Paul Bradshaw’s Offie nominated play tell me straight returns in a new run at Chiswick Playhouse, following the success of its run at King’s Head Theatre as part of their Queer Season in 2021.
Reuniting original cast members Paul Bradshaw, George Greenland and Stephanie Levi-John. Imogen Frances’ production on 16 February, with previews from 15 February, and runs until 26 February 2022.
More information and tickets can be found here.
tell me straight is returning for a run at Chiswick Playhouse, what can you tell us about the play?
YES! And we’re so excited to bring the play back. ‘tell me straight’ is a fast paced semi- autobiographical coming-of-age comedy drama that follows Him as we look back at his (too) many romantic encounters ranging from hilarious, embarrassing to dangerous. Whilst they all end up with very different outcomes, all of these guys have one thing in common…they’re all straight.
What first inspired you to write it?
It was the third play I wrote and up until then I hadn’t written something I could be in – kind of the opposite of what most actors do! I had the initial idea back in late 2019 and the first lockdown proved to be the perfect time to sit down and get all these stories off my chest – which was both cathartic and unbelievably funny.
It recently ran at The King’s Head as part of their Queer Season, how was the experience and what did you learn from it?
Audiences at The King’s Head were incredible. We had tonnes of great reviews and were even awarded an OFFCOMM Commendation for Best Play – Short Run. The audience response was so heart-warming – loads of people, gay, straight and of all genders came up to me afterwards saying that they could see themselves reflected in the work and that was such an emotional moment for me. Sometimes you can think that you’re alone in all of the odd things that happen in your life – but their openness about their experience made me feel proud of what we’ve created.
Tell us about the cast, and why it’s important to you that they reflect the characters you write?
They are both the absolute best! As soon as I met Stephanie Levi-John I knew she was the perfect choice to voice Dani – she just captures her so perfectly. I’ve been working with George Greenland since 2019 and he is brilliant. He’s a rare find in an actor as he can do anything and is extremely playful which is key for a piece like ‘tell me straight’. In intimate theatre I think it’s important to find actors that can embody their characters without it feeling like they’re pushing and George is so versatile that he nails every role he plays.
And you’re starring in the play too, what are the challenges of being writer and performer?
In all honesty, with this team around me I wouldn’t say there have been any major challenges. Everyone is so open and it’s been very collaborative since our first reading on Zoom back in mid-2020. I think the trap actor/writer’s can fall into is being too close to the material but we followed in the footsteps of Phoebe Waller-Bridge and had one rule in the rehearsal room which was ‘is that funny?’ – if it wasn’t we would tweak the script or get rid of it all together.
What are you looking forward to most about taking the show to Chiswick Playhouse?
I’m really excited about bringing it to a whole new audience, the crowd at Chiswick is very different to the King’s Head. If the King’s Head is leather studded then Chiswick is fur lined and I can’t wait to see what they think. The auditorium is a different set up too which will mean that the staging, lighting design and inevitably the feel and look of parts of the play will be changing – which is gonna be so much fun to explore.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking tickets to tell me straight?
People have compared it to Fleabag, Schitts Creek and I May Destroy You (which are the hugest compliments!) – so if you’re a fan of any of those you should get yourself a ticket! The main thing audiences said about the last run was how nice it was to laugh and nod along as they recognised themselves in the show. ‘tell me straight’ has a universality – we’ve all chased the wrong prospective spouse, we’ve all batted away the people we don’t fancy back and we’ve all made a fool of ourselves in the process – so hopefully it’ll feel like anyone can see a little of themselves up on stage.
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