Ordinary Life Made Extraordinary in Our Town

In final rehearsals: Our Town by Thornton Wilder, Queensland Theatre (QT) at the Bille Brown Theatre, Brisbane, 30 January to 20 February 2021

Hugh Parker and Amy Lehpamer talk connections – and cooking!

As opening night for QT’s production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town approaches, Stage Whispers’ Beth Keehn met some of the Our Town cast. As Mr and Mrs Webb, Hugh Parker and Amy Lehpamer are key points of connection for the audience. For these two performers, Our Town is a play that makes ordinary life extraordinary.

Hugh Parker: Our Town is a piece of classic theatrical literature that is considered to be one of the finest pieces of work to come out of the US. I believe that (up until recently anyway) there’s not a day where there isn’t a performance of Our Town somewhere in the US. Because of that familiarity, I’d say it might be easy to dismiss it – but, because of the quality and depth of the writing, you’re snared. Thornton Wilder very quickly introduces you to people you feel you know – and I think any audience is going to delight in that.

Amy Lehpamer: Our Town catalogues milestones, just as we do in our lives – it plays with aspiration and memory. It zooms in on the ordinary and makes us all feel connected to the concept of community – of family, life and death and love – it all becomes very personal very quickly. The play’s magic is the way that it becomes a jumping-off point for your own story. And, in our version particularly, our director, Lee Lewis, has created a world where you might escape into your own story and then return to the play in tiny moments – it’s extraordinary that, for all its perceived simplicity, the play can do that.

Hugh: This is the first time I’ve worked with Lee, and I’ve thoroughly appreciated her calm and patience. She has been very faithful to the quality and depth of the writing, but she also realises that great writing has strength in its structure – and so it can move. The play is set in a community – which also represents a theatrical community – so it is also a really positive way to reinforce that at a time when getting together at the theatre hasn’t been possible.  

Amy: I think the play makes you appreciate ordinary moments – and I’m sure we all had those in 2020 – for example, I found myself delighting in dinner time! I had been touring for about 18 months and all of a sudden I was at home for dinner, night after night. I found myself opening up cookbooks and making things!

Hugh: I remember making calls and, once we’d established that everyone was OK, finding something simple to focus on – what are you reading? What did you eat last night? And all of a sudden a 40-minute conversation is about how you steam asparagus! I read somewhere that there’s only so long that a human being can exist in a state of flux and panic – beyond that, people want to know what to do next. Our Town includes those points of connection that can help us navigate life.

Biographical notes:

Amy Lehpamer makes her QT debut with Our Town. She is an award-winning leading lady, with previous roles in musical theatre – including School of Rock, Beautiful, Dusty, The Sound of Music, High Society, and The Rocky Horror Show. On TV, she can be seen in Get Krackin’, Utopia, Molly, The Time of our Lives and the HBO mini-series, The Pacific. She is also co-creator of the musical comedy online series, Donnatelegrams.

Hugh Parker’s 20 years’ experience on stage and screen includes work for the Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK before roles in Australia for our major state theatre companies, as well as Opera Queensland, Home of the Arts (HOTA), La Boite, and Shake and Stir in Queensland. Audiences will know his extensive portfolio of work in Australian TV including Sea Patrol, The Strip, Mabo, Secrets & Lies, Gallipoli, The Killing Field, The Family Law, Rosehaven and Harrow and a range of feature films. In the UK, he has appeared in Black Books and The Office, EastEnders and Casualty. Hugh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. He also works as a teacher and acting coach for QT, Queensland University of Technology and New York Film Academy Australia.

Our Town runs at QT from 30 January to 20 February at the Bille Brown Theatre. Find out more: https://queenslandtheatre.com.au/plays/our-town

Images: Amy Lehpamer, Hugh Parker, Amy Lehpamer and co, Amy Lehpamer and Jimi Bani, & Jimi Bani and Hugh Parker. Photo credit: Dylan Evans

Read part one of this series of interviews.