Mr Burns: A Post-Electric Play - Week 1

Standing on top of a sofa, holding a prop gun aloft and rapping Snoop Dogg: It can only be Week 1 of Mr Burns rehearsals.

The first day started as these things often do - with a circle of introductions. Name, role and (with an interesting twist on the format) Simpson’s character you feel most spiritually linked to. With that in mind, hi! I’m Ida, playing Maria, and I’m soul bonded to Milhouse. We both wear glasses and I highly relate to his infamous line “my mum says I’m cool”.

For the uninitiated, the eponymous Mr Burns of the play does in fact refer to the eccentric Springfield power plant owner. The piece explores how pop culture could survive an apocalyptic event and opens with a group of survivors entertaining themselves around a campfire while describing the events of Cape Feare. A truly *chef’s kiss* Simpsons ep.

Our director Omar Khan has been fantastic in his guidance through any heavy material. We’ve been tasked to research the effects of radiation poisoning AND then rehearsed a slick acapella version of “I like to move it (move it)” in the same day. The text is fantastically detailed and Omar takes the time to help each of us parse all the little clues we have to grasping our characters. I find myself having lots of sudden realisations as things click into place. It’s a play he’s wanted to tackle for a while and it shows in his slick and confident directing style and stream of ideas to try if anyone gets stuck. Like this:

I graduated from drama school in 2020, my final term was cancelled due to the ol’ Panny-D and I still feel like a very new professional-art-person. The imposter syndrome can get intense and I’m hard on myself when I don’t do everything perfectly on the first attempt. The rest of the cast is populated by such staggeringly talented people that just watching them work feels like being in a masterclass, and I look around wondering what clerical error allowed me to be in this room and have my name on the call sheet. But this team is so supportive, uplifting and kind that I see every challenge as an opportunity. And Omar especially is adept at working with actors of any experience level. The cast and production team make me feel like a veteran and push me to constantly raise my game.

The play is multidisciplinary and contains songs, movement, dancing and - best of all - me banging (playing?) a drum with skill and impressive intensity (watch for that with bated breath). I also dabble with some xylophone (hold on to your hats). We have worked through so much material in the first week alone, tackling 3 songs and ending the week with a run of the entire first third of the play. It feels like unheard of progress so I’m spending my day off counting down the hours until I can get back in the room again and get going on week two.

Written by Ida Regan