Due to incredible demand, Awkward Productions has announced an extended run for the sensationally silly Gwyneth Goes Skiing, at London’s Pleasance Theatre in February 2024. The initial run in December has already sold out after an extraordinary buzz from the world’s press. The story recounts the 2016 collision on the slopes of Deer Valley and the court case that enthralled the world seven years later. The show stars Linus Karp as the Goop-founding Hollywood superstar Gwyneth Paltrow, and Joseph Martin as her nemesis, Terry Sanderson, a retired Optometrist from Utah. Combining a lot of fiction with a sprinkling of verbatim lines from court transcripts, the audience is the jury who has to decide who’s guilty and who’s gooped. Audiences will also be treated to original music by Leland. QX interviewed Linus and Joseph at Awkward about Gwyneth Goes Skiing in the middle of their busy schedule. Here’s what they had to say.
What inspired you to create Gwyneth Goes Skiing?
We looked at the Gwyneth Paltrow court case and, like the rest of the world, were taken by the ridiculousness of the trial. We thought, ‘There is definitely a show in this’. We had wanted to do a Christmas show for some time, and this felt like a great opportunity.
How did you prepare for your roles, and can you tell us a bit about your characters in the play?
The joy of them being real people is that there’s a lot of footage available. We can then create our own versions of them for the show. Toying with the preconceived ideas people may have, what they are actually like and how we want to portray them for the performance in our own awkwardprods way.
You recently posted on social media, “To have the best experience in the slopes, we recommend booking NEAR THE FRONT“. Would you like to expand on that?
If you have ever been to an awkwardprods show, you’d know that you are never just an audience member – you become part of the show. Being near the front makes it an even more memorable experience.
What is your favourite scene in the play?
We think the final number that Leland has written is very special!
The Daily Mail Daily labelled your hugely popular hit show ‘Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story’ as “Repellent trash”, and you loved it. Any thoughts on what you’d like them to say about Gwyneth Goes Skiing?
Let’s just say we would be worried if we ever made a show that the Daily Mail liked…
Tickets to Gwyneth Goes Skiing at https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/gwyneth-goes-skiing-0
Gwyneth Goes Skiing runs at Pleasance Theatre, 30 January – 16 February 2024, Carpenters Mews, North Road, London N7 9EF, United Kingdom.
