INTERVIEW:
PHOTO CREDIT: Chiara Fulgoni
Bibi Lucille (Actress, Writer and Co-Creator of Meat Cute)
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BEFORE I get to….
PHOTO CREDIT: Chiara Fulgoni
an amazing and detailed interview with the wonderful and enormously talented Bibi Lucille about her acclaimed play, Meat Cute, I wanted to set the stage as it were. I do not interview too many non-musicians for my site. I am especially interested in Bibi Lucille because, as writer, star, and co-creator of Meat Cute, she has confirmed herself as one of the most innovating, excited, naturally gifted comic/dramatic writers and performers in the country - and someone I can see acting and writing in huge productions for the screen very soon. A brilliant writer who has brought to life a wonderful production with director and producer Anastasia Bunce, this one-woman play is fascinating and very timely. I shall come to some details about it soon. Seriously, everyone who is capable of catching it needs to! I am thinking about how the film world has recently seen a wave of wonderful female directors and writers create films that are fresh, vital, wonderfully funny, emotional, thought-provoking and challenging. From Raine Allen-Miller (director of Rye Lane) to Greta Gerwig (co-writer (with Noah Baumbach) and director of Barbie), Adele Lim, Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao (director Lim alongside screenwriters Chevapravatdumrong and Hsiao of Joy Ride) and Bottoms (Emma Seligman is director and co-writer with Rachel Sennott; Elizabeth Banks is one of the producers on the film), there is this new wave of pioneering and brilliant women. As someone who is obsessed with Barbie now and prostrates at the feet of Greta Gerwig, it has been a delight seeing women dominate big screen comedy in 2023. I think we are seeing this on the stage too – and I could well imagine the charming and utterly entrancing Bibi Lucille having a wider career arc that includes big television and film roles/writing credits. The play-text for Meat Cute was launched at Books on the Rise in Richmond on Tuesday, 24th July. I would urge you to grab your copy. It is an exciting time for a tremendous talent.
PHOTO CREDIT: Chiara Fulgoni
I am going to say a bit more before getting to the interview but, with the help of the excellent Broadway World and Blair Ingenthron, here are some essential details about a play that is headed to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (at the iconic Gilded Balloon) from 2nd to 27th August. It is a real must-see for everyone. I think it will be one of the picks of the Fringe:
“A one-woman comedy that follows 25-year-old Lena who is on a mission to veganise her tinder dates. The show was a finalist for an Offest Award in 2021 and explores themes of identity, self-realisation, feminism and belonging in today's world.
A woman is on a mission to find the perfect match. Tinder, vegans, apple juice. Will she ever swipe right? 14 days later, a broken family, a Pomeranian named Mozart and an eviction notice, is this rebellion or simply a cry for help?
'Meat Cute' raises questions about identity, activism and the overwhelming responsibility many feel when presented with the state of the world through comedy, farcical use of props and costume, eccentric pop music, and by incorporating Brechtian storytelling devices.
Writing for the BBC on comedy's significance as a genre, Mary O'Hara says "A good joke packs a harder punch than many other forms of dialogue, and it can reach people who would otherwise be unwilling to listen." Although the protagonist's particular path focuses on animal activism, this is intended to reflect on other issues that inspire young people today to be a force for positive change, such as environmental awareness and feminism.
Meat Cute aims to use its platform to invite audiences to find familiarity with the subject matter presented through an entertaining, relevant and comedic lens, and allow them to reflect and digest challenging ideas in a non judgmental space.
Writer and Performer Bibi Lucille thinks "Meat Cute is a huge passion project for me, something that gives a humorous take on what is quite a dark and controversial topic. I aim to not only shed light on veganism, but to give a fresh and relatable voice to young women living in a man's world."
Director Anastasia Bunce said, "Things like empathy, why we maybe shouldn't eat animals, the call to question our own apathy and investigate our pre-judgments of each other- well it's heavy stuff. That's why a highly farcical comedy like Meat Cute that pokes fun at absolutely everything and everyone, is an exciting way to invite audiences to contemplate the important themes that it investigates. Meat Cute is silly, fast-paced, absurd, bright, loud, eccentric, and hopefully, a way to spark conversation about pressing topics. Meat ain't always cute."
Patch Plays, founded in August 2020 by Anastasia Bunce and Maria Majewska, is a company devoted to exploring the role of theatre in addressing issues surrounding animal rights and environmental sustainability. The company is particularly interested in telling personal and engaging stories which explore these themes. Their main goal is to create space for audiences to reflect on their place in our neglected, divided and complicated world and to inspire public discourse on these topics. The company also hopes to provide reassurance and inspiration for a better future ahead”.
I think now is a time when we should be celebrating, embracing and highlighting phenomenal women bringing such interesting and, yes, hugely important work to stage and screen. I know I have used the word ‘important’ before. Even though Meat Cute is incredibly funny, it also has darker elements and real stirring emotion. Its themes and narrative is so important and relevant right now. I am a bit in awe of Bibi Lucille’s passion for the play and how engaging she is as a writer and performer. It has been a pleasure discussing Meat Cute with Bibi Lucille, and finding out about its origins and themes. I ask her what comes next after the Edinburgh Fringe Festival run. Meat Cute is a truly stunning, discussion-worthy, eye-opening, mind-expanding and already-celebrated play that…
PEOPLE need to witness in the flesh!
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Hi Bibi. Tell me more about Meat Cute. Congrats on it being a finalist for an Offest Award in 2021! Where did the original seed of the idea spring from?
Thank you! The original seed grew from 2020, planted in my cousin (and director-to-be, Anastasia Bunce)’s garden during a socially distanced, wine-fuelled evening. She was talking about putting on a climate-themed scratch night when restrictions eased. She asked me if I would write something, to which I replied, ‘what would I even write about?’. Everything I had written up to that point remained in a folder on my laptop, intensely labelled ‘PRIVATE’. Anastasia suggested I write about the way I eventually turn all my boyfriends vegan, after I had given her an update of trying to veganise my latest romance.
That morning, I woke up suddenly at 5 am. My first thought was, ‘I need to stop getting drunk.’ Which I found hilarious at the time, so pulled out the notes app on my phone and started typing. Before I knew it, I had drunkenly written the first ten minutes of the play.
From the satisfying audience reaction during the scratch night, a post-grad producer approached us, suggesting we create a full-length play out of the extract. With plenty of time on my hands during the pandemic, Anastasia and I were keen to take on the challenge. After several re-writes and many zooms, ‘Meat Cute’ was born.
How much of Lena (the protagonist) is in you would you say? Perhaps not literally, but how close to her experiences and worldview can you associate with personally?
They say write what you know, so as this was my first piece of writing, I decided to draw a lot on my own feelings and experience. Lena is an exaggeration of everything I was trying to express; no matter how angry I felt about the meat industry, Lena was angrier. However passionate I felt about animal rights, Lena was more passionate. She was louder, messier and crazier. I can’t say I made it my mission to turn every tinder date vegan, but I would certainly bring it up to the men I was dating.
“The attempt to belittle her, tame her and ultimately turn their back on the cause to get back at her”
That idea of Lena trying to convert her dates to veganism, but things going wrong. The veganism, I guess, is a starting block, but it also relates to empathy and toxic masculinity too? Asking the audience to show empathy and challenge their apathy. By asking men to go vegan, it seems, in addition it being the right thing (morally and health-wise), is a way for them to unlock something inside of them and treat the world around them with more kindness?
Yes, yes, yes. Exactly! You get it. Arguably, the entire thing could be a euphemism for trying to communicate with men, attempting to be heard and having to use sexuality to feel seen. Lena is so desperately trying to make the world a better place but nobody will listen… until she takes out her tits. Women for centuries have felt as though they are unimportant and even invisible if they haven’t sexualised themselves or abided by beauty standards that the patriarchy has set.
Toxic masculinity certainly comes into play too when (slight spoiler) the men she dates feel entitled to more after she has inevitably ignored them post vegan conversion. The attempt to belittle her, tame her and ultimately turn their back on the cause to get back at her.
I have seen a play called I Killed My Ex (written and directed by the sublime and tremendous Emilie Baison) which concerns toxic masculinity and female friendship. It is a two-woman production that is really powerful and brings a lot of the outside world into this small space. As Meat Cute deals with multiple characters and quite strong and contrasting emotional moments, how easy was it to balance and switch?
Firstly, that sounds brilliant and I will definitely be getting tickets! And in terms of balancing the fast turnaround of emotions, there was definitely a lot of rehearsing to get the tone just right. The director, Anastasia Bunce, coached me through all these moments. Meticulously studying where the comedic beats came in and how they complimented the darker, more intense moments.
“There have been many times in my career where I have intensely felt the imbalance of genders and the overwhelming feeling of being outnumbered”
On the subject of brilliant women writing and producing remarkable, timely and hugely memorable work, we see that happening in film, especially with films like Rye Lane, Barbie, Joy Ride and the forthcoming Bottoms. Do you think women as writer, directors, producers and actors are undervalued on stage, film and across the arts? Do you think the narrative is changing in any way?
Yes, I truly believe women have been undervalued and most of all, underestimated across the arts. Male characters appear to be seamlessly written, with rich backstories and complexities. I have always been far more drawn to wanting to play the male characters whenever I’ve read a script; sheerly due to how much more nuanced they are. Women appear to be a vehicle for male stories to be told. Looking behind the camera, film sets are still dominated by men. There have been many times in my career where I have intensely felt the imbalance of genders and the overwhelming feeling of being outnumbered.
There is still a great imbalance, but I do have hope that there is a massive shift happening. Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ shows that there is a space being carved for women to tell their stories on a massive scale.
There is, unfortunately, no end to toxic masculinity and issues like sexual assault and harassment, not only through acting but music too. How important is it to highlight productions like Meat Cute and sort of challenge and shine a light on more difficult topics?
It is so incredibly important to shine a light on the difficult topics. The arts creates a space for people to empathise and look outside of their own experience of the world. By addressing difficult and often upsetting themes, we are opening the conversation for change and ensuring that these topics are not swept under a rug or forgotten.
IN THIS PHOTO: Director Anastasia Bunce with Bibi Lucille (and Mozart the dog)/PHOTO CREDIT: Chiara Fulgoni
I understand you first performed this production during the pandemic. Was Meat Cute written around that time, and what has it been like going through that period and now performing it in a different climate two years later?
Yes! We performed the first ten minutes at a socially distanced scratch night when restrictions eased. We then performed the full-length show throughout 2021 when things were slightly going back to normal. Performing it back then was a lot of fun because I think so many people were keen to see live art again and theatres were building themselves back up. Doing the show again two years later has been an even more exciting experience; theatre feels as though it’s fully back to the way it was with packed audiences and festivals in full swing. Being at the VAULT Festival this year was amazing because it really felt everyone was coming back together and theatre was recovering.
You are taking the show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. How are you feeling about that? What can audiences expect who might not be familiar to your work or this type of comedy?
I definitely feel a mix of excitement and nervousness. I’ve done the Fringe a couple of times before as a performer, but never with my own show. I feel very lucky to have even had the opportunity and the funds to perform at the greatest fringe festival in the world!
Audiences can expect a fast-paced, quick-witted farce. With constant action throughout the entire hour and multi-rolling 16 characters, ‘Meat Cute’ will have you on the edge of your seat.
“Anastasia Bunce is nothing short of a genius. Her vision and hard work is what brought the text to life”
Apart from the title being awesome and really clever, the promotional images and way Meat Cute is being marketed is innovative, standout and eye-catching. How important, in addition to capturing the imagination, was it to present a strong visual image?
I think the visual aspect of marketing any show is the benchmark for the rest of the production. When a poster is the first thing people see, you need something that’s going to stand out and be bold, different and interesting. We were lucky to have a very talented photographer on board, Chiara Fulgoni, who understood exactly the kind of vision we were after and used her own creative genius to make the image stand out.
I will wrap up in a minute, but I wanted to know what it was like being directed by Anastasia Bunce. What was it like working alongside her, and did any advice/particular note or direction stick in your mind above the rest?
Anastasia Bunce is nothing short of a genius. Her vision and hard work is what brought the text to life. She was able to craft and sculpt the piece into something slick and seamless, with many nuanced moments throughout. A particular note she gave (which I will not be able to articulate as well as she did), was when she told me to really listen to each line as I said them. It was at a point during the 2021 shows when I was stuck on autopilot and couldn’t seem to find fresh moments for myself within the play. When she said that one sentence, my entire performance changed. Really listening to what I was saying, despite having said it a million times, allowed me to find new moments in the play.
IN THIS PHOTO: Megan Thee Stallion photographed for Elle in April 2023/PHOTO CREDIT: Adrienne Raquel
As I run a music website, I wanted to ask about Megan Thee Stallion. Her songs sort of ‘score’ the production. What was it about her music that seemed to be a perfect fit, and do you know if she is coming to see Meat Cute?
What we loved about her music was that it was openly very sexual and sensuous, which creates the tone for the play and alludes to Lena using her sexuality to get what she wants. It also helps that Megan Thee Stallion is a vegan herself! Megan, if you’re out there, please come and see our show, you’d love it!!
What comes next for you? Will Meat Cute go on an extended run - or are you looking to television or film for your next project?
My dream now is for ‘Meat Cute’ to become a television series. We created a short film version recently and watching other actors bring the story to life felt like having a whole new perspective on the tale.
We’d also LOVE to do a run at Soho Theatre, so hopefully we can schmooze them enough during the Ed Fringe!