INTERVIEW: Head to outer space with ‘Police Cops’

Photo: The company of Police Cops brings their irreverent comedy to life. Photo courtesy of Will Hazel / Provided by Karen Greco PR with permission.

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When a show is called Police Cops in Space, a good time is likely to be had. The Pretend Men theatrical group bring their two-parter comedies, Police Cops and Police Cops in Space, to 59E59 Theaters for a series of performances that promise laughs and bizarre antics.

The shows serve as parodies of everyone’s favorite 1980s buddy copy films. There’s enough revenge, scandalous secrets, evil robots, cyborgs and alien fighter pilots for everyone in the audience.

The shows, which run in repertory, are part of 59E59’s annual Brits Off Broadway festival. Performances continue through July 1 at the Midtown Manhattan venue.

Recently, Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Nathan Parkinson, one of the three members of The Pretend Men, about the two comedies. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.

How did you three start working together to create theatrical pieces?

We met each other whilst training at East 15 drama school in London. We were in a class of about 17 students and quite quickly realised that we had a similar sense of humour and ambitions for the type of work we were interested in. We teamed up in our second year during our ‘Physical Comedy’ project and actually ended up making a much shorter (and rubbisher, if that’s the correct word, which I believe it is) version of Police Cops. It went down well with audiences (and very well with ourselves), so we decided to develop it when we finished drama school. So we did. And since then it’s really gone from success to success,and it was such fun that we decided to make another show in the same vein.

What can audiences expect from Police Cops and Police Cops in Space?

I’d never heard of this phrase before I started doing Police Cops, but everyone says it so …”Big Belly Laughs.” I’ve heard that New York is quite a body-conscious city, so I think it’s fair to warn audiences they may gain weight at our shows.

What are some of your favorite buddy cop movies?

It’s not 70s/80s like Police Cops and Police Cops in Space, but I’m going to say Training Day. Love both those lead actors [Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke].

What’s the key to making a good scene of comedy in a play?

Be happy when you’re making it. Sometimes we have really long rehearsals or deadlines, and we’re tired and annoyed at each other. And nothing good ever comes. It’s better to take breaks, relax, play games to warm up and be in a good mood when you’re making the work. It makes it a whole lot easier.

Do you believe the comedies will play differently in New York as compared to other engagements?

Absolutely no idea! We all grew up watching a lot of comedy produced by brilliant American/Canadian comedy writers, so we’re obviously very influenced by that. But we are also English coming with a lot of British comedy influences as well, so it will [be] interesting to see what American audiences make of it. Ultimately we believe that good comedy is good, and bad comedy is bad. And that goes beyond where you’re from. Good comedy is universal.