Interview with Eliot Salt and Jude Mack

Eliot Salt and Jude Mack from Deadpan Theatre take some time to talk to Voice about their show, inspirations, and give advice to young people.

Interview with Eliot Salt and Jude Mack

Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?

Hello, we're Eliot Salt and Jude Mack. We're a writing/performing partnership and we do comedy plays and screenwriting. We're toying with calling ourselves Mack & Salt but we're worried that we'll sound like a condiment brand.

How would you describe your show?

It's a dark comedy with an original soundtrack.

It follows Polly and Eve, who have a surprisingly hilarious time travelling the UK with their best friend's ashes in a Wizard of Oz lunchbox.

At Dylan's funeral, they are handed the box along with posthumous instructions to take him on the UK road trip he never got to go on. The two women haven't spoken after a friendship destroying argument several years ago and on top of some devastating grief, this is not ideal. Their journey is narrated by an onstage band called 'Party in the Sky', led by Dylan, who soundtrack the trip and fill in some blanks from the past.

As they deal with loss, life and a number of questionable regional representatives, the reason for their original separation looms large again; there's a thin line between love and hate, but is it too late to rectify their mistakes?

Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

It's the number one destination for brand new voices in theatre and comedy, and we think we absolutely fit the bill. Even aside from the opportunity to showcase our work, it's amazing to see and be inspired by all these up-and-coming people and ideas.

What differentiates it from other festivals?

It's huge and varied and has been the first port of call for an unbelievable host of talent for years now. It makes the names of mainstream successes and niche cult favourites, so it's really bringing anything and everything to the table.

Do you think the Fringe has changed over the years? If so, how? Are these changes positive or negative?

Well we're pretty new to the whole scene, as we've only been performing at the Fringe for the last 4 years. In that time the number of shows has definitely increased which sometimes makes it tricky to find the shows outside of the 'big names' that might be an absolute gem. With that increase in shows there has definitely been a major rise in brilliant female-led productions though which has been massively great to see. Anything that has had the stratospheric growth in scale and international renown that the Edinburgh fringe has had is going to experience positive and negative effects of that change. We expect when we're catapulted into worldwide fame we'll also struggle to deal with our wild, escalating popularity.

What first motivated you to enter the industry? Who were your inspirations?

Well Eliot grew up watching Judy Garland and was totally obsessed with her and has never stopped wanting to be her. The heavy Wizard of Oz theme in 'Third Wheel' reflects this love. We then both individually became quite obsessed with people like French & Saunders and Victoria Wood and more recently, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and Mindy Kaling and all of these brilliant, hilarious women and then we met each other and thought hey, that works. We were both inspired to write and take some control over our place in the industry.

If you didn't have your current job, what would you probably be doing?

Salt: I always wanted to be a Private Detective growing up, but when I actually left University last year I was a terrible receptionist who failed to successfully investigate the case of the missing office staple gun…so those are 2 career paths that would no longer be open to me…

Mack: I was very keen on being a doctor until I realised I hate any type of gore and don't like children or people.

If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

Salt: All of Olivia Colman's jobs

Mack: Ooh yeah with a sprinkling of some of Tom Hardy's roles for good measure

What is your earliest childhood art memory?

Salt: I remember having a dream that I was a baby in my cot and my 3 year-old (I think at the time, present day) self came in to say hello. I played around with non-linear narratives and multi-roling from a very early age.

Mack: I remember watching Singing in the Rain as a very young kid and suddenly realising tap dancing is the highest form of magic

Do you ever feel any pressure to be a social commentator, or constantly update material to respond to events?

Not really because we don't see ourselves as always aiming to create particularly topical material, not as a priority anyway. We try to be relevant by using bits of our own experiences and those of people we know, but we're more invested in the details of humans rather than the topical bigger picture. We feel we have more funny and truthful things to say about young people scrambling through the world than we do about current affairs.

Equally, do you think there has been a shift in public sentiment that has affected your work?

We're pretty new to the scene but we don't think up until quite recently we would have been able to tell LGBT stories in the same casual, incidental way that we're now able to and have so many people be on board!

Describe the last year in 5 words or less?

Inconsistent Commitment to Packed Lunches

If you could work with anybody, from any point in history, who would you pick and why?

Judy Garland. See above.

Why would a performer opt to do either a ticketed event or participate in the free fringe? What are the benefits and limitations of both?

Free Fringe is brilliant because it costs less but you have less control over your venue and less help in getting people in. Ticketed can be an easier sell with a good venue behind you but it is horrendously expensive.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to take a show up to the fringe?

Make sure you really like it because you have to spend a lot of time convincing people to see it. Definitely talk to people on the phone who don't care about theatre every so often or you'll be drawn into a nightmare bubble where 3 or 4 stars from Broadway Baby are a life or death situation. Pre-book the things you really want to see so you definitely get round to it. Eat at the Mosque Kitchen.

When and where can people see your show?

'Third Wheel' is on in Gilded Balloon Teviot- Dining Room, 2nd-27th August at 2pm

And where can people find, follow and like you online?

Our twitter's are @judevmack and @eliotsalt

Deadpan Theatre perform Third Wheel at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at Gilded Balloon, Dining Room from 2nd -27th Aug at 14:00. More info and tickets are available at www.deadpantheatreco.co.uk

Author

Tom Inniss

Tom Inniss Voice Team

Tom is the Editor of Voice. He is a politics graduate and holds a masters in journalism, with particular interest in youth political engagement and technology. He is also a mentor to our Voice Contributors, and champions our festivals programme, including the reporter team at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

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