Not your typical improv show!
Talking People brought their one-night only, improvised performance of The Interview to the Bush theatre on the 19 of September. The concept is simple, three women are about to be interviewed by one man to become his new PA. On the surface, it doesn’t seem a particularly interesting story, but when the audience are privy to the inner worlds of every character, in as much detail as we choose, an ordinary scene becomes much more exciting. Talking People is an excellent platform for early career actors and creates a warm room, welcoming the audience’s interaction and fostering deep exploration of context, subtext and intention.
The first act is spent with our host, director Richard Vincent, as he pre-interviews the interviewer and his interviewees. We get to know the interviewer, played by Lucas Pidgeon, first, discussing his terrible work-life balance and the events that have led him to this interview. Pidgeon gives a grounded and cohesive performance, we believe this awful man exists and unfortunately we’ve all seen him in real life. The three women are then questioned, each bringing a completely original approach. Anna Griffith creates a stupidly funny and cleverly sad interviewee who just wants her first kiss. Megan Walsh is the traumatised, young aspirant and brings impressive emotional range; as does Lola Spiteri, who builds an interestingly layered character who prefers the men in her life to the women. The three women are each given their future in an envelope: in one year’s time, one of them will kill this man, one will marry him and the other will sue him. This brings yet another load of intention and fuel for the audience to ponder. What on earth is going to happen in this interview?
It’s a great concept and we are hanging on every answer the four actors give. Vincent asks probing questions, as does producer Elina Saleh Franck, and it’s always intriguing to know that not even the actors know where the night will lead. At times, the characters feel stuck in stereotypes; the emotionally repressed rich boy with drug problems, the working class woman whose brother needs bailing out of prison. The pace of the night could have benefitted from a few more creative risks, perhaps some answers that go strongly against what we expect, and not always to the most troubling place. I felt that most of the depth of the piece was found in the characters’ unresolved trauma, but perhaps this is only natural and the reality of human behaviour is rooted in trauma response. The performance certainly made me question this.
Talking People is playing in the Studio at the Bush Theatre from 14-19th of September 2026, with a different story every night.