For theatre-maker Scott McArdle, Dungeons and Dragons has been more than just a hobby; it’s profoundly influenced his career. Created in 1974, D&D is said to have “revolutionised gaming” by introducing the first tabletop role-playing game (RPG).
As a member of the award-winning comedy group Improv RPG, Scott is no stranger to sharing his passion for the collaborative fantasy game, often taking on the narrator role of “Dungeon Master” in their performances. However, his latest production takes combining theatre and D&D to the next level, creating a show which Scott declares is his “most me show yet!”
Same Time Next Week is a musical two years in the making, following Mark and his group of loyal friends who support his wish to play Dungeons & Dragons each week as he undergoes chemotherapy to treat leukaemia.
Amberly Cull in rehearsals for Same Time Next Week. Photography by Edwin Sitt.
The show draws upon Scott’s own story of how he started playing the game. “My friend was diagnosed with leukaemia when we were teenagers, and he couldn’t be at school a lot. I spent a lot of time at his house, and we started playing a bunch of games to keep him connected and stay social.”
From that point, Scott describes D&D as being a massive part of his life, shaping his practice as a theatre-maker and educator. “[I’ve used] D&D as a tool for teaching, education and creativity. It’s something that can distract people from the hardships going on in their life.”
“It’s something that can bring a bit of joy in a tough time. You go into these worlds for 3, 4, 5, 6 hours at a time with your friends and everything melts away.”
Jackson Griggs and Amberly Cull in rehearsals for Same Time Next Week. Photography by Edwin Sitt.
Despite his origins with D&D, it took the influence of Scott’s co-producer Nick Pages-Oliver to turn him in a new creative direction. “We had never worked on anything before, but Nick had seen Improv RPG and then saw my last work, Playthings at Black Swan. He came to me and said, ‘I want you to come and make a puppet musical that’s D&D focused.’ He saw what it did to an audience.”
Already doing Improv RPG, Scott knew he had to find another way to incorporate D&D into a piece in a way that hadn’t been seen before. Thinking about other D&D-inspired works, he realised there was a gap in the usual approaches. “What makes D&D great but hard to adapt is that it’s about the stories we’re telling with our friends, not about the specifics of that narrative. When I realised I could frame it through the story of four friends who come together every week for a year, I went, ‘Okay, there’s something in here.’”
Scott discovered this narrative would enable him to fully realise the creativity and imagination within the D&D fantasy world using music, puppetry, and stagecraft to contrast with the real world portrayed through a naturalistic style of theatre.
Tristan McInnes. Photography by Andrea Mae.
Having never worked with puppetry before, Scott was ready to do something “entirely different” and knew puppets would provide a way to play a wide array of fantasy characters. With expert guidance from Nick and puppetry director and performer Amberly Cull, Scott says the “obscene number of puppets” allow the characters to break away from their real-world personas.
Of course, the music is another vehicle for this real-world departure too. While Scott says he hasn’t done musicals since his early 20s, the songwriting process has developed naturally between himself and composer and musical director Jackson Griggs. “We actually wrote the final song first because we knew how it ended. This song, for me, came very crystal clear in that I wanted it to serve a very particular purpose at the end of the work.”
Finding inspiration from a past Improv RPG performance, their next song was for the show’s villain and used a lyric Scott improvised years ago, “What’s so good about being good?” as a springboard. An Irish drinking-style song completed the first trio of songs as Scott simultaneously worked on the narrative and music to decide where the rest of the music would go.
Daniel Buckle, Courtney Henri, Amberly Cull, Nick Pages-Oliver in rehearsals for Same Time Next Week. Photography by Edwin Sitt.
With a score, hoard of puppets and passionate creatives and cast, Same Time Next Week was raring to go for its debut in The Blue Room Theatre’s 2023 season. A month out from opening, Scott received a call that his mother was in hospital suffering from sepsis from a tooth infection that spread. “She was pretty much comatose, she was unresponsive. Miraculously, on my birthday, she started to bounce back.”
To support his mum on her journey back to health, Scott, The Blue Room and the show’s team decided it was best to postpone a year. “We had incredible support from The Blue Room and from the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries who were funding us. They were so lovely.”
Puppet Goblin. Photography by Andrea Mae.
Now, once again, the show is making its way towards its debut season and Scott says he’s benefited from the extra time and experiences he’s had over the last year. “There’s a scene at the very end at a hospital; it’s the only time we ever really go somewhere that’s not a living room. It’s a very important scene. Spending quite a lot of time in a hospital again was nice in a sense of knowing how to direct that piece with authenticity.”
As Scott puts it, the team is now “barrelling towards” opening and he doesn’t think he’s ever seen anything as ambitious as this show at The Blue Room Theatre. “I’m pulling out every single trick that I’ve learned over the 15-odd years I’ve been directing theatre. This place facilitates your wildest dreams.”
While Scott says the show will please the full-on nerds, “There are some deep-cut jokes, you’ve got to put the deep-cut jokes in,” he assures that newbies to D&D will be able to come and “have a blast.”
“The premise of the piece is people who don’t know how to play are playing, so the first couple of scenes you’re learning the important terminology.”
Regardless of one’s experience with Dungeons and Dragons, Scott’s ultimate aim is to present a work that’s “just built on joy, deep emotion, and total entertainment.”
Same Time Next Week is on at The Blue Room Theatre from August 13-31.