Book, music and lyrics by Jules Orcullo. Belvoir Street Theatre. 12-29 July 2023.
Ooh what a cheeky little show this is! It had me all living off the scrappy underdog vibe and then [SPOILERS]. I love a meta-musical about musicals as much as the next theatre nerd, but to add this much heart into it as well – fuck-a-doodle-doo, it’s genius!
Writer & performer Jules Orcullo plays Jules, a writer & performer who has moved back home in her thirties to focus on her art. She’s fighting to define her own voice, paranoid that she’s mimicking those who’ve come before her (Jason Robert Brown, Pasek & Paul and Stephen Schwartz all get a name check). But most of all, she wishes she could write something as clever as Tim Minchin’s work. When one of her songs mysteriously appears on TikTok she’s frightened and delighted when Minchin reaches out and asks if she’d like to collaborate on a new musical.
Jules goes out of her way to stress that this is not real. She has never met Minchin. All the interactions she has with Minchin are figments of imagination. And she uses the concept of Tim Minchin to pick at musical theatre (and theatre in general). Jules is fighting against all the assumptions about who she is. The daughter of an immigrant, she refuses to write an autobiographical show about how hard it is being the daughter of an immigrant. As Minchin pushes her to get more personal, she resists. Dealing with reality is not something she’s ready to do just now. There is a heated urgency to her pleas, and we only discover why at the very end.
Along the way we meet Jules’ mother, played by Nova Raboy, who just wants Jules to be happy… and to do a lot of laundry. Her joy when she discovers Jules writing music is palpable, as is her excitement when Jules speaks to Minchin. It’s a soul-warming performance that really delivers the necessary emotional kick.
Forgetting Tim Minchin is a great example of how great writing and a solid concept triumph over budgetary limitations. Orcullo isn’t the strongest singer, but she’s a smart songwriter who can work a melody and a lyric into something fresh. Limiting the action to the inside of Jules’ bedroom keeps things contained and drives the fever-dream aspect of the story. It may cover some similar beats to [Title of Show] but spins things off in a completely different direction.
The play’s finale turns everything on its head in a way that proves to be the perfect twist to the meta-musical groundwork that’s been laid over the last 90 minutes. If it doesn’t grab your heart like a vice then you’re frankly dead inside.
At the time of writing Forgetting Tim Minchin has a few days left to play so rush and grab a ticket. This is sharp, insightful, wickedly funny and moving musical theatre that deserves to be given more time and money to really take flight.
Cultural Binge 
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