Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz (BTMJ) from Birmingham born writer and actor Nathan Queeley-Dennis, tells of the trials and tribulations of a young Black Brummie’s fraught love life. Pulling on our collective heartstrings like a pro, in an unmissable ode to love, this is the first time that Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz is touring, running at Birmingham Hippodrome’s Patrick Studio from Wednesday 2 October – Saturday 5 October.

Nathan told us about his experience writing and performing his debut play and what audiences can expect to see.

On growing up in Birmingham, he said:

“I loved growing up in Birmingham, I think as a city it gets taken for granted. I remember growing up at school and people being like “ah I wanna leave Brum” but having left and come back I think they really don’t understand how great a city it is. My whole experience and life growing up in the city made me who I am, we have our own humour, mentality and voice and I carry that with me in my life and career to this day.”

“I think the most interesting thing about the show is that I wrote a chunk of it in 2019. There are a lot of references to the city at that time, but between then and now there has been a lot of change. In a weird way the play feels like a time capsule, despite it not being set in any specific time frame.”

Themes in BTMJ: love, friendship, and of course music

“These themes always make for a great audience experience, I like to think no performance of the play is the same because it relies so heavily on the journeys that the audience go through. Some audience members connect to different aspects of the story and naturally my performance adapts based on that. At the Royal Court we did a sort of date night show and there were loads of couples watching which was really fun as I think they all resonated with that journey.”

Performing in front of hometown audiences:

“When I wrote the play, I always wanted to perform it in Birmingham. In a way I’m glad it didn’t happen straight away; it feels kind of poetic to have gone on this journey with the play over the years and now I get to bring it home at the end of that journey. I’ve performed in Edinburgh and London and when there are Brummies in the crowd, those are always my favourite shows. So, to be home performing for a week in front my friends, family, peers and everything in between is going to be so special.”

Wanting audiences to feel *all* the ‘feels’.

“I’m not sure why I enjoy making people feel everything all at once, it might be my personality! When writing the play, I put myself in the audiences shoes to think about how they might react and feel. I didn’t want to necessarily dictate their reactions; I just wanted every emotion and reaction to be impulsive from anyone in the room. I think that’s pretty true to life as well.”

The West Midlands at the heart of the show and the writer.

“It means a lot to me as an adult and an artist to perform in Birmingham. I went to drama school outside of Birmingham and when I completed the course, I felt lost and not sure where my career was going. I became the creative, the writer, the actor and man I am today when I moved back home. I found myself as an adult and an artist going to sharings, events, networking with other creatives in the region. Without those opportunities in Birmingham, there would be no Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz.”

“It feels liberating to take the show on tour, I think a lot of Brummies spend time watching things based in other cities with references that are specific to places outside of the West Midlands. So, it’s nice to create something that turns this the other way around.”

Using comedy to convey stories.

“All of my favourite plays, films and TV shows use comedy to tell emotional stories. I’m not the first person to say it but I think comedy is one of the best ways to tell dramatic stories. I’m very audience oriented in my writing, and I think it’s easy to sometimes put a shield up when you’re in the audience or disconnect emotionally. The warmth of comedy softens an audience, making them more invested in the character and that’s when you can use raw emotion.”

Tickets can be booked via here by calling 0844 338 5000*

*0844 calls will cost you 4.5p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge