BACKSTAGE AT FRINGE with Louisa Cusumano | PLAYING HAUS
- TW
- Sep 19
- 3 min read
In today's 'Backstage at Fringe', we spoke to Louisa Cusumano, Co-writer and Director of Playing Haus, which opens on September 30 at Theatre Works as a part of our Fringe 2025 season.
A play on the classic murder mystery genre, 'Playing Haus' is an original drag comedy about lust, greed, class and gender. 'Playing Haus' is a modern twist on classic queer stories with an emphasis on camp and satire. Theatrical, sexy, gory and absurd, this is whodunnit is a burlesque, drag, black comedy, horror and pantomime show in one, where the culprit and victim are the least important facet of the story.
Q: Take us back to the start. When did this show first drop into your head? How did it get to where it is now?
A: I had always wanted to write a murder mystery, since I was 14 and I watched the 1985 cult classic, Clue. It’s a genre that I find totally absurd and has elements of all my favourite bits of theatre and storytelling. With its outrageous plots, soap-opera level dramatics, lavish settings, ridiculously suspicious characters and a healthy dose of camp! So, I pitched the idea of a drag murder mystery to my creative partners of VILE production co. and we set off from there.
Q: What will audiences find in your show that they won't find anywhere else in fringe?
A: This show is the stupidest thing that has ever been written. I can promise you there is not a more stupid show out there, nor will there ever be. Just when you think these characters are about to do something that would make sense, they don’t. The world is familiar, traditional, yet completely and utterly absurd and homosexual in nature. Everything is gay, even the chaise lounge.
Q: What will surprise audiences about this work?
A: There’s a lot that is surprising in this show, it’s a murder mystery! The story is shockingly foolish and the dialogue is outrageous. I think the audience will find themselves saying; did that really just happen? Beyond the various gags, what will truly surprise audiences about this show is the layers to it. On the surface it’s a campy comedy whodunnit, but as you sit with these characters and get deeper and deeper into this totally absurd world we’ve built, you find they’re saying a lot more than what may appear. Each character, a reflection of the best and worst parts of the world.
Q: You're on a blind date. Nervously, you walk into the bar. Across the smoke and pool tables you see them - there they are. Your exact target audience member, personified. Can you describe them?
A: This show was made for young queer people with absolutely filthy stupid senses of humour. A person with impeccable taste, (the design is to die for!) but for those who don’t take life too seriously, who can enjoy a story that starts out ridiculous and gets even more ridiculous, because essentially, that is Playing Haus. It’s a parody of a parody of a parody. Our jokes are crude, gay, mean spirited, horny and sinful. So ideally, our target audience members would share all of these wonderful attributes.
Q: What has been the most memorable moment in your process to this point?
A: I’d have to say the most memorable moment was that first table read. Ez and I had been writing for a couple of months and we were so excited to see what the rest of the cast thought of the work. It was an incredible night that was the start of what has been one of the most stupid fun rehearsal processes! We laughed so hard that night and seeing everyone give a first taste of the crazy magnanimous characters was a thrill I can’t wait for our audience to experience for themselves.
Playing Haus plays at Theatre Works from September 30 - October 5. Stay tuned to the Theatre Works Backstage Blog, where we have loads more Backstage at Fringe content on the way!
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