Ever since I heard that Soho Theatre was opening a new venue in Walthamstow, I’ve been thinking it would be good to do something to mark this very exciting occasion. So, what better way than to do a Q&A with the star of its inaugural show? 

There are other reasons for interviewing Natalie Palamides, of course, because she’s a brilliantly talented performer, and also, the show she’s doing is ‘WEER’, which one of our Edinburgh team saw and loved at the Fringe. 

To find out more about ‘WEER’, and about Natalie in general, I arranged a chat ahead of the upcoming run. 

CM: Can you start by telling us a bit about ‘WEER’? Does it tell a story? What is it about? 
NP: Yeah, it’s a romantic tragedy that takes place on New Year’s Eve 1999. It tells the story of a toxic romance between two star crossed lovers juxtaposed against loads of physical comedy, visual gags and 90s rom com tropes.

CM: Are you able to categorise it in terms of a performance style? How would you describe what kind of show audiences can expect? 
NP: I would describe it as a clown trying to perform a romantic tragedy, playing the parts of both lovers simultaneously, to the best of her genuine ability. 

The kind of show audiences can expect is something that is very meticulously and diligently crafted, but looks like a complete and utter disaster. Loads of visual gags, mess, waterworks, nudity, and a lot of me pretending to make out with myself.

CM: What was the inspiration for this show? What made you want to do something with these themes?
NP: I am always drawn to finding the light within the dark.

I went through a very toxic relationship and have witnessed many throughout my life, in person and on TV, as many of us have, so I just had the impulse to create a show around it when I got the flash in my mind of an image of two lovers having their final moments at a roadside car crash. 

I wanted to create a show about a toxic relationship, probably because something inside of me gets some sort of catharsis by getting to laugh at this toxic dynamic and it’s just really fun to play the drama with these characters.

I like to take it to a place where it is so deeply dramatic that it’s become silly.

CM: Can you tell us a bit about the creative process of putting the show together?
NP: I write everything through repetitive live improvisation.

I get an idea for a scene or an image, and I try it out in front of an audience. If it works, I keep it and try it over and over again until it becomes a refined piece.

Eventually, I thread all the pieces into a story arc.

CM: Our reviewer (and everyone else, obv) loved the show when she saw it in Edinburgh. Has it changed or developed at all since then? 
NP: There’s at least one new joke that I just added last week.

CM: That wasn’t your first edfringe run, of course. What do you like about the Festival? What made you want to go back? 
NP: I love the energy of all the art being created and supported at the Festival. I love being around a bunch of other artists doing their thing and getting to see everyone’s work. I also just love being in Scotland.

CM: You do lots of film and TV work – how does it compare to the live stuff? Do you prefer one over the other?
NP: I definitely love the instant feedback you get from an audience when I’m performing live.

Performing for the camera can be soul sucking, unless I have the crew bursting out laughing after they yell cut. I often end the days of film shoots questioning my entire existence, haha.

CM: You do loads of voice work, don’t you? Is that fun? What’s the best voice you’ve ever done? 
NP: Yeah, I do. It’s really fun and I feel so lucky that I get to do it – I’ve wanted to do it since I was a kid. 

I hope I don’t sound wanky saying that I do so many voices, it’s really hard to say which was the best… I love playing old people and witches. Anything super charactery or with a weird accent is the most fun for me.

Dan Levy made a cartoon about guardian angels that I was a part of… where I played a dead Irish orphan boy haha… that was probably my favourite role, but it will unfortunately never see the light of day.

CM: So you always wanted to work as a performer? What steps did you take to begin your career?
NP:  Yes, since I was a kid, I’ve always loved to make people laugh.

To begin my career, I moved to Los Angeles and worked as many odd jobs as I could – most notably as a security guard at the Academy Awards – while participating in as many comedy related activities as possible.

So open mics… sketch teams… improv teams… I was relentlessly performing, doing shows for practically nobody nearly every single night for many years.

CM: What would you say have been the highlights of your working life thus far? 
NP: My highlights have been getting to make my Netflix special, the TV show that I made with the Duplass Brothers and Courtney Pauroso that premiered at SXSW 2024 called ‘The Broadcast’, and directing my good friend Bill O’Neill’s show, ‘The Amazing Banana Brothers’.

CM: What aims and ambitions do you have for the future?
NP: I want to write and direct my own feature films and television shows. I want to make a multicam sitcom. I want to be a good person. I want to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

CM: What’s coming up for you next, after this? Do you have new projects in the pipeline?
NP: After this I am going to play Batwoman in Marvel’s next Bat Lady movie… is Batwoman from the Marvel or Star Wars universe? I forget.

Natalie Palamides performs ‘WEER’ at Soho Theatre Walthamstow from 2-10 May. For more information and to book tickets see the venue website here.