Midsumma: Josh Futcher as Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol’s 15 Minutes of Fame opens at La Mama on 30 January. It’s about Warhol in the 1960s, his struggle for success and his attempted assassination by Valerie Solanas in 1968.

Actor Josh Futcher plays Warhol and has a chat with Anne-Marie Peard about performing at La Mama.  Futcher has recently returned to Melbourne after spending some time in LA performing in a show called Porkie Pies, was most recently seen in the TV series Conspiracy 365 and is completing his post-graduate studies at Melbourne’s 16th Street Acting Studio.

What three words best describe your show?
Provocative, dangerous, revealing.

Do you remember the first show you saw at La Mama?
Friday Night In Town.

What La Mama show do you wish you’d seen?
Don’s Party, back in the Pram Factory days.

What do you love about working at La Mama?
Being part of Australian theatre history. Paying tribute to the amazing writers, actors and theatre makers that came before us.

What do you love most about this show?
It is the only play about Andy Warhol. He is so well known as “the weird looking guy who painted the Campbell’s Soup can”. He is judged by many, and hailed as the greatest artist of our time by many more. This play tells the story of the man behind the art. Also, behind the woman who tried to kill him, Valarie Solanis. We see their pain and their deepest desires, and it teaches us not to judge a book by its cover.

Where is the best coffee in Carlton?
Seven Seeds.

Who would you love to see in your audience one night?
Andy Warlol.

Is there anyone you don’t want to see in the audience?
Valerie Solanis.

What do you like to do after a performance?
Unwind with a nice cold beer.

What was your first time on a stage?
Played Bashful in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs when I was five. My mum played Snow White. I remember feeling bashful; must’ve been method acting.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?
I like to get to the theatre as early as I can and eat a bowl of soup. It’s a good light meal to settle the stomach before a performance.

What’s some great theatre advice you’ve used?
Don’t walk on stage unless you know who you are, where you’ve been and where you’re going.

What punishment do you think is fit for audience members who don’t turn their phones off during performances?
We should force them all to go on a Vodafone plan.

What’s your favourite gelati flavour?
Half chocolate, half orange sorbet.

What role/character do you really want to play one day?
Stanley, A Streetcar Named Desire.

Matinees: love or loathe?
Love. Coming out of the theatre when it’s still light makes me feel like I have a day job.

Do you read reviews?
Yes. With caution.

Do you know of any secret parking spots near the theatres (although it’s such a short walk from the Melbourne uni tram stop on Swanston Street, so driving isn’t necessary)?
I’ll always do a lap past Brunetti – just in case.

What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
Andy Warhol: His colourful life and art. Great biography. Very detailed and insightful.

What question do you wish I’d asked?
What’s the best thing about playing Andy Warhol?

How would you answer it?
Finding what makes this strange man tick and being able to share it with a new audience.

Andy Warhol’s 15 Minutes of Fame
La Mama Courthouse
30 January 30 –10 February
lamama.com.au