Eight years ago, Jodie McNee saw a performance of Fun Home at the Young Vic theatre in London that profoundly impacted her. For one of the first times in her life, the musical made her feel seen. “I remember just being completely blown away by it,” Jodie recalls to the Manchester Evening News. “Being a gay woman myself, I saw this incredible story being depicted on stage and I just felt very emotional about it, actually.”
This month, Fun Home, a musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s 2006 graphic novel memoir of the same name, will make its northern premiere at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. The cartoonist’s novel tells Alison’s story of growing up in rural Pennsylvania, coming to terms with her sexuality, and learning more about her closeted dad. The musical was nominated for 12 Tony Awards in 2015, winning five, and has a film adaptation in the works with Jake Gyllenhaal on board as a producer.
Jodie McNee Takes the Lead Role
In the Manchester production, which arrives on the 20th anniversary of the book, Jodie will take on the lead role of Alison. “After seeing the show in 2018, it became a role I knew I needed to have,” Jodie, who is from Liverpool, says. “When I heard they were bringing it here, I really wanted to be a part of it.”
Upon its debut in 2013, the production was hailed as the ‘first mainstream musical about a young lesbian’, something that came as a surprise to Jodie, who has also been seen on TV in shows like The Gathering and Breathtaking. “I do feel like representation matters massively,” she explains. “It’s just so important for people to be able to see themselves on stage. If you can’t be gay in a musical, when can you be gay?”
Significance of Representation
Jodie notes the importance of the story: “Alison’s book was a lifeline for so many people. It took her seven years to write and draw, and the musical took a lot of time to come together too. The story is very intricate, very subtle and very beautiful.” She adds, “I’m not sure why it took so long for there to be anything quite like this in terms of representation, but I think it’s special that it’s Alison’s story that is the one to do that.”
For Jodie, there’s also the added pressure of performing in a musical for the first time. “I’ve done bits of singing in shows before, but this is my first musical,” she laughs. “It's quite a big challenge really, but it's also one of those musicals where the songs are very connected to the story - it’s much more like doing a Sondheim musical rather than a jukebox.”
Portraying a Real Story
While some may find it daunting to portray a real story based on someone’s memoirs, Jodie sees it as a gift. “I see it as kind of a gift that I get to tell this real story,” she explains. “Through the original memoir and Alison’s follow-up, Are You My Mother, she gave us a lot of details to delve into and really hone in on it. Alison is very open and very honest about what she has gone through. And a big part of that is telling the truth of her family.”
In the Manchester production, Alex Young plays mother Helen, while former EastEnders star Nigel Harman plays dad Bruce. “I’ve never seen Nigel sing before and he’s just so amazing,” Jodie says. “He has the most incredible, beautiful voice. He is a phenomenal actor.”
Relevant Themes Today
Jodie highlights how the story’s themes remain relevant. “One of the strands of Alison’s story is that her father, who Nigel plays, is from a different generation to her. She came out in the 1980s at the age of 19, and her dad was closeted for so many societal and political reasons. He was in his prime in 1969 when Stonewall was happening, and he couldn’t come out.”
Despite the book being 20 years old, Jodie cites shows like Russell T Davies’ Tip Toe as demonstrating that struggles facing the LGBTQ+ community are still prevalent. “The generation before us worked so hard for our rights and I think Tip Toe really articulated that so well - that struggle of now and then as well as now being still as hard in some regards,” she says.
Jodie’s Return to the Royal Exchange
Fun Home marks Jodie’s sixth performance on the Royal Exchange stage, having previously appeared in productions including Hamlet, The Night Watch, and A Taste of Honey. “I feel very at home here,” she says. “It’s one of my favourite theatres to work in, being on that stage is just magic as an actor. And I think this production is actually also really quite fitting for what is the 50th anniversary of the Royal Exchange. It feels right.”
Jodie hopes that audiences will have a similarly profound experience to what she had eight years ago. “It’s a tragic comedy,” she says. “It does find a balance between being a good night out and also being so beautiful and touching. I really do hope people feel seen by it and that people have a cathartic experience after watching it like it did for me.”
Fun Home is at the Royal Exchange from July 3 to August 1. Tickets and more information can be found on the Royal Exchange Theatre website.
