"I never thought I fIt into the traditional ‘musical theatre’ world or style before but this blurring of the musical genre has defInitely made it more accessible for me." Arriving next week direct from Sydney is the highly acclaimed musical-comedy Not Today written by and featuring Ally Morgan.
Q: Can you please introduce yourself and how you got into comedy?
A: Hello! My name is Ally Morgan (she/her) I’m a pansexual singer songwriter actor writer person from Eora (Sydney). I got into comedy kinda by accident… it happened when I wrote a parody song of PART OF YOUR WORLD from The Little Mermaid. Instead of it being about Ariel wanting legs I changed it to her wanting a vagina (and an orgasm). After I performed it someone recognised me and said “Oh! you’re the musical comedian!" I’d never thought of myself like that before…
Q: What do you most enjoy about writing and performing your own work?
A: I like how it allows me to explore themes that feel deeply relevant to me (because I wrote them lol). It’s almost like a shortcut to my acting work then too… I don’t have to try and work hard to “connect to the character”. I already do. Writing and performing my own work has given me the opportunity to talk about my lived experience and also about topics I think, we as a society, need to address…
Q: What did you want to explore with Not Today?
A: Climate Change and its impact on peoples mental health, especially in young people. For quite a few years I felt like no one around me was ready or able to engage in a conversation about it, and I was much further along on my journey of understanding it’s urgency than those around me. And there’s something quite lonely about being aware of a huge scary issue but having no one else in your world to express that fear to. I think a lot of people feel that way at some point, especially in Australia where we are still fighting to prove that climate change is a real issue…
Q: The show is described as an ‘almost one-woman cabaret’ – is storytelling through music and songs something you are naturally drawn to?
A: I wasn’t always conscious of it but I’ve written songs my whole life… and my songs have always told stories within them. So I’d say yes, definitely. Especially now that we see people experimenting with the musical form. I never thought I fit into the traditional ‘musical theatre’ world or style before but this blurring of the musical genre has definitely made it more accessible for me. I’ve been able to incorporate the genres I love (folk/rock/pop) into this storytelling which enriches the stories so much more! I am also interested in the role storytelling through music can play on screen too.
Q: Funniest comedian of all-time?
Ooooh this is bloody hard but I love KRISTEN WIIG so much.
Q: A world without laughter would be…
Very tense. How would I mask my social anxiety? Or defuse a tense situation? Or find the bright side in things!!! Nah a world without laughter would be awkward and INTENSE. No thank you. Laughter for me pls.
