Katherine MacAlister talks to Ollie Jones about a werewolf play

Think of it as a cross between Scooby Doo, The League Of Gentlemen and The Wicker Man, with a bit of Midsomer Murders thrown in for good measure,” Ollie Jones tells me helpfully when explaining new werewolf comedy He Had Hairy Hands.

Part of new theatre company Kill The Beast, this is the group’s first homegrown, spun and produced theatre work which is going down a storm around the country, winning the 2014 Peter Brook Festival Award on the way.

“If we had to quantify our plays I would say that they are funny, physical and aesthetically English with a high body count and lots of twists and turns,” Ollie continues.

The cast of five play the 20-30 characters in He Had Hairy Hands between them. All graduates of Warwick University, the Lowry Theatre in Manchester gave them their first break by providing the funds and know-how to stage their first play The Boy Who Kicks Pigs in 2012, a Tom Baker (of Dr Who fame) short story which went down like a house on fire.

But knowing they had more to bring to the table, Clem Garritty, the artistic directer, came up with the title He Had Hairy hands, and the premise – a comedy werewolf farce.

Each of the Kill The Beast quintet, who now live in London, were then given a section to write, which was then adapted, modified, rewritten and then rehearsed over an 18-month period.

“We take a long time to get it just right,” Ollie accedes. The result is coming to Oxford’s Old Fire Station tonight.

As for what to actually expect; the year is 1974, the sleepy town is Hemlock-Under-Lye and when werewolf attacks threaten teatime, there’s only one person you can call. Think 1970s detective werewolf mystery wrapped in a hilarious Hammer Horror.

So are Clem Garritty, Oliver Jones, Zoe “Bob” Roberts, David Cumming and Natasha Hodgson enjoying it?

“Yes. We have invested four years in our theatre company so far and it has been tremendously hard work, but this is what we want to be doing,” Ollie continues.

You might recognise fellow cast member Zoe Roberts because she is born and bred in Carterton, which means that the Oxford date tonight is extra special for Kill The Beast.

“We are all very proud of what we have achieved and love showing our work to new audiences,” Ollie says.

So what’s their selling point? “It’s not high-brow, it’s just an hour and a quarter of silly entertainment, but knowing that tickets are selling well before we even get there is a great weight off our minds,” he says.

“We just want to produce original work that makes people laugh and to show that we can write our own material.”

As for the future, Ollie says that work is already underway on their next Opus about a monster: “We like monsters,” Ollie confirms, “and people in peril. But more than anything it is joyful when something you have made and written actually makes people laugh right in front of you. You can’t beat that – so we are not trying to prove a point. We just want to make people laugh and give them a fun night out.”

Where and when
He Had Hairy Hands
Tonight
Old Fire Station, Oxford 
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