Interview: Actor and creator Nathan Parkinson on POLICE COPS: THE MUSICAL
Photo credit: Pamela Raith (left)
With Police Cops: The Musical now playing at Southwark Playhouse Borough off the back of a successful Edinburgh Fringe run, we spoke to one of the show’s creators and stars, Nathan Parkinson, about the musical’s journey to London.
Please can you summarise what Police Cops: The Musical is about?
Police Cops: The Musical is an 80s buddy Cop blockbuster parody, as a musical. It’s about a young rookie cop who’s out to avenge his sister’s death and promises that he’ll become the best damn Police Cop ever. In order to do this, he teams up with a retired renegade Cop who has a mysterious past to fulfil the promise he made to his sister on her death bed and save America!
What made you want to put together a musical version of Police Cops?
We have been creating comedy shows for eight years and wanted to challenge our storytelling by using new formats. Our goal as a company has always been to entertain first. We’re all fans of musical theatre and thought this could be a good opportunity to work with a bigger team and more artists, which we have always wanted to explore.
What has been your favourite thing about doing the show at the famous Edinburgh Fringe?
We really try and put everything into our shows. Police Cops: The Musical is a combination of years of hard work; it’s actually an adaption of our first show! We worked throughout lockdown to create it and Southwark is the third iteration of the show. It’s allowed us to explore a lot of creative opportunities in order to make it the best it could possibly be. When you’ve worked on something for a few years, it’s always so rewarding to share it with audiences. Edinburgh Fringe have always been big supporters of us, and the festival gives you a platform to perform to thousands of people. We have a loyal fanbase in Edinburgh and we always love sharing our work with them.
What are you most looking forward to about bringing the show to London?
Some of the creative freedom. At Edinburgh Fringe, you’re constrained by a limited technical time when you open, which locks your show for the month, and we like to continue to play depending on the feedback we receive. We find our audiences act as another writer, editing the show with us every night.
The show has received great feedback at the Edinburgh Fringe. Why do you think it’s proven so popular?
Oh god, who knows! Maybe our commitment to entertain our audiences, probably our egos(?!) and definitely our low tolerance to boredom, which means we try and make people laugh every 5–10 seconds. We are known for our physical comedy and high gag rate…
Why do you think people should come and see Police Cops The Musical at the Southwark Playhouse?
It’s very accessible and has a broad appeal due to the nostalgia of that era. Our advice is to step away from your Netflix binge and come and enjoy some comedy together. Bring a friend, grab a pint and have a laugh!
Police Cops: The Musical plays at Southwark Playhouse Borough until 14 October, with further information here.
