Old Boy actor Mark Hadlow ONZM (8490) returns to Christ’s College to show – and stage – two of his most well-known works, MAMIL and GOMIL. In this issue, he answers a few questions about their inspiration and enduring popularity.

Can you tell us about both MAMIL and GOMIL?

MAMIL (Middle-Aged Man in Lycra) and GOMIL (Grumpy Old Man In Lycra) came about when I was cast in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy. As a dwarf, we had to get fit for the action sequences and so I thought road cycling might be an option. A mate went cycling with a small peloton of chaps with similar ideas about doing exercise that was more interesting and a bit quicker than walking and he suggested I tag along. I loved it. The conversations, the camaraderie, the teasing, and the man talk were challenging and uplifting but funny and surprisingly helpful. After a couple of rides – and discovering I had bum muscles I didn’t know existed – I realised I related to the conversations. Work, relationships, medical advice, dating advice, marriage guidance – all sorts. I imagined this might be an amazing theatre show – all set on a bike.

I rang my mate, Gregory Cooper, writer, actor, and jolly good chap, and told him about the biking scenario. Four months later, a first draft for MAMIL arrived. We had a read through and that led to a second draft. We then had a four-week rehearsal in Martinborough and a premiere in Auckland. And 350 performances later, about 75,000 people had seen MAMIL.

Why should people see these shows?

MAMIL opened the floodgates on men talking to men. The characters resonated with men’s inability to talk about issues, especially relating to their health and wellbeing. The characters were unembarrassed about talking about body parts and psychological arrears that were off limits a lot of the time. In performance, I realised that women in the audience were enjoying topics usually off the table in conversation. The interaction of the characters mixed with the dramatic, and very real dilemmas confronting the lead character, Brian, were fascinating, resulting in hilarious multiple character scenes, performed by one man, culminating in audible audience responses and laugh out loud moments. MAMIL had opened up the underbelly of male impotence in communication and fear of being vulnerable.

With the success of MAMIL, there was talk of a sequel. We whittled down our ideas and considered our characters. Wayne, owner of the concrete company that supplied Brian’s property development and leader of the peloton from MAMIL, was particularly popular due to a unique knees-akimbo riding style. It was agreed that Wayne, with his predicaments since MAMIL causing disastrous consequences to the peloton, should be the central character in GOMIL. The clever connection from one play to the second was created by writer-director Gregory Cooper. And with 55 shows in a year, 8000 people have seen GOMIL – a testament to the success of the Cooper/Hadlow collaboration.

Why are you presenting a film of MAMIL and a live show of GOMIL at Christ's College?

MAMIL was such a great show to perform and get an audience response. Every night I had no idea how an audience would respond. MAMIL was exhilarating, every time. So, in collaboration with Weta Workshop and Sir Richard Taylor, we filmed the final performance of MAMIL in a warehouse, in front of an audience.

Now, here we are 10 years on and the lines and the performance of GOMIL are firmly implanted in my frontal cortex. If I had to ‘re-stuff’ all 1250 lines of MAMIL back into my brain as well, I have no doubt I wouldn’t know which play I was momentarily spouting.

I would want people to see MAMIL because it’s filmed under the same production values as a National Theatre production in London and is so good. I also know firsthand that the people who saw the MAMIL film at the Isaac Theatre Royal a month before GOMIL played there thoroughly connected as if it were the live show. Having seen MAMIL, they booked that night to see GOMIL a month later. It was fantastic and the best of both worlds.

I’ve spent 47 years as a theatre actor. I’m lucky enough to have a career in this industry and that’s because of the creative, clever, and talented people who passionately believe in live theatre. It’s the best feeling when you’re in a performance and, without even sensing it, the fourth wall disappears and audience and actor become one.