Kate-Lois Elliott: How To Belong Without Joining A Cult, The Bill Murray
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After a sellout run at Edinburgh Fringe, Kate-Lois Elliott brings her award-winning, critically acclaimed How To Belong Without Joining A Cult to The Bill Murray for one night on 3 August.
Elliott’s family lived in a secretive cult until her mum escaped. One generation later, a teenage Kate finds herself in the clutches of an equally militant operation… just your average group of teenage girls. Because, as it turns out, cults are everywhere – ask anyone with a Tesco Clubcard.
Intrigued, we got Kate-Lois to offer up some insight into how this came about.
What can audiences expect from the show?
It’s an exploration of group mentality and the universal desire to fit in, without losing yourself in the process. The heart of the show lies in my own life story. My family were part of a secretive religious cult based in South London, until my mother managed to escape at just 16 years old. Years later, I found myself reckoning with group dynamics of a different sort: the toxic friendship cliques of teenage life. Oh, and the audience also gets to form their own cult!
What was your inspiration behind the show?
When I was in my 20s, I was at the pub with some colleagues and I mentioned the Christian sect my mum’s family were in… everyone around the table looked in shock, because, as it turned out, the ‘sect’ was in fact a pretty well-known cult. After that, I did a deep dive into cults. I couldn’t understand how my family had ended up in one, because we always think, ‘I’d never fall for that’. The more I thought about cults, the more I realised that they’re everywhere – from politics to Puregym to the 2019 Hen Do chat you thought you’d left.
How long have you been working on the play?
It’s my debut show, so you could argue that I’ve been working on it for 5 years, but more realistically, I started working on it a couple of years ago when I was prepping it for Edinburgh 2024.
Is this version how you originally envisioned it or has it changed drastically since you first put pen to paper?
Oh it’s changed a lot and drastically. It’s still changing every time I do it. I think that’s one of the main differences between standup and theatre.
What has been the biggest challenge in realising the writer’s vision for the show?
I’d say the biggest challenge I’ve had is that, though this is predominantly standup, the show has been described as a hybrid of comedy and storytelling, with moments that are more reflective than you might expect. Learning to lean into those moments with the audience has been a learning curve for me!
How important is audience interaction to you?
Pretty important as we make our own super-cult throughout the show. However, the audience writes down their suggestions at the start, so no one gets picked on. I do like it when people start shouting out suggestions though, they’re always the most fun shows.
Are there any plans for what comes next after the show has finished its run – for you or the show?
I’m actually working on a new show about Trad Wives and prepping, amongst other things. I’ll be trying out some ideas at Riverside Studios on October 24th!
Who would play you in the Hollywood adaptation of your future autobiography
Steve Buscemi.
If you had to describe your show as a meal what would it be?
Leftovers, but good ones.
If your show had a soundtrack what songs would definitely be on it?
Everybody Wants to Rule The World – Tears for Fears, and Play Your Own Kind of Music – Cass Elliot
If you could perform this show anywhere in the world where would it be?
I’m still waiting to hear back from that theatre
What is the weirdest or most unconventional prop used in your show?
I did have a hat that I used to give out to our selected cult leader, but someone stole it. If anyone coming to my Bill Murray show would like to bring me a new one, that would be nice…
If budget or reality was not an issue, what’s the one piece of scenery/set you’d love to have in your show?
I’d love a technician who can put all my cult suggestions up on a projector throughout the show. When I’m reading them out, I’ll rarely manage to get through them all. I’ll sometimes find some amazing suggestions the next day when I look back through them, and I’ll share them on my Insta, but I wish I could include them all in the show at the time! So yeah, I’d like that.
What’s the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received during your career, and how has it influenced your work on this show?
A well-known actor – who I was in a pretty long run of a show with, maybe 10 years ago -took me aside on the final performance and told me to keep going, that it would be hard and that the industry isn’t loyal, but to keep going. That always stuck with me.
What words of advice/encouragement would you give anyone thinking about doing Camden Fringe next year?
Fringe is about taking risks, so just do it!
It certainly is! Thanks to Kate-Lois for shining some light on what we can expect from your show!
If you fancy joining Kate-Lois’ cult with us then you will find her show at The Bill Murray on 3 August.
