Interview with Lee Papa & Biz Lyon

Lee Papa and Biz Lyon are the writer and star of Midnight in Nashville, a moving new play with live music that makes its London premiere at The Glitch this August. Following a successful Edinburgh Fringe debut in 2025, the production tells the story of a country singer released from prison after twenty years as she attempts to reclaim both her voice and her future. Ahead of the London run, Lee and Biz discuss creating the show, bringing authentic country music to the stage, telling stories about older women and redemption, and why Marcy Aurora is such an unforgettable character.

What first inspired the story of Midnight in Nashville?

Lee: I wanted to write a show for Biz, who is a terrific actor who I thought I could create a perfect role for. We talked about country music and the often tragic stories of some of the women in that genre. I started reading the story of Mindy McReady, a singer in the 1990s who went through all kinds of tribulations, from abusive boyfriends to drug addiction. She was on the cusp of great fame when it all came crashing down for her, including being accused of murdering a boyfriend. She died by suicide, and I just thought, “What if she hadn’t? What if she had had a chance at rebuilding her life on her own terms?” And that’s where Marcy Aurora came from.

Marcy is a wonderfully complex character. What makes her so compelling to play?

Biz: I love the fact that we get this background information on Marcy and the tragedy and twists of fate that bring her to this studio on this night, but from her point of view: she’s an artist, and she just needs to get on with doing the work. It’ a beautiful thing to have something you do that can take you outside of yourself – even if it’s hard to make that last. Despite the rush of emotions and shock Marcy is feeling at this sudden freedom to move about in the world, her main focus is on creating something that will touch people and on re-routing the tale of her life. I imagine having been famous has changed her, and everything she decides to do is influenced not only by what suits her or perhaps her loved ones, but how it affects the story of her life that the rest of the world is consuming.

She has to re-learn how to record some great music AND conduct a personal life after years of being locked away in a very controlled environment. She's got the pressure of wanting to still be good at her work and wanting to be a good human being to this other person.

Why did you choose country music as the backdrop for this story?

Lee: We both grew up with and love country music, especially old time stuff like Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline and folkier musicians like Lucinda Williams and John Prine. Very few plays exist that are serious explorations of that world. Country music is also more welcoming to middle-aged women performers, and since that’s whose story I wanted to tell, it all just seemed natural.

Biz: Yes! All of that that Lee said! When we talked about his writing a show for me, we talked about some very broad ideas until one day I suggested it would be great if there was some singing in the show. When I was living in Tennessee, I had a lot of musician friends and played more music day to day, so having a show that would incorporate some songs seemed like a pretty great way to get more music in my life.

The play explores redemption without offering easy answers. Why was that important?

Lee: Redemption is a journey. It can’t just be one quick moment of revelation and then that journey is over. When someone has had everything taken from them, when they have to re-start their life, it’s going to take time, and Marcy is keenly aware that time is not on her side. So the kind of redemption she wants is more complex and more personal than seeking forgiveness or accommodation from the world outside of prison.

How has the show evolved since its Edinburgh Fringe premiere in 2025?

Lee: We have a new director, Alex Stroming, who has a number of great ideas about where to take the characters. I directed for Edinburgh, but I just thought the show would benefit from another perspective. I think the show is still evolving, so it needs that energy from having new artists on board. As for the script itself, some of the dialogue has been expanded, especially one of the last scenes, all of which clarifies a few things and adds another layer to the relationship between the characters. And we’ve changed some of the songs, making them more personal to both Biz and Marcy.

How did you decide which original and traditional songs would feature in the production?

Lee: That was a total collaboration between Biz and me. I looked through a bunch of old blues and folk songs that were in the public domain (so no need to pay anyone to use it). Biz did the same, and she found songs that friends of hers had written, too. We tried a few different ones, songs that suited the show and songs that Biz loved singing. Meanwhile, Biz wrote a song for the show, too. It was really simply trial and error and then it was how it all fit together in that puzzle way that creating a show can be.

The play shines a light on life after prison. Why did you want to explore that experience?

Lee: While I know the UK has its own issues with incarceration, the carceral state in the US is overwhelming, to the point where a not insignificant percentage of the population has some experience behind bars. The PTSD that former prisoners suffer affects all aspects of their lives, from relationships to their ability to function in the world outside prison walls. I don’t think of the show as shining a light on the plight of those released, but it defines Marcy’s life and would be unrealistic to ignore it.

The relationship between Marcy and Colleen is central to the play. What interested you about their dynamic?

Lee: Marcy is prickly and ready to jump when things aren’t going right. She’s not a diva, but she holds herself to a high standard that she might not be able to meet. The problem is that she holds others to that standard, too. Colleen is negotiating with both that ego and the damage that prison did to Marcy, so she’s walking a line between trying to do her job and trying not to get her ass kicked. Marcy is also much younger than Colleen, so that generational distance interested me a great deal.

Humour and heartbreak sit side by side throughout the story. How do you strike that balance?

Lee: For me, it’s by creating characters who need to use humour in order to cope with and comprehend the world around them. That way, the humour springs naturally from their dialogue, from their responses, and from their reality. To me, it always makes the heartbreak that much more poignant because you understand that a fully-rounded person is going through something emotional.

Biz: It’s just life. It’s a balance you hopefully strike every day, everywhere you go. Anyway, that’s how it feels to me. So many things in the course of a day can be frustrating and sad but also sort of hilarious. And I would imagine Marcy has become a pro at finding some humour in every situation after years in prison. It’s hard to even imagine the psychological and spiritual hoops you’d have to jump through to get through a long prison sentence and then keep your bearings when you get out. But humour would have to help.

I also think Marcy had a lot of fun along the way before imprisonment (and maybe some during) and truly loves being a musician. Having access to something you truly love and get paid to do can go a long way toward getting you through the day with a sense of humour.

Lee, you’ve written for theatre, performed and built a large following through your political writing. How do those different creative outlets influence one another?

I do two very different kinds of writing for theatre. My solo shows are based on my politics (which, for the UK, would probably lean more Green Party than anything else) and my life story growing up poor in the southern United States, among other things. My plays are absolutely influenced by the political work, but the theatricality of the work gets a great deal more attention. My recent plays have all focused, in one way or another, on how our culture abuses women and how those women fight back against the men who attempt to control them. I hope there’s a subversive streak in my work, an attempt to undermine dominant power dynamics. That’s a definite unifying theme.

Biz, your career spans acting and directing. Has directing changed the way you approach acting?

Biz: I’d say both pursuits have a profound effect on the other. While it’s largely considered the director’s job to bear in mind all the elements of the show and the overall story being told and to put herself in the shoes of the audience, these considerations also come to bear on the actor. There IS a whole world coming together, and the more integrated into that whole I am as an actor, the better. We’re all existing in that same room for as long as the show lasts, so any element that can make it feel more alive or soulful is on us to bring as actor or director. But once I started directing, that became much more clear to me and gave me more passion for creating something that will really grab an audience.

I had been acting for many years by the time I started directing shows. Those years of experience help me to tell where an actor is coming from, and it’s fun to find ways to reach actors where you find them and find a way to tease out the very best from them.

Finally, what are you most excited for London audiences to experience when Midnight in Nashville opens at The Glitch?

Lee: I can’t wait for London audiences to be immersed in this world where music takes precedence over everything else, where a song can save your life, and where the history of country music weaves itself into the present. Mostly, though, I want them to meet Marcy Aurora and let her break your heart, stir your soul, and make you smile, sometimes all at the same time.

A huge thank you to Lee Papa and Biz Lyon for taking the time to speak with me. Midnight in Nashville plays at The Glitch, Waterloo from 26th August–7th September, with previews on 26th & 27th August and opening night on 28th August. Tickets and further information are available via https://www.tickettailor.com/events/vaultcreativearts/2149705