The acclaimed songwriting duo brings one of their most personal experiences under the spotlight through this new original musical transferring to London next month. Guillermo Nazara chats with the team about the development of the show, to learn all the fun facts about a piece that’s been a transformation for audiences and creatives alike.
Dear Evan Hansen, Next To Normal and now No Love Songs. It seems like exploring themes related to mental health has become a trend in musical theatre recently, don’t you think?
LW: Yes! I think the reason why is our generation. Mental health and mental problems have always been around, but obviously back in the day people didn’t talk about it as much as we do now. Our generation is much more open about it and that’s why more shows dealing with it keep coming. People are more willing to have conversations about it and that’s what they want to see – especially men. We’ve had lots of men that have come watch the show and have approached us to comment about it and tell us how they felt. Society has always projected more weirdness towards men when it comes to mental health – like they’re not allowed to talk or take care of it. So I think the reaction this show is triggering is definitely a good thing.
What prompted you to write this musical?
LW: It’s based on our own experiences. We had originally written an album for our daughter. But Kyle has always been passionate about musicals – growing up with his family’s love for that genre. So transforming it into a show had always been in our bucket list. When he told me that he really wanted to turn this album into a stage piece, I was completely up for it! But we knew that the show needed to focus on what the songs were all about. It had to fall into that place. Otherwise, it wouldn’t feel authentic if we had made up another story to go along with it.
Are there any fictional elements in this story or is it entirely true?
LW: The complete baseline of the story is actually our story – both the events and emotions we went through. We’ve added on some dramatic elements to help build the plot. It’s still our own personal tale, but we’ve changed names, the baby’s gender (which confused a few family members), etc. We tried to distance away from reality a bit for own sake too – because otherwise it would have been too heavy for us. But certainly, the journey and experiences that the characters go through is really what happened to us.
As you mentioned before, this show has already been performed prior to its coming to London. Are you using this transfer as an opportunity to make any changes?
KF: We have a new actor! Our original actress, who’s been with us from the beginning, sadly couldn’t commit to this run because of her busy schedule. So now we have the wonderful Anna Russel Martin as one of the leads. We haven’t seen her yet, except for some video clips – but she’s currently in rehearsals and we’re so excited! The writing, however, has remained pretty much the same.
What have you learned from the process of writing this musical?
KF: The importance of listening to your team. When I started working on it, I was thinking all the time: “Oh, I’m gonna do this! I’m gonna change that!”. It’s understandable, though, because it’s your own personal story and you want it to be told in a certain way. Normally, when I do an album with my band, there’s no one else to discuss decisions with. But it’s been good to be sitting on the bench and watch the process – heading back and forward.
LW: We’ve been working in direct collaboration with book writer John McKnight. That’s been a completely new and learning experience for me because I’d never done that before. It’s been like a foot in the door: he’s given me lots and lots of tips and it’s been a really amazing process from the start. It’s definitely allowed me myself to explore other platforms and open to new opportunities, as well as creatively stimulating.
Have you found any particular challenges in the creation of this show?
LW: I think that would be the emotional side when we wrote it. When we all sat down for the first time, it was like a therapy session. But I haven’t found it difficult in any way.
KF: It’s been cathartic, but also awkward at the start, because we knew the story well and we wanted to add more elements and depth. But everyone else in the creative team were bumping into that tale for the first time. But when you’re so honest to what you’re writing, there’s nothing else to do – it just takes time to feel more comfortable with the rest of the people involved, and to see how they react to what happened to you.
LW: We’ve actually felt very supported by the rest of the team. They’ve told us in fact that it’s not always that easy! But we do have great colleagues so the process has been very smooth and, above all, brilliant!
What, would you say, makes this musical unique in comparison to the rest?
LW: I think it’s the style. The show has a blend between an album and a show. There’s musicals that follow this formula, but not always do all the numbers land. Here, I think the flow is really good and everything feels so natural. The way Kyle writes is very theatrical, in any case, so I think we’ve done very well putting all the pieces together. It’s earthy and emotional, but it also coming from an artist with a distinctive voice. Many people don’t know what they’re coming for, and it’s usually a very pleasant surprise to them when they discover it. I think that makes it quite special.
If you had to give me one single reason to come see No Love Songs, which one would it be?
LW: It’s emotional, it’s funny and uplifting. All the feedback that we’ve had makes us think that it’s very enjoyable. It’s definitely a journey that you’ll go through when coming to see it!
No Love Songs will play at London’s Southwark Playhouse Elephant from Tuesday 4 – Saturday 15 June. Tickets are available on the following link.