Preview-Elvis McGonagall-Not So Loud
25-11-13
By: Karen Cheung
Last week I had the opportunity to interview Tom Hope, co-founder of Not So Loud Theatre Company, about its upcoming show ELVIS MCGONAGALL: One Man & His Doggerel!
The making of Elvis McGonagall is material worthy of urban legend. As Richard Smith, a lawyer working in Hong Kong, he co-founded Not So Loud Theatre in 1990 with work-colleague Tom and a few others to stage their first self-penned show (‘HOME RUN’) at the HK Fringe Festival - then, so thrilled by the experience, he quit the law and made a home run of his own back to the UK to train as an actor. Mid-life crisis or inspiring tale of “never too late to pursue your dreams!”?
“Richard had seen me on stage at university, when he was too shy to act”, says Tom. “So I’m kind of to blame that he gave up this perfectly respectable sensible career for a life of itinerant entertainment. He’s not so shy no more, for sure!”
On a whim, Richard entered the UK Allcomer’s slam poetry competition of 2003 (he was visiting relatives in Cheltenham and thought it was some sort of village fete) as Elvis McGonagall, an amalgam of heroes Elvis Presley (generally considered the world’s greatest ever rock ‘n’ roll singer) and William McGonagall (generally considered the world’s worst ever professional poet). He ‘somehow finished runner up’, as his website puts it.
Scenting victory, he re-entered the following year and re-emerged UK champion. He took the UK title again in 2006. Pausing briefly to write more poetry, Elvis that same year won the World Slam poetry championships in Holland, with ‘I’M A BELIEVER’ – check out his untypically authentic Tony Blair accent here. And so, in barely 3 years, Elvis McGonagall had come from nowhere to be Champion Slam Poet of the World – which, as Tom says, was “a bit of a surprise to the rest of the world – and maybe Elvis too – but not me, cos I‘ve always thought him brilliantly funny – and funnily brilliant, for that matter”.
Slam poetry has broad appeal for a wide range of audiences. Elvis McG, as a regular at rock festivals (Glastonbury, etc.) alongside literary festivals (Cheltenham, etc.) has dual capacity for straight up amusement on the one hand, and insightful food for thought on the other.
“It’s entertainment in a ‘seriously fun way’ - it makes fun of serious things, but it can also take serious things seriously,” says Tom. “It’s for anybody who wants to see modern international politicians skewered by a man in a funny coat and a Scottish accent, anyone who likes a decent rhyme and a good laugh, and anyone who is, well, young – at heart“.
So why wait until now to bring Elvis back to Hong Kong?
‘We’re celebrating Not So Loud’s achievements over the last 20 + years by publishing an anthology of plays produced during that time – a Volume 1 – plus an ELDORADO(HK)! festival of readings from the anthology together with new works from HK dramatists - so why not turn the volume back up in other ways too? Elvis co-founded us and he is sort of ‘made in Hong Kong’ – and the tartan coat he always wears on stage was most definitely made in Hong Kong – and all that he does on stage is very dramatic – and original – a one man Not So Loud masterpiece, in fact!”
So – from UK to World Champion, from Edinburgh Fringe to BBC personality, from Cheltenham to Shanghai Literary Festivals and more, Not So Loud now brings this globe-hopping stand-up comedian/poet back to his artistic roots – as Tom puts it, “to see what more Elvis can do for Hong Kong - and what more Hong Kong can do for Elvis”.
ELVIS MCGONAGALL: One Man & His Doggerel! will be on each night at 7:45pm from the 10th to the 14th of December at the upstairs theatre of the Fringe Club. Standard tickets are $200, with additional discounts for Fringe Club members, full-time students, senior citizens, and the disabled with valid ID. You can get tickets through your nearest box office or the HKticketing website.
To find out more about this performance, click here.
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