Theatre maker Paul O’Donnell comes to VAULT Festival following a sell-out Edinburgh Festival Fringe run, a BE Festival Audience Award, and various international awards, with We’ve Got Each Other. Hold on to your mullet for the spectacular Bon Jovi jukebox musical… except, it’s up to the audience to imagine it all, with the help of just one man.
You’re bringing We’ve Got Each Other to VAULT Festival, what can you tell us about it?
We’ve Got Each Other is the solo ‘almost entirely imagined’ Bon Jovi musical.
The idea of the show is that I (a poor solo independent theatre maker) am unfortunately unable to resource the multi-million pound spectacle that we come to expect of full-scale musicals. So instead, you are left with me on an empty stage accompanied by 180 lighting cues playing in real time, and 12 cover versions of Livin on a Prayer acting as the score. Together you and I bring this full spectacle to life using the powers of our imaginations. It’s 30% theatre, 30% musical, 30% stand-up comedy… and 10% cathartic group sing along!
In spite of its empty presentation, you should all leave the theatre with a big smile across your face, feeling as though you have just experienced a full musical, and you should find yourself on your feet at the end of the show applauding an empty stage whilst belting Livin on a Prayer at the top of your voices.
When it comes to it, we really don’t need all of the expenditure of a full musical because: We’ve Got Each Other… and that’s a lot for love!
Just give it a shot!
What made you want to make a Jukebox Musical with the music of Bon Jovi?
To be honest, it all kinda happened by accident (the show itself included in this).
I was initially working towards making a short performance called Beautiful for a scratch night at Camden People’s Theatre, with the concept of creating a really beautiful show with nothing to actually look at. For this, I was searching for an instrumental song to underscore an imaginary contemporary dance routine for that show when I eventually came across a four-trombone cover of Livin On a Prayer on Youtube. This immediately became the overture of the show and everything has sort of completely spiralled from there. Suddenly it became an imaginary musical, based on the work of Bon Jovi. Its success at the event at CPT meant I ‘had’ to make the full show.
Livin On A Prayer is the perfect backbone for a musical; it has characters (Tommy a Docker and Gina a waitress), it has a struggle (“Unions been on strike, he’s down on his luck, its tough, so tough”), and all manner of lines which are ‘oh so musical theatre darling’ (“We’ve gotta hold on”, “just give it a shot” “We’ve got each other”). The more I delved into it, the more perfect it felt, and the more shocked I became that nobody had knocked up a Bon Jovi musical before. Sometimes accidents work I guess?!
And why did you want to do it all by yourself?
Practically speaking… I sadly can’t afford a full cast of 35.
I’d argue though that I’m not ‘all by myself’ in We’ve Got Each Other… I’ve got an audience. And the audience own just as much of the show as I do.
Instead of relying upon spending shed loads of money on hydraulic lifts, confetti cannons, grand sets that wheel themselves into position via little remote control car things etc, the success of We’ve Got Each Other relies completely on the relationship between us both which we build together across the hour. It comes to celebrate this relationship, and the fact that… well, I simply can’t do it all on my own.
It was a sell-out in Edinburgh, why do you think Audiences loved it so much?
I think it’s a fairly surprising show (in a good way). Most people come into it not knowing exactly what they are going to experience, some come in (having not read the marketing copy closely enough) expecting a traditional Bon Jovi musical, and many just come with absolutely no idea because their mate told them it’s a good laugh.
It’s not really until the end of the first song of the show where you as an audience are like “ah ok… I get this” and throw yourself into it. From there it keeps shifting and reinventing itself to keep the experience ever surprising for audiences.
You find almost immediately that you’re swept away into it, and you feel like you do ‘own’ it to some extent (it exists in your imaginations after all).
It’s also a show with a lot of heart and warmth to it, and you genuinely do leave the theatre with that ‘musical theatre glow’. I think the feeling you get as you leave the theatre is what leaves people wanting to share the show with their friends, and why word of mouth helped the show succeed in Edinburgh. I can’t wait to meet new audiences at this years Vault Festival.
What is the biggest challenge for you when it comes to performing the show?
Although working off the same script, every show is somehow different, usually because the audience do ‘unexpected things’. The show, in part, feels like a stand up show, meaning the audience feel they have permission to be somewhat vocal in it… and they are, and they do.
I really enjoy responding to the audience’s reactions, or additions to the script. It certainly keeps me on my toes and makes every show personal to that particular audience, which I love. Of course, it is also the greatest challenge for me as a performer, as I have to be prepared with a comeback for every eventuality imaginable and have to make sure that I am not too rigidly stuck in my script.
In Edinburgh I had a 10.50pm slot, which meant sometimes I got stag/hen nights or just very drunk people in the audience… of course they ALWAYS sat on Row A… this made things fun!
What would you say to someone to encourage them to come and see We’ve Got Each Other
“Just give it a shot!” [Bon Jovi quotes will feature]
Image Credit: Alex Brenner
