Natalie Abbott burst onto the scene as Muriel Heslop in Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, earning Helpmann and Green Room Award nominations in the process. And now, she brings her comedic brilliance and powerhouse vocals to The Lovers, a popified take on Shakespeare’s classic ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’; you can read our review here.
As the show enters its final days in Brisbane, before arriving in Sydney at the end of the month, Peter Gray spoke with the musical powerhouse about her work on the stage and the screen (sadly, she’s just as out of the loop as we are on what’s happening with The Deb), how she relates to her characters, and who is her ultimate collaborator?
I was debating whether or not to ask this question first or last. But I’m going to get it out there first, get you and I the chance to know each other a little bit better. The Lovers has been described as a mixtape of pop bangers. What I would like to ask is what’s on Natalie Abbott’s mixtape right now? Or, more likely, the Spotify playlist?
That is so beautiful. I love that. I think it really depends on what kind of mood I’m in. If I need to get pumped up to go on stage, I love listening to the legends of female vocalists. I love listening to Britney, to Chappell Roan, Beyonce…love some Delta! I’m also very much a Lizzy McAlpine, Noah Cyrus, kind of country folk music lover (too). They’ll get me through.
I’m a Britney fan, so we love to hear that! And obviously with The Lovers, we know that Laura Murphy’s script feels very 2025 with the swipes, the ghosting and the situationships that are talked about. What excites you about bringing Shakespearean characters into the messy culture of today’s dating? Do you see it as a way of getting the younger generation interested, almost without them knowing it?
I definitely see it as very much a vehicle for young people to reconnect with Shakespeare. I mean, I think that’s the best way to do it. I’m just even thinking about myself and my introduction to Shakespeare, and it came from mostly adaptations. 10 Things I Hate About You, The Lion King, the seminal classic She’s The Man, which is one of my favourite movies of all time. Without even me knowing it, they were my introduction to Shakespeare. And I think (The Lovers) is just another version of that. I think it shines a light on relationships and people, and how not much has really changed from then to now. There were still situationships back then. Relationships were still messy. Some were gorgeous, some were complicated. And I think we can all relate to that.
So happy you mentioned She’s The Man, one of the greatest comedies. It was the same thing for me seeing Clueless, and then realising that was the way in for Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’. It really proves how universal these stories are. And you’ve already played Helena in The Lovers in the Bell Shakespeare production. Now you’re revisiting her with Shake & Stir Productions. What feels different stepping back into Helena this time? Is it almost treating her as a completely different character? Or things ultimately carry through?
I think that there’s Helena at her essence, (and) you’re always going to find similarities across the board from every single Helena, because that’s just the way she’s written. She’s very earnest and romantic, and she’s playful and cute. That’s what you’re going to find. But in terms of me coming back…it’s been a really big two years, and there’s been a lot of changes for me in my life. I definitely didn’t approach it the same way, because I don’t necessarily feel like the same person I was two years ago. When you talk about a character or an actor in their relationships with other characters and actors on stage, I’m acting with a whole new bunch of people, essentially. And their approach to their characters are different. So my reactions are going to be different. My responses are going to be different.
So that stuff has been really fun to find in the room. I mean, the people that I get to work with every single day, I literally pinch myself. I’m so lucky. They’re an incredible group of performers and incredibly intuitive actors, and that is so much fun to sort of respond to whatever they’re doing. It’s new and it’s fresh. And that is what is exciting to me. I was really excited to approach this in a different way. And how often do you get to play the same role twice? I feel like it rarely happens, especially in Australian musical theatre. So I really wanted to take that opportunity and run with it as much as I could.
I do have to say that your first solo number (“Chasing My Tail”), there’s a riff in there that just made me shake my head, like, excuse my French, but it was one of those “Fuck off” moments, because it was so beautiful and so pitch perfect. To have that vocal stability, that breath control…it was truly one of the most beautiful things, so I really have to say congratulations.
Oh, thank you for saying all of those things. I need to call you every single day. You need to give me a pep talk every single day. That was so lovely. Thank you for saying that. I’ve been working very hard. I’m very hard on myself, so I try and make sure that it’s good. I try my hardest, so thank you for saying that.
And Helena herself, her story is one of obsession, longing, and ultimately transformation. Were there aspects of her emotional journey that felt most resonant to you? And which parts were the hardest to unlock overall?
I can relate to Helena quite a lot, actually, I do consider myself quite a romantic person, and, especially, my younger self, I think is the version of me that really relates to Helena. I just think that she is so unapologetically her, regardless of what people say to her or think of her. Maybe she knows she’s a bit over the top, but she doesn’t change. She doesn’t change herself for anybody, which I love. I think she’s incredible. I adore her. It’s always fun to play a character that I feel like I would be best friends with in real life, or someone you would want to hang out with, and I would hang out with Helena.
I think her self worth is hard to watch, or her lack of self-worth. I think she really allows herself to be a punching bag. That’s something I don’t relate to, and maybe that’s why it’s difficult to watch from an outside perspective. I want to grab her by the shoulders and tell her, “You’re amazing, go elsewhere!” But she’s so hopelessly devoted, and that’s probably the hardest thing about her.
You’ve worked in theatre and films, and I want to just quickly say that I was in Toronto in 2024 when The Deb premiered, and I know that there’s obviously a lot of stuff going on with that film, but I genuinely hope that it finds its way out there, because it is so much fun. You were incredible in the film. I’m very happy I got to see it. And maybe it was just another of the reasons I wanted to talk to you.
Oh, my God. You and the five other people that know me from The Deb! That is so funny. Thank you so much for saying that. It was so much fun, I did an interview a couple of weeks ago, and one of the questions was, like, “What’s next? What’s the dream?” And I remember thinking that being in a movie musical was the dream for me. To be able to combine those two things that I love so much, that was the dream growing up. I would watch movie musicals all the time, because it was the only thing that was really accessible. I didn’t go to the theatre until I was about 11 or 12, so movie musicals were what raised me. I wanted to be a part of that.
It really is such a shame with everything that’s happening. I wish I could tell everyone what’s going on, but I literally have no idea. It feels so beyond and so much bigger than us, bigger than me and everyone involved. It is a shame, but thank you so much for saying that. I’m happy that the few people that have had the opportunity of experiencing it, they’ve really enjoyed it, and they’ve had a good time. That’s the goal. At the end of the day, I want everyone to have a good time.
The reason I brought it up was that with theatre and screen, do you feel those worlds inform each other? Or do you treat them as separate crafts?
Oh, I definitely think they inform each other. I think that screen acting makes you a better theatre performer. But theatre aids on screen. I remember my first time on screen was in Aftertaste, this ABC series, and it was just after I had done Muriel’s Wedding on stage. I never thought that I would ever be on screen. I don’t know why I always thought that I wasn’t pretty enough or skinny enough to be on screen. People on screen are so gorgeous, and I didn’t know if I was that. And then Aftertaste was the best experience I think I’ve ever had on a film set. It was so much fun. The writing was incredible, and my character was so funny and confident and cool, and all the things that I thought I lacked in myself. I’ve taken a bit of her in my life, and I really should be more Diana-ish.
I was too afraid of being too big or too loud and “musical theatre.” I didn’t want to be over the top, and I think I went the other way, and the directors were like, “We probably need you to put in a bit more effort,” (laughs). I think I was just afraid.
Looking at the characters you’ve played – Muriel, Helena, Diana – do you have a starting point? Do you lean more into the text? The music? The physicality? Or is there something else that you go with to make the character your own?
I think that my relationship with the character is really what forms a lot of my decisions. I think that I gravitate towards women who are often anti-heroes and they aren’t pretty all the time. Sometimes they make terrible decisions. But I feel fortunate to be able to play those women. That’s where I start from. I really look at their journey as a whole picture. And then I ask the questions of “Why did she do that? Why does she feel this way?” And then sometimes it’s obvious as to why she feels as she does. It all kind of unfolds and makes sense. I bring to her a little extra me in whatever they’re gonna do. I don’t know, it’s all a mix. It’s a good question.
You’ve worked with a lot of powerhouse creatives and companies. Is there anybody on your dream list of collaborators moving forward? Whether it be an actor, a writer, a director, stage or screen…is there an ultimate for Natalie Abbott?
Oh, wow. I think going back to the Muriel’s Wedding days, the dream was to work with Toni Collette at some point. I just think that she’s incredible. She would be the ultimate dream. I think that if I got to work with her on anything, I would die a happy woman. But all the people that I’ve worked with, I want to work with them again. Well, not all of them, but some of them (laughs), but I want to work with them again because they’re so amazing and I feel so lucky. I’ve learned so much of what I do from simply observing them. Muriel’s Wedding was kind of my stage debut, and also Aftertaste as my screen debut, and The Deb is my film debut…those were all kind of like chuck-her-in-the-deep-end-and-see-what-happens type of moves, and I’m really lucky that’s how it happened. I think I almost thrive in a weird way in those environments. There’s too much going on for me to be self-conscious. I just have to do it. But I am constantly learning from the people that I have around me, and I’m so lucky. I would pay a lot of money to work with some of the incredible people that I’ve already worked with.
The Lovers is playing at Brisbane’s QPAC Playhouse until October 5th, 2025. For more information and ticket purchases, head to the official site here. The Lovers will then play in Sydney at the Theatre Royal Sydney between October 31st and November 23rd. For more information and ticket purchases, head to the official site here.
