo work I've written and from the outset I felt totally out of my depth; the show was written partly to prove to myself that I'm capable of writing a solo work, and a lot of the early part of the run was like fully dissociated above my body watching myself jump around for an hour," they tell me. "I'm looking forward to a season where it's not the first time ever doing a solo work, with more confidence to ease some of the nerves and ride the wave."
For Wood, Mrs Lovett was a natural choice to build a piece around, even if it didn’t start out that way. "As a reformed Music Theatre performer, I have never ever ever wanted to play a man in a musical. Are you joking? Boring as fuck, always. Sorry for fucking swearing,” they apologise. “When forming this show, it started out as a one-man Sweeney Todd, until I realised that I only cared about Nellie, and from there I took her hand and ran with it. It honestly didn’t cross my mind initially that this was a drag show. But Nellie in particular has one of the most captivating stories of any character in a musical, and she oozes ambition and campery, which I'm completely drawn to. Find me a more iconic character introduction than ‘The Worst Pies in London’. Her self-belief is so damn endearing, and why WOULDN’T she open up a pie shop at the Queen Victoria Markets? To me, she is Sisyphean, constantly rolling her rolling pin up this great big hill we call life. I absolutely adore her.”
While the script is loose and frenetically paced, Wood was careful to ensure the politics of the piece shone through. "Writing something this wild while keeping the politics genuine was a delicate balancing act. Sweeney Todd is steeped in politics, from industrialisation and class to sexual violence, revolt and upheaval. To strip that away would go against the core of the show and my own values as a maker. I’ve always struggled with how clean-cut and apolitical musical theatre can be. I don’t think everything has to be political, and theatre for entertainment is essential, but I think artists should understand the world around them, why a story exists, whose perspective is being communicated and why it needs to be told."
That political thinking informs their comedic sensibility. "I am very politically minded, and I love melding comedy and politics together, stretching, pulling, referencing and pointing fingers. Comedy is a craft, and it’s much harder and more intelligent than people give it credit for. Timing, tempo, rhythm, subtlety, restraint, silence, physicality, earnestness, all of it matters. It’s so fulfilling to make people laugh, and I believe that with enough genuine laughter jostling people’s ribs, you can weasel your way into their hearts. Pathos, people, pathos!"
Wood has had the directorial eye of the inimitable Maude Davey, whom they say they could not have made the production without. "Maude Davey is a GENIUS. When I first pitched it to her and showed her the hero image of me covered in cream, she immediately said, 'That’s how messy you’re gonna be at the end of it.' So from day dot, she was a huge proponent for pushing boundaries.""Her wisdom and generosity kept me from losing it, while her ability to mould the production around the lifts and dips of the hour and trim my insane maximalist script was essential. She didn’t really know the musical, which was HEAVEN, because it meant she could tell me when something was too esoteric and help carve out the simplest version of the story. That was instrumental in making this accessible to people who didn’t know Sweeney Todd. I trust her completely to be honest with her feedback. There were full runs where I’d finish feeling demoralised because the chaos had taken over, but Maude was always able to tell me specifically what wasn’t working. It was a joy to work with her. In short, Maude Davey supremacy."
With a second season comes a second opportunity to introduce more people to Mrs Lovett, this time in the very different environment of Melbourne Fringe. "This show is definitely more suited to the ethos of Fringe than Comedy Festival, and I'm buzzing to be at the Hub. It feels like a real accomplishment and I'm extremelly proud of it. It's like watching my child win a prize. I love doing this so much, and interacting with the audience, and it fills my shrivelled little heart with so much pride when I have people come up to me after and say they were furious when they weren't selected for audience participation."
"That to me is the most valuable feedback to receive, because knowing how many people are allergic to audience participation, it feels like the biggest compliment to the safety and enjoyment of the work which is pretty fucking bonkers most of the time. It's a real hoot and I am so selfishly excited to wear her skin again. Yes, wear her skin."
FRINGE FIVE FAST ONES
1. My pre-show ritual is a full strength can of Coca Cola.
2. If a song was to play each time I entered a room, it would be "Axel F"by Crazy Frog.
3. If I could instantly become amazing at one skill, it would be pattern recognition.
4. If I were forced to eat one meal for the rest of my life, it would be a three day blinding stew.
5. The hill I will die on is the one in Royal Park just behind the Children's Hospital. It's so scenic and green!
SHOW DETAILS
Venue: Trades Hall, Cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton
Season: 30 September - 4 October | Wed - Sat 8:15pm, Sun 7:15pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $30 Full | $29 Conc | $24.50 Preview
Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival
Image credit: Iz Zettl
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