“Letting Disney loose on a future world is going to dredge up all sorts of chaos.” Oliver Gough on Disney Off Ice
Observatory Theatre is an ambitious theatre company. They have set themselves the bold goals of both staging “daring, inventive and imaginative works”, as well as supporting theatremakers to create their own works. One of the ways they seek to dothis is through their Telescope program, which commissions new plays which respond to our times and which are both innovative and ambitious. The next play in Observatory’s 2024 season is 'Disney Off Ice’, which was comissioned through the Telescope program.
NEHiB’s Catherine Lawrence caught up with playwright of ‘Disney Off Ice’, Oliver Gough, to discuss his creative process, the development of ‘Disney Off Ice’ through the Telescope program from 10min short to a full-length show and what audiences can expect from the production.
Image: Kris Anderson.
1. Catherine Lawrence (NEHiB): I know we are all interested in your upcoming Disney Off Ice work with Observatory Theatre … but, as I understand you both teach and study playwriting, I’d first love to hear a little more about the writer behind the work… starting with ‘when and why Brisbane.’
Oliver Gough (OG): Yes, I moved to Brisbane quite a few years ago now, in 2017, to study Drama and English at The University of Queensland (UQ). I think at that time I wasn’t quite sure what my path would be—but I was very much interested in writing and the stage, particularly performing at that time. Once I was settled here, I started acting in more university productions, and reading more widely about theatre, which I think really helped me to build my own practice and taste.
Since then, it’s been great to see such an explosion of exciting new writing for the stage and theatre projects emerging out of university, indie, and community scenes in the city. I’ve found it really invigorating to work in this environment. And yes, during my postgrad study in theatre I’ve done some drama tutoring at UQ, which I’ve really enjoyed. That work is an amazing opportunity for further involvement in interesting conversations about theatre, the creation of new work, and in giving feedback on new projects—all of which is really exciting.
2. NEHiB: Sorry a few quick-fire/related questions here. Are you enjoying the PhD experience? What is your focus/area of study/research question/anticipated outcomes? When do you finish? And do you have, say, three top tips for aspiring authors, students, researchers? OG: Sure!
OG: I’m just starting my PhD studies this month (July), so not too much to report on that at this stage. However, I have actually just finished my MPhil (Master of Philosophy) in Drama/Creative Writing, which is sort of a shorter version of a PhD. In that, I was looking at how absurdist, or formally challenging, plays can present cities on stage in a way that reveals the hugeness and strangeness of a world being transformed by climate change. This was practice-led research, where my own play ‘Concrete Mirage’ was at the centre of my argument. The play’s been performed at Anywhere Festival, and I’m hoping to see it have an updated further life in the future—and I’m also working on an article that extends on the essay section. In terms of top tips for students and researchers, I’d say:
1) Try not to get locked away in theory- make sure you still go to, read, or make theatre/plays themselves.
2) Keep writing whenever you can, even if it’s not great stuff. I think that practice keeps you tethered to the research/your own thoughts.
3) It sounds obvious, but make sure your research is something that makes you energised and excited!
3. NEHiB: I read your essay where you said ‘in my research and writing practice, I have found that the theatre is showing us new ways to examine escalating neoliberalism, global warming, and ultimately climate crisis, using absurdism and, unnervingly, comedy.’ Perhaps we can unpick a little of that for NEHiB? I’m particularly interested in why theatre (rather than other medium) … but feel free to elaborate more fully on why absurdism, why comedy, and even why climate crisis (although I guess that’s less in need of explanation) …?
OG: I think that the particular power of theatre is in how public and live it is as, an art form. When you attend a play or performance, you are part of a gathering of people, watching something immediate, unpredictable, and communal unfolding right in front of you. There’s something inherently participatory about this exchange… so I think that when ideas and feelings are expressed at close range like this, it’s hard for the experience not to affect you in a different way than reading a paper or story might.
In terms of absurdism, I think the strangeness of living on a planet that’s hanging in the balance is something it’s useful to confront, rather than to shy away from. We’re living in a climate change era that I think has shades of the existential unknowns of the 1950s and ‘60s era of nuclear threat. At that time, absurdist theatre was an understandable and, I think, artistically rich response to the ultimate unknown—that is, not knowing if there is a future. By letting this doubt, confusion, and frustration turn to looping dialogue, strange apparitions and wild, darkly funny plots, I think we can begin to truly reflect on and come to terms with what’s happening, which is the starting point for true change.
Rehearsal images: Lucy Rayner-Toy
4. NEHiB: I’ve read the promo, attended the season launch, spoken to your director, and I am intrigued. For NEHiB readers, perhaps give us the two minute pitch about the show: themes, what to expect, why to come along?
OG: Disney Off Ice is a distorted riff on the stranger trends in pop culture, on legacy, and on the weirdness of capitalism. Walt Disney is a figure with such a sprawling legacy, so we wanted to explore changes in society through this icon and put him on a collision course with the future.
It’s definitely a playful work that revels in the fun of unleashing Disney and his followers in a different society and letting him go wild. Expect controversial press conferences, a rabid cult, and a foul-mouthed Walt.
5. NEHiB: Last year, Observatory Theatre’s Lachlan Driscoll told us that ‘The play ultimately exposes his darker, ruthless side, but there is also a very different side to Walt [Disney], the side that's often overshadowed by negative criticism. I want to find that side of him—and whether this American icon was all steel and strength or just plain smoke and mirrors.’ Do you see Disney Off Ice as a show about the man, or is it more about the world the now live in?
OG: I think it’s a bit of both, but perhaps more about the world we might live in and what a Disney can represent. This is a work that certainly plays with the figure of Walt, and is interested in his personality, history, and legacy—but I don’t think it’s trying to be a studious tell-all. Disney’s a fascinating person; letting him loose on a future world post-cryonic unfreezing is going to dredge up all sorts of chaos from many places.
6. NEHiB: How have you found the process of working with the Director/Designer, Lachlan Driscoll, and cast? Do you find it difficult to hand the work over to the cast and creatives, or do you find it exciting to finally see the work coming to life?
OG: I find it really exciting to get to that point where you hand the work over, and see what happens with the influence and interpretation of other creatives. I haven’t been closely involved in the rehearsal process, so I’m looking forward to seeing where the work has been taken since the last time I was in the room. This is a way I’m happy to work, since I think you can lose sight of what’s going on a little if you’re entwined with the play the whole way through. Stepping back a bit, and coming in refreshed, can be useful—and is certainly less emotionally taxing.
7. NEHiB: I am a great fan of post-show Q&A sessions, and am delighted to see that the program has post show chats on both 24th and 31st August. Do you find such sessions helpful, interesting, challenging… or ??
OG: It’s not something I’ve personally done before after a performance, to be honest, but I’ve certainly had some very useful chats with audiences and other creatives after readings.
I’m always keen to talk more about a play, and the influences and intentions that went into it. I hope that to a certain extent, the work can speak for itself, but I’ve certainly been to post-show Q&A’s that have opened up extra meaning and appreciation for me as an audience member.
Rehearsal images: Lucy Rayner-Toy
8. NEHiB: It sounds as if you have been teasing out the ideas in Disney Off Ice for a few years now. How important has the Telescope playwrighting program been for you in turning ‘a previous 10-minute absurdist farce Disney Off Ice [which] was produced by UQ Drama students in 2019’ into a fully developed, staged play?
OG: Yes, the concept had a life a number of years ago, as a 10-minute play, which helped me to realise that the idea works on stage… but also that it needs more time and space than 10 minutes. Observatory Theatre is a company that, I think, gravitates towards the kind of bold concepts found in absurd and even sci-fi theatre—so this story felt like a good fit from the start.
Through the Telescope program, I was able to have the time and collaborators to tease out all sorts of threads springing from this work. The readings and developments were so important in getting the play off the page and into voice and movement as much as possible, and from early in the process. Having that close dramaturgical support from Lachlan/Observatory and returning as well as fresh associate artists was a good balance of influences.
9. NEHiB: Do you have any advice for aspiring playwrights… including how to apply for the Telescope program ?
OG: Definitely apply for the Telescope program with some big, bold ideas, and as many development programs as you can. I think it’s worth spending some time researching which opportunities open when, and then mapping them out so you know when to apply for what.
Not getting most of them is definitely a part of being a writer and creative. But I think continuing to read, absorb and create whenever possible can keep you energised and excited as a theatre-maker.
10. NEHiB: What next—for Oliver Gough and for Disney Off Ice?
OG: Well, I’m looking forward to seeing the play come together towards the Observatory Season in late August, and to learning new things about the work through that process. We’ll see what happens next with this play from there!
I’ll be starting that PhD at UQ soon, so that’s an amazing chance to dive deeper into ecological performances and plays, in Australia and around the world. It’s not a practice-led project this time, so I’ll be able to work on the critical side of things there, and continue writing plays hopefully through commissions and productions like this. In the meantime, I hope we can present something exciting and entertaining with Disney Off Ice!
11. NEHiB: Thank you. All the best for the PhD studies—and for the Observatory Theatre production.
OG: Thank you
‘Disney Off Ice’ by Observatory Theatre plays at Studio 1, Yeerongpilly from 16 August to 1 September 2024.
