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Interviews
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The Wild Bunch Philip Fisher interviews John Clancy, Nancy Walsh and Paul Urcioli of Americana Absurdum It is quite hard to contemplate the possibility that there are still methods of selling plays that theatre publicists have not tapped. Habitués of the South Bank of the Thames last week were baffled by yet another protest march. In this particular case, the placards said "Stop Americana Absurdum" and the irate screaming was led by an American. The man who was so keen and to prevent the public from attending performances of Americana Absurdum bore striking resemblance to the play's director, John Clancy. The woman following at a discreet distance with her head in her hands was Nancy Walsh and the people handing out documents that might have been interpreted as flyers by the ignorant were the cast members and their friends. This little insight into the way in which Clancy Productions operates would suggest that they are no ordinary theatre company and the pair of plays that make up Americana Absurdum might be something unusual. These impressions are both absolutely correct. The two plays are biting satires on the American Dream and rely on John Clancy's 100 mph direction not to mention a few flashlights for their dramatic effect. The jokes fly thick and fast and the performers hardly have time to take breath. It was not always so. John Clancy and Paul Urcioli met in the late 1980s playing in The Tempest in a company that also included David Calvitto, with whom they are still working today and Patrick Stewart who deserted them for better (or different anyway) things. However, Stewart almost didn't make it. An overly vigorous game of touch football nearly ended in tragedy as the future film star practically lost his nose and his life to a flying Clancy. "I almost killed him just before he made it big in Star Trek" says the unapologetic hitman. John Clancy and his wife, Nancy Walsh who stars in the plays, married and set up The Present Company in the early 1990s. Their first gig was in an illegal speakeasy on the Lower East Side. The Piano Store was behind the emporium that gave its name. It was the kind of bar where handguns were de rigueur and somebody decided that in order to making it legitimate, they needed a late evening show. This was such a success that "people kept coming so we transferred to theatres". In 1993, the couple met Brian Parks, a playwright who had previously been the theatre critic of the Village Voice. The off-off-Broadway theatre, Nada Downtown, needed a play for the New Year and approached the Clancys just before Christmas. Remarkably, they literally went through their address book and a combination of school friends, teaching pals and people with whom Nancy had worked in the Soaps came together to make up a 10 strong cast. After two weeks of rehearsals, Americana Absurdum was born. By the time that it left the theatre, it had become the second most successful show in its history. The way that Brian Parks approached writing a play was refreshing. He regarded Vomit and Roses, the first play in what is now Americana Absurdum, as a revenge on all of the dull theatre productions that he had been forced to sit through during his career with the Voice. As Nancy Walsh is keen to point out "no scene is longer than 90 seconds". Paul Urcioli continued by explaining that the underlying ethos was that the plays were "short, rude and won't ruin your evening". While there are now apparently several cultural influences that can be seen in the plays, it soon becomes apparent that these are all newer than Americana Absurdum. People point out similarities with both South Park and Six Feet Under and this can annoy the team to such an extent that, as Urcioli points out, "I can't even watch Six Feet Under because I get angry". By 1996, everyone was telling Clancy that he ought to take the shows to Edinburgh for the Fringe. When he established that taking a cast of 10 people across the Atlantic for three weeks would cost $30,000 his immediate reaction was to give up. After a little more thought, he and a group of friends put together the inaugural New York Fringe Festival in 1997. This was an overwhelming success from its earliest roots. A small advertisement in Backstage, the American equivalent of The Stage newspaper, attracted 350 people to the first meeting to discuss the project. In this way, John Clancy is proud to boast that "Americana Absurdum gave birth to the New York Fringe". This festival now features about 200 shows at 25 theatres each August. Life is looking good for the team. They have Fringe Firsts coming out of their ears for shows such as this one, another by Brian Parks, Horse Country and Nancy Walsh's solo show, Cincinnati. The various shows have toured Australia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Scotland not to mention New York and London. They are all timeless. There is little doubt that Americana Absurdum still has enough life to go on for many more years, as long as American politicians continue to act in character. There will be a change this August, as the company returns to Edinburgh with a new show, Fatboy written and directed by Clancy himself. It will surprise few people to know that this is another satire on American politics and society. Before that hits the Assembly Rooms, there is still plenty of time to see the current show at the wonderful Menier Chocolate Factory in Southwark, a venue likened by Clancy to Off Broadway theatres like PS 122. There is general agreement amongst the trio that touring is fun and life in London is great. The only slight reservation that they have is expressed by Nancy Walsh who plaintively complains that "I miss Fat Bunny". Surprisingly, this turns out to be her much loved cat, not the title of their last show. Go and see them in action, Americana Absurdum is great fun and they are lovely people.
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