The outrageous true story of the life of the original conspiracy theorist, Milton William Cooper, comes to Omnibus Theatre this December. Throughout 80s and 90s America, author, veteran and radio broadcaster Milton William “Bill” Cooper disseminated an array of conspiracy myths, aliens, illuminati, coming ice-ages, and contaminated vaccines, setting off a chain of events which influence American politics to this day. Through parody, verbatim, music, comedy, drag, puppetry, and clowning, Red Fox Theatre experiment in a genre-bending style as absurd as the wild ride that is the life of Bill. With original live country-western and disco music BILL explores the tumultuous life of a serial conspirator and the dangerous influence one man can have in the future of a nation.
Ahead of the run we speak to writer and director Megan Jenkins to learn more.
What can you tell me about this production of BILL?
BILL is a raucous, ridiculous, genre defying piece of musical docu-theatre that tells the strange life of Milton Bill Cooper, the most destructive and influential man to ever grace radio. If you’ve heard that 911 was set up by the CIA, of crisis actors at Sandyhook, that lizard people run the world, or the phrase ‘wake up sheeple’, you’ve got this Vietnam vet, author, and orator to thank. And no one knows who he is.
It's the largest piece any of the creative team have made, spanning 70 years, multiple storylines, and almost every conspiracy theory you can think of (alongside being an original musical). It’s huge and brash and insane and deeply, deeply relevant.
What was your writing process like when developing the ideas for this piece?
I’d read about Bill Cooper during Trump’s first term, when I was trying to make sense of the election result and our own country’s increasingly divisive politics. When, in 2020, Red Fox started throwing ideas around for a new production, I pitched aliens, the illuminati, and Bill, and it ended up being our favourite concept. We started work: breaking down abduction stories we found interesting into bite sized chunks, bringing in individual research, improvising around things we found funny, experimenting with sound, and creating a clear Bill timeline to make the backbone of the show. We work collaboratively; the company improvises sketches and scenes in every possible style while I touch-type and guide, before I go away to create a script, add some more serious sections, verbatim, and structure. I then bring it back and we read it, rip it up, and do it again. Similarly, with the music I will either write lyrics to send over to the main Bill composer for a melody, or a melody will be found in the room, and I’ll then incorporate text and lyrics into it. The MD will then arrange around this, with further input from the company. This process continues until we have enough material for me to create a proper script. It’s kind of like theatre knitting.
What research did you have to do whilst developing the show?
Our primary source was the book ‘Pale Horse Rider’ by Mark Jacobson, which is an incredibly thorough deep dive into Bill’s life and his impact on the American cultural landscape, alongside articles, podcasts, and documentaries on the various UFO stories depicted in the show and the seismic events like Waco, Ruby Ridge, and the Oklahoma City bombing, which either fuelled Bill’s political outlook or were directly influenced by his rhetoric. We also spent a lot of time on Bill’s own 1991 book ‘Behold a Pale Horse’ (to this day it is still not put out on display at Barnes and Noble due to how often copies of it are stolen, like the bible) and listened to hours of his radio show ‘The Hour of the Time’, manually transcribing for the many verbatim sections of the show.
How do you go about blending the styles used in the show?
Our original score helps a lot when we’re transitioning between styles and form, but I think we’re quite good at setting the audience up early on to expect the unexpected.
How do you mentally prepare for a run?
There’s not often a lot of time for mental preparation for the creative team before a first run and I think there might be even less this time around.
What are your favourite Christmas traditions?
My annual Muppets Christmas Carol viewing at the beginning of December. The best Christmas movie (and Dickens adaptation) hands down and a total masterclass in respecting your source, musicals, and using comedy to tell stories that matter.
Where did your arts career begin?
I started in musicals as a teenager, before training at The Musical Theatre Academy. After drama school, I joined a devising company called Original Impact as an actor but ended up writing their first show. I moved into writing and directing from there, eventually joining Red Fox Theatre as Director and Collaborative Playwright in 2018.
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| Megan Jenkins |
What keeps you inspired?
I’m very lucky to be part of a company of incredibly talented and passionate actors, musicians and comedians. Every meeting, rehearsal, catch up and voice note inspires me.
What do you hope an audience member will feel when watching the show?
I genuinely think the show is ridiculously funny and I’m certain, whoever they are, the audience will have a great night out. Outside of the jokes: I believe BILL sheds light on some increasingly rare common ground between the political left and right. I hope audience members may see those on the other side of the divide in a slightly different light at the end of the show.
Where can audiences see the show?
BILL is at the Omnibus Theatre, Clapham, 3 – 22 December, 7:30pm (Tuesday – Sunday) & 4pm(Sunday).
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