Q&A: EDINBURGH 2024: Joel Baxendale on WEREWOLF

BWW caught up with Joel Baxendale about bringing Werewolf to the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

How did you first get involved in the world of theatre?

We formed the company in 2008 whilst studying theatre at university in Wellington (New Zealand), and went on to win Best Newcomers in the NZ Fringe that year. Everyone in the company has always also been involved in other areas of the arts but Binge Culture is the vehicle where we can bring all our interests together.

What inspired the creation of Werewolf?

Werewolf was inspired by the party game of the same name, also sometimes known as Mafia. We loved what that game brings out in people and wanted to build that traitor mechanic into a crafted story. We also kept the cards, which we've adapted to work for a show format.

What has the creative process been like for Werewolf?

We've done several seasons of the show and each time we've taken the opportunity to develop it further based on what we learned from the last time; leaning more into certain aspects and tweaking the narrative and audience interactions. The performance is semi-improvised, so at the start, it was probably 40% set and 60% improvised, but that ratio has roughly reversed over time as we've seen what landed best.

How did you decide to have Werewolf be both a comedy and a thriller?

In life, we always find black humour, even in the darkest moments, so it seemed only natural that there should be the same in the setting of this show. Theatrically, moments of lightness help create a bigger shift when it gets scary. Because of the high-stakes situation and clashing personalities of the characters, there's ample opportunity for tensions to spill over, which is also very funny to watch. 

How do you go about encouraging audience participation while still keeping things under control?

From the beginning of Binge Culture, we made it our motto to give the audience real stakes in every performance. Over many years, one of the things we've discovered is that setting a show in a familiar context and tapping into the audience's experience of how to operate in that context can intuitively establish parameters for engagement. So in Werewolf, the audience have gathered in a “safe house;” seated in a circle, they are all part of the community that have to get through together. The actors are also part of the community, but they have just a bit more authority than the audience - basically the equivalent of fire wardens - so this lets us scaffold when the space is controlled and when it's a free-for-all. Combined with the audience cards, we can make sure everyone gets a hero moment, even if they're just doing the minimum. 

What is it like bringing a show up to the Edinburgh Fringe from New Zealand?

Because of the added expense of the travel, the stakes are high. We've been once before in 2017 and we brought three separate shows, taking the approach of "throw shit at the wall and see what sticks" (turned out five-hour long improvised breakups dressed as bananas is what stuck). This time, we've tried to be strategic about what we think will work well in the Fringe context and also to bring a show that we love performing again and again. 

What do you hope audiences take away from Werewolf?

An opportunity to playfully experience how they and others behave in a fictional crisis, alongside genuine moments of pure terror. 

How would you describe Werewolf in one word?

Cathartic.

Werewolf runs from 1 to 26 August (no performances on 12 or 19 August) at Summhall - Former Womens Locker Room at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Photo Credit: Lewis Ferris

 

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