Paul McDermott says the show has ruffled more than a few feathers. Photo: Glenn Moorhouse.
Paul McDermott (Doug Anthony All Stars, Good News Week) and his music director Glenn Moorhouse will take over the Playhouse Theatre on Friday, 17 November, for their new show Blood Orange, but they won’t be talking about citrus.
After two years of shows focusing on the implications and reactions to the pandemic, Glenn says they’re ready to put out a more scathing take on the happenings of today. For the pair’s third collaboration as Paul McDermott Plus One, they look beyond the land of sweeping plains to discuss the rise of women, masturbation, and the fall of the British and American empires.
Since last year they’ve been working on the songs and concepts, which Paul admits to being very concerned about showing to any audience until they had their first performance. Both of them say they never intend to upset anyone, but the show’s topics have ruffled the feathers of some crowd participants.
“The lack of knowledge that we have about what women experience over the course of their lifetimes is terrible, so there are two songs about periods, blood, and the rise of women,” Paul says.
“We did it at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and had so many positive reactions because we’re not just talking but singing about it, which makes it even weirder.
“It’s a part of the show men feel generally uncomfortable and the women Amazonian. And that’s the beauty of this strange exploration of something that 50 per cent of our world goes through every month.”
This month (October), the pair have been working on ideas to pitch and commission with the Canberra Theatre Centre for their fourth project together. Photo: James Day.
In the show’s first 20 minutes, Paul and Glenn appeal to all those looking for a rallying cry against the idiocy happening on both sides of the Atlantic. But as staunch anti-monarchists, they do make their position quite clearly in favour of a republic.
As Glenn explains: “It’s pretty earthy and strong material, so the bit goes down incredibly well with the Scots, Irish and Welsh. We always ask the crowd if there are any English in the room, and most of them tend to love it, but we did have a couple of their tourists walk out of our Byron Bay show.”
As for their last topic, the pair only disclose there will be a discussion on celebrity chef Pete Evans, sensory deprivation tanks, and wellness facilities not cleaned “fastidiously”.
Both agree their creative partnership has successfully developed its own voice, crediting the lack of ego between each other as allowing them to serve the idea. However, Paul says their three-year relationship is still new and growing, with plenty of places to go.
“Glenn has been in bands all his life and is just incredible on stage. I’ve been in a number of different groups and worked with a lot of people, but I’ve never found anyone who is as intimately connected to the way I think and write.
“There’s very little script in these shows with a lot of abstract and ad-lib stuff that he’s always great at reacting or contributing to. He never diminishes anything and always adds to an idea, which brings so much more life to a performance.”
For their show next month, Paul says there’ll be a pack of 20 to 40 McDermotts in the crowd from the Tuggeranong Valley.
“There’s a couple of songs we have about Canberra. If the audience loves us, we’ll do two.”
“And if they don’t, we’ll do eight,” Glenn adds.
Tickets for Paul Plus One: Blood Orange on Friday, 17 November, at the Playhouse Theatre are available from the Canberra Theatre Centre.
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