“It’s the entire Quentin Tarantino Cinematic Universe brought to life before your eyes”: Anderson Davis on Tarantino Live at Riverside Studios

Tarantino Live: Fox Force Five and the Tyranny of Evil Men is the genre-mash-up stage performance you never knew you needed in your life. From production company For the Record, this latest edition of their rock musical concept takes on the music and characters of Quentin Tarantino’s cinematic universe, following “Fox Force Five” – fierce superwomen made up of his most iconic female characters – as they take on the Tyranny of Evil Men in an epic battle of revenge and redemption. Previous incarnations of film-infused immersive theatre experiences include Love Actually Live, Scorsese: American Crime Requiem and Baz: Star Crossed Love.

The Upcoming caught up with actor-turned-director Anderson Davis ahead of the show landing in London’s Riverside Studios to hear more about the origins of the concept, how Tarantino’s films and soundtracks were brought together in the narrative, and why pushing boundaries in theatre is exhilarating for creators and audiences alike. 

Tarantino Live: Fox Force Five and the Tyranny of Evil Men is not your run-of-the-mill theatrical experience. Tell us a bit about the concept, the story and what audiences can expect. 

The show is a genre unto itself. There is truly nothing quite like it. Starting with the classic soundtracks of all nine of Tarantino’s films and weaving the most iconic Tarantino dialogue throughout in a 360-degree rock’n’roll experience, it’s the entire Quentin Tarantino Cinematic Universe brought to life before your eyes. 

What was the genesis of the project? How did you get the idea for this style of performance? 

For the Record founder Shane Scheel came up with the idea of performing songs from soundtracks live in a cabaret-style nightclub in Los Angeles more than a decade ago. Since then we have partnered together to expand the concept into a totally original style of movie music experience. 

For the Record has come a long way since its beginnings. How have the shows evolved over that time? 

When Shane and I first started developing the larger idea a decade ago, we would arrange the shows so that they would travel through a filmmaker’s work chronologically – a few songs and scenes from one film, then move on to the next. Over time, that idea expanded to embrace the major themes of a filmmaker’s work. For the Baz Luhrmann show it was the theme of Star-Crossed Love, for Martin Scorsese it was an American Crime Requiem, and for Tarantino, it is the interconnected Cinematic Universe that all of his films inhabit. 

What do you think it is about the For the Record formula, which combines the best of immersive theatre and cabaret, cinema and live music, that keeps bringing audiences back? 

It uses the best of many different worlds. For music lovers, it is a true rock concert: a six-piece band of killer musicians playing some of the best vintage rock’n’roll ever written, as it was meant to be heard – not jukebox musical arrangements that often gut that classic sound in service to a shoehorned story, but bold, full-throated rock. For theatre fans, all that rock’n’roll is put into the context of some of the most iconic cinematic moments ever seen in modern film; and some of the best dialogue ever written is heard in an entirely new way. And the staging puts the audience right in the middle of the action, so it’s not at all something you can experience on a screen.  

You’ve worked with many films and directors’ work. What is about Tarantino and his films that sets him apart? 

Tarantino has often said many of his ideas from films came from digging through his famous vinyl collection (arranged in his home like a record shop). So much of his style comes from his deep love for mid-century rock’n’roll: 50s twang, 60s surf rock, and 70s soul. His soundtracks are an art of curation. 

How did you choose which tracks from his films to focus on? Do you have a favourite film or soundtrack of his? 

There are 42 different soundtrack cuts used in Tarantino Live so most of them are in the show! But of course, my favourites are the tracks that perfectly capture a character’s essence. The Kill Bill soundtrack has always been my favourite, but Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is probably the best soundtrack ever created for a sunny California drive.  

How was the casting process and working with your actors? Does a background in acting give you a different perspective? 

I think a background in acting is extremely valuable; it’s a shared language, and when the show requires jumping from multiple iconic characters with some of the most colloquially complex dialogue ever written, coaching actors in this show requires every word of that shared language. The casting process is extremely thorough – literally hundreds of video submissions with great, overwhelming amounts of talent – but finding just the right person required patience. The group we put together is truly breathtaking. Olivier award-winners and X-Factor favourites and recording artists and television stars, and somehow only one of them is a born-and-bred American. Everyone in the US is generally impressed with British actors on TV and in films, but I was dumbfounded by how easily this group embodied the Tarantino style, the nuance and rhythm of his dialect. 

What has been the most challenging moment and the highlight of producing this latest show? 

Like many such things, the most challenging aspects of this process have become the most rewarding. Not only is our cast almost entirely UK-based, but most of our creative team is local as well. That means we had just a few weeks to get to know each other and quickly build a massive production together. A good example is the shorthand language we all use to describe common aspects of a production process that is quite different between the UK and the US. Every little thing seems to be called something slightly different. Installing the set into the theatre in the UK is called the “fit up”, in the US it’s the “load-in” – seems like a harmless difference, but getting on the same page meant adding a few extra seconds to every conversation and there are, of course, thousands of conversations that need to be had. In the end, the show we have created together is beyond my wildest expectations. We’ve gotten to work with some artists here that we are determined to keep working with again and again. 

Next week marks the European debut of this production. Are you nervous or excited? 

I was nervous before the first preview performance because I just had no idea how a British audience would react to certain moments, be it violence or humour or a little of both. But now that I know we are all pretty fucked-up in the head and think a lot of weird stuff is funny, I’m nothing but excited.  

What excites you most about producing non-conventional theatre? Would you say the theatre and music industry could do with pushing boundaries more often to create hybrid experiences? 

Couldn’t agree more. But the good news is the non-conventional theatre we’ve been creating for the last decade is finally becoming part of the live entertainment mainstream – everywhere you look there seems to be an immersive experience of some kind or another. Perhaps virtual reality will eventually put us all out of business, but I believe, until technology can recreate the flesh and blood experience of sitting in a room of friends and strangers and collectively immersing yourself in the power of live performance, there will be a place for shows like ours.  

Do you already have plans for your next set of shows? Who might you have on your bucket list to next adapt the work of? 

We actually have ten different For the Record shows all in different stages of development, from The Coen Brothers to John Hughes, to Robert Zemeckis and many others. Others on our bucket list are Tim Burton and Spike Lee. We also have an entirely different concept that weaves the screening of a film, live orchestra and singers embodying the characters on-screen in a multimedia experience. We debuted Love Actually Live as the first film to be adapted in this way and it was a massive hit in Los Angeles. We would love to see it come to the UK for the holidays – maybe as soon as next year. We love London and we are looking for more reasons to spend as much time as possible here.

Sarah Bradbury

Tarantino Live: Fox Force Five and the Tyranny of Evil Men is at Riverside Studios from 6^th June until 13^th August 2023. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.