Interview: Molly Osborne on INDECENT at Menier Chocolate Factory

The UK premiere of Paula Vogel's Indecent is now in previews at the Menier Chocolate Factory, with an official opening on 13 September.

We were lucky enough to speak to Molly Osborne who plays The Ingenue (Female) to talk about her appearance in such a powerful piece of writing.

For those who might be unfamiliar with the play, can you please tell us what Indecent is about. 

Indecent shows us how art can change a person’s life. The story follows Yiddish playwright Sholem Asch, from his bedroom in Warsaw in 1907, who’s first play The God of Vengeance transcends the time he wrote it in. As we follow the true story of what happened to the play, Indecent paints a painfully honest picture of immigration and assimilation, identity trauma and shame, and most of all how even among hatred, living for what we love can set us free. 

This is the first time the show has been performed in the UK. Does that come with added pressure after it was such a success on Broadway?

It’s so exciting to be sharing this story here in London, and with its own context, too. We stand with gratitude on the shoulders of the Broadway company who discovered these tracks at the play’s inception. We certainly feel their spirits in the piece. It also feels hugely informed by all that’s been happening in the world since we last picked it up, making it feel individual to these times. 

You were only a couple of previews into your London run last time when the pandemic hit and the show had to close. How did that feel at the time? 

It was devastating, as it was for everyone. We had poured ourselves into it. In my heart, I trusted that the Menier would revisit Indecent. At the time, I thought perhaps that could be in a month...seventeen months later, we returned. It means so much to us that we could come back after such uncertainty and I am so grateful to the Menier for their handling of the situation. 

Does the intimate Menier setting add to the feel of the piece? 

Certainly. The character, Lemmel, The God of Vengeance’s beloved stage manager, explains how art belongs to the people who take the time to come and see it. We watch audiences bravely come in every night and it does feel like magic. They certainly become a part of the piece, and being able to see and feel them makes it a mutual shared experience between the players and the audience; unique each night. Not only that, but the essence of the Menier, being such an old building itself, creates the rustic atmosphere perfect for our attic playground.

Both Fiddler on the Roof (which you previously starred in) and Indecent are based around Jewish culture. How important is it for you to represent this? 

It is such an honour to be a part of Jewish stories onstage, stories that so deserve the space and time to be told. I feel connected to stories of immigration through my own heritage, though I myself am not of Jewish heritage. I have had many conversations about casting and how important it is for a company to be collectively and predominantly speaking with a Jewish voice when creating a piece of art for that very purpose. Regarding Indecent, this is certainly the case. It is therefore so important to me to become a vessel for that voice and to bring these beautiful stories to our audiences. 

Tell us about your character in Indecent, The Ingenue (Female). 

The Ingenue role features eight named characters, among other fun personas to present a different time or place throughout the play. Paula has written a track that encompasses young, ambitious, fiery women who all have their own nuances and challenges throughout the story. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to tackle such a track and to embody the spirit of real people who lived these lives. 

You are part of a phenomenal ensemble cast. How has the creative process been? 

I feel as though I’m taking a masterclass everyday. It is an absolute joy to know and work with this group of people. Watching everyone’s process and learning from this experience is invaluable to me. I have fallen in love. 

What do you think it is about the play that made it such a critically acclaimed success in America? 

The audience experience is unlike any other. Not only has Paula written characters and dialogue that are/is so moving, but the way these characters are presented and the devices used by Paula and Rebecca that mesh the story together are wonderfully entertaining. The piece is incredibly vibrant and bursting with joy. I am still noticing things about the piece I hadn’t yet seen before, you’d have to watch it a handful of times to fully appreciate the meticulous detail the creatives have so brilliantly knitted into the piece. 

How would you encourage audiences to buy a ticket for Indecent? 

For me, Indecent is intensely inspiring. If nothing else you will leave thirsty for the life you have, and after all that’s happened I think our audiences deserve as such.

Indecent runs at the Menier Chocolate Factory until 27 November 2021. To book tickets, please click here.