Brendan Murphy is bringing his one-man show to Aberdeen to give Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans something to really get their teeth into…
“It’s a fast-paced retelling of all seven seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer in 70 action-packed and hopefully hilarious minutes,” said the writer and performer. “That’s the pitch and I’m sticking to it.”
And Brendan hopes fans of the iconic 90s TV series will love his take in Buffy Revamped, which swoops into the Music Hall next week on a UK tour which has been extended – including to Aberdeen – due to popular demand.
The big question, though, is how do you condense 144 episodes of Buffy into an hour and 10 minutes?
“It’s very quick, there are a lot of wigs and costume changes and lots of different character voices coming through,” said Brendan.
“But it is all being told through the point of view of Spike, who is I think one of the most memorable and interesting characters in the show. Each character is being retold through his eyes.”
‘He’s got the best punchlines’
Spike, as played by James Marsters in the series, originally joined the show as a powerful vampire out to terrorise Buffy, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, and her friends as they tried to fight evil spewing from the hellmouth under the quiet US town of Sunnydale.
“He came in as the antagonist, the big bad, but as the seasons progressed, he turned into a reluctant ally then a love interest,” said Brendan.
“By the end of it, he becomes the hero of the piece. He’s also got the best punchlines and this whole punk rock aesthetic, which is fun to play with.”
Buffy Revamped romps through the episodes, interspersed with a heady mix of iconic pop and rock songs from the 90s and noughties, fused with popular references from the decade.
It’s a rich seam of comedy to mine, said Brendan, who is a lifelong fan of Buffy and rewatched the whole series during lockdown to research his stage show.
“The original series is really funny. It’s this interesting mix of drama, sci-fi and comedy. But the way I’ve approached it is to think ‘what would Spike do… what would Spike say… how would he retell the situation?’
“And we also have the benefit of having the 2023 view of these 1990s and early noughties antics. It’s a case of looking at stuff and seeing whether it stands up. And a lot of it just comes from the pure nostalgia of looking back at time that’s so very different to now.”
‘Buffy fans have the tattoos’
While you don’t need to have watched Buffy to enjoy the show, Brendan reckons about 90% of his audiences are fans of the Slayer, keen to get another, fresh fix of the iconic characters.
“I think it connected with people in a way that TV shows at the time just hadn’t up to that point. It was great comedy, great drama and there were some beautiful love stories in there.
“It particularly appealed to anyone who felt like an outsider or an underdog and it has a massive connection with the LGBTQ+ community.”
This isn’t Brendan’s first outing with a show that fast-tracks through an entire iconic 90s TV series. His last tour, Friend (The One With Gunther) gave Friends the same treatment, with Brendan portraying it through the eyes of Central Perk coffee shop worker Gunther.
“The Friends fandom is huge. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t watched an episode of friends,” he said.
“However, I do think Buffy is a deeper love. There might not be quite as many fans, but whereas Friends fans have the t-shirts, Buffy fans have the tattoos.”
And he hopes those fans – tattoos and all – have a great night with Buffy Revamped.
“The dream is just to get people excited about Buffy. I hope they go home and stick on the pilot episode or watch and celebrate their favourite episodes and feel invigorated, energised and happy about the choices they’ve made.”
Buffy Revamped is at the Music Hall on Wednesday May 17. For tickets and information visit aberdeenperformingarts.com or call 01224 641122.
