In Conversation with Louis Prandolini & Hugo Postregna | Young Squizzy and McRizz: The World Tour
In today's Backstage at Fringe, we speak to Louis Prandolini & Hugo Postregna about Young Squizzy & McRizz: The World Tour, which comes to Explosives Factory next week as part of our Melbourne Fringe Festival Hub!
The brainchild of Louis Prandolini and Hugo Postregna (The Gen Z Comedy Talent-O-Rama!, Louis Prandolini Cracks a Cold Case), 'McSquizz' was conceived as a series of concept albums, EPs, and extended bits in 2025. For the first time, Prandolini and Postregna are taking this fantastical world LIVE, retelling the story of the album in an exciting theatrical space, pushing the limits of live theatre this Fringe.
Q: Welcome to Theatre Works! How are preparations going so far?
HUGO: I think it's going great! It's always a mad scramble as Fringe approaches, we've been lucky enough to have a really great cast working with us throughout the chaos.
LOUIS: Turning our show from a series of bits into an actual theatrical experience with Explosives Factory has been a dream come true (although we still try and keep as many bits going as possible!)
Q: You're sitting in a bar on a warm October night. Eyes drifting across the room, softly swirling your drink in your hands, and bam. There they are. Your exact target audience member. Can you describe them?
LOUIS: Probably a little mentally ill, if we're being sincere.
HUGO: Chronically online, for sure.
LOUIS: A lot of people think that our show being about two up-and-coming rappers puts us in a specifc niche, but you'd be suprised by how much the show actually covers. Not wanting to reveal too much as the show has a lot of twists... but so long as you're keen for a subversive time, you're our ideal audience member!
Q: What will audiences find in your show that they can't find anywhere else at Fringe?
LOUIS: I don't think a show like this has happened ever. We're combining a really creative premise (the rap concert angle) and injecting it with humour from internet culture.
HUGO: Agreed. We're touching on some relevant topics, especially with technology, AI, and the lack of community you see in a digital era.
LOUIS: It's cool to come at it from the perspective of being a digital native, and what that means for art. This is stuff you'd typically find discourse about online, but by bringing it to the stage, it's a really sick way to recontextualise these themes.
HUGO: And prove that digital culture is art.
Q: What will surprise audiences about this work?
HUGO: I'll let you in on a secret, we jump the shark pretty early on.
LOUIS: (laughs) Yeah, and then we jump that shark, too. We've got a really strong thematic throughline to get us to the finish line, but plot-wise the show is so much more than just a rap concert. We've given our rapper characters a sort of modern day Odyssey, just this crazy quest.
HUGO: An epic.
Q: What has been the most memorable moment in your process so far?
LOUIS: This has been a 3 year journey, so there's so many parts to consider. I think recording our debut album McSquizz (out on all platforms) was the first time that these rapper characters felt real. We would rap these crazy bars and just be in tears from laughter the whole time.
HUGO: I didn't know the creative process could be so fun. For me, I think the most memorable moment has been getting the cast together for our first read-through. Again on Louis' point of having this world feel real.
LOUIS: We've really fleshed out the 'McSquizz' Universe, with our own fictional record label (Big Fanta Records), albums and EPs, and even music videos in the lead-up to this year's Fringe.
HUGO: Viva la Fringe!
Young Squizzy and McRizz: The World Tour plays at Explosives Factory 6 - 10 October as a part of Melbourne Fringe.
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