Intervu Montselier
“Montselier” Poster
I sat down with Cathy Wippell to talk to her about her one woman show: Montselier
“It was such an unconventional process - I never set out going ‘Right, I’m going to make a solo show musical about the last accordionist of the apocalypse’.”
Montselier is a dark comedy about a travelling accordionist as they navigate what remains of a post-apocalyptic UK. It boasts an impressive original score, all composed by Cathy.
I ask them about their process behind the show:
Boldly, Cathy tells me that “Montselier is my debut solo show and first venture into playwriting.” It started off originally as just one song. But then, “Nina, who runs Grimfest, got in touch with me, asking if I wanted to do anything for their scratch night for 2023.” And as the piece expanded, “Montselier emerged as a character.”
Cathy reflects about how she felt during the process of turning Monstelier into a full length piece, “At first I thought god, I could never do that - I’m from a screenwriting background, and writing a solo show was just never something I’d considered. But as the idea settled, I just started writing bits here and there.” She goes on to say to me that, “it’s pretty weird and surreal in parts!” Before adding happily, “But eventually it developed into this one woman show and now here I am! It’s really thanks to Nina and Grimfest that the show exists at all.”
Although this is Cathy first play, by no means is it her first creative project:
Cathy is “ a writer-actor with a background in activism.” She even runs “a film production company called Silicon Gothic” alongside its co-founder, Joseph Archer. The company aims to “'monstify' modern day issues like water pollution, climate change and fake news through the horror genre. Our previous projects have seen us working with top talent like Stephen Fry, receiving funding from BFI Network, GENERA and the British Council, as well as being featured in BFI Sight and Sound Magazine, BAFTA Albert, Sky News and being invited to talk at the University of Cambridge.”
I ask them if this show is similar to anything they have ever worked on before:
“Honestly, my work varies a lot. It’s my only solo show (though I've got a loose idea I’m developing for a new one), so that makes it very different I suppose.” She goes on to tell me, “But, tonally, I do write a lot of work set amongst climate disasters or with something threatening about the landscape the characters inhabit.” She surmises candidly, “I guess I’m interested in the way humans interact with their environment, and examining the toxic relationships and behavior patterns we have with our own ecosystem.” Honing in on the show, she tells me, “Montselier takes place after all of that - the play begins at the end of time, at the end of the world. I suppose that’s an aspect of it which is quite different to my other work.”
“Montselier”
I ask her why should people come and see Montselier:
Grinning, she says, “Because it’s fun! Well, it’s fun if you have a very dark sense of humour, which I do.” Intriguingly, she tells me “This Grimfest version is actually a bit different to the one I took to Edinburgh.” They go on to tell me all what is new in the show, which includes “a new beginning which involves a post apocalyptic striptease.”
The reason for these changes has to do with how long she has been running Montselier. She tells me that, “I wanted to do something a bit different with the show over anything else. I’ve performed it about ten times now and I wanted to shake things up a bit!”
I ask Cathy what she wants people to take away from the show:
“I’d rather not say - I think you can take a lot of different things away from the play, and the vast majority of audience members, from speaking to them after the show, have actually taken the thing away which I wanted them to.” She responds coyly before going on to say even more coyly, “But to find out what that is, you’ll have to come and see it!”
I ask if Cathy excited to see anything else at the moment:
She tells me that it’s been hectic for her recently but she is “aiming to try and catch Pickman’s Super Model and How Tiny met Barry, which are also at Baron’s Court Theatre.” Emphatically she tells me, “There’s so much amazing theatre going on, I wish I could see it all!”
“Montselier”
I ask them if they have any advice for anyone else making their start in the creative industries:
Be yourself! And make work about the things that make you angry! (What an excellently quotable reply)
Finally, I ask them what’s next:
Cathy tells me, “I’ve just come back from Sitges Film Festival where we were selected as part of their FanPitch programme to pitch our eco-horror ‘Black Samphire’, so hopefully more progressions on that front. We’re aiming to shoot in the second quarter of next year.” Buzzing, they go on, “I’ve also got a couple of acting jobs coming up in November on two feature films (both spooky in their own right) so that’s exciting.” With happiness and a tiny bit of exhaustion, she finishes up by telling me, “It’s been a super busy year for me, so I’m also looking forward to a well earned rest in December!”
Tickets for Montselier can be found here: https://app.lineupnow.com/event/cabaret-for-the-end-of-the-world-2
The Social media handle for Montselier is: https://www.instagram.com/montselier/
The Social media handle for Cathy Wippell is: https://www.instagram.com/cathywippell/
“Montselier”
