Welcome back to our Offbeat Spotlight series. Over the next few days we're highlighting all the strange and wonderful things that the Offbeat Festival has to offer. The Offbeat Festival runs from the 9th-15th of September, and is a collaboration between The Old Fire Station, Oxford Playhouse, New Theatre and Gloucester Green Market. In addition to a multitude of shows, there are also workshops, and exhibition, late night events including a poetry slam, comedy scratch night, and listening party, and more.
Here, we catch up with Justine Malone, the creative mind behind I'll Be Back, a retro-futristic update on Terminator. When AI weapons system Skynet destroys humanity in 2024, a terminator built on a Windows 95 operating system must return from the future to try and save us all. This work-in-progress comedy features 90s references, machine mayhem, and many loving homages to Terminator 1 and 2. Read on for more!
Daily Information: Hi Justine, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us today. What inspired you to create I’ll Be Back?
Justine Malone: Hello! The whole idea started as a joke - I started saying 'One day, when I do my one woman Terminator...' as it was the most ridiculous and ambitious idea I could think of. So I decided to just do it. I've performed and directed lots of plays and been in a comedy duo, but this time I thought I'd try and go it alone and see what happens. I also like combining the idea of very advanced military technology with the primitive slowness of Windows 95, and the pop songs of the era.
Of course, the idea itself is rooted in a deep love of the films, which were on all the time in my house growing up, as my dad is a huge fan. I also have a deep connection with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He's a hilarious and lovely man playing this emotionless killing machine. I like that contradiction.
DI: Your show deals with AI in a comedic, retro-futuristic way. Do you think ‘80s and ‘90s films still have something to teach us about the increasing omnipresence of technology?
JM: Of course, people are feeling unsettled by the stark reality of the speed of AI's development in recent years. If you look for that messaging in retro sci-fi you'll always find the warnings you're looking for, but for me, these films at their core are just brilliant stories about people struggling to find their way at the end of the world.The first Terminator films are fundamentally about protecting someone you love, in a way which makes you reconsider what love can look like. As well as, you know, also being about guns and robots and explosions.
DI: What was the most surprising part of the creative process?
JM:I put myself under huge pressure at first to make sure that this play would 'say something', have a profound meaning or message - before I'd even written it. I've learned that although some writers can find that useful as a way to give their piece a purpose, sometimes it's a bit back to front.
You only know what the story 'means' once you've written it, and also it's good to give the audience enough space to take whatever message or lesson they want from it. My hope is that in I'll Be Back, everyone will see something different. But I didn't set out to say anything meaningful about AI or technology, really. It's more about how, when the worst happens, you find a way to carry on.
DI: Besides Terminator aficionados, who is this ‘perfect for fans of’? If you had to compare the vibes of your show to another piece of media, what would it be?
JM: My big influences are characters like Alan Partridge and Garth Marenghi, but there's a bit of Julie Walters and Jim Carrey thrown in there too, and clown influences like Garry Starr and Butt Kapinski. It's also great for fans of other parody shows which show great love for the source material, but are funny and accessible to everyone, like Unfortunate (the Ursula musical) and Yippee Ki Yay (Die Hard as an epic poem).
DI: After this show, what’s next for you?
JM: My big influences are characters like Alan Partridge and Garth Marenghi, but there's a bit of Julie Walters and Jim Carrey thrown in there too, and clown influences like Garry Starr and Butt Kapinski. It's also great for fans of other parody shows which show great love for the source material, but are funny and accessible to everyone, like Unfortunate (the Ursula musical) and Yippee Ki Yay (Die Hard as an epic poem).
DI: After Offbeat, what's next for you?
JM: I'd love to take this show on tour and to Edinburgh, but it's tough for artists out there. We need funding, space, and support to make things happen. That's why Offbeat is such a wonderful festival, and venues like the Old Fire Station, who both gave me some space and funds to develop the show. It wouldn't exist without them.
Next year I have a few things lined up - I also do a drag act as Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, who is foul and arousing in equal measure. You can spot him thrusting around at Cabaret nights at the OFS and with Oxford Drag Collective. Follow my Instagram for more.
DI: Finally, please describe I'll Be Back in three words.
JM:Comic, retro, explosive!
I'll Be Back is on at the Old Fire Station, on Wed 11th Sep, 8pm. For more info and to book tickets, click here.