Ride The Cyclone
- tabithacatlin
- Jun 18
- 4 min read
Southwark Playhouse Elephant 19/06/2026 - 22/08/2026
Interview with Nathaniel Purnell - Plays the male swing role in 'Ride The Cyclone'
Have you got your fast pass to see 'Ride The Cyclone' at Southwark Playhouse Elephant this summer? What are you doing? It was a sell-out; you can't miss this. If you love theatre that is super quirky and kooky, with a sprinkle of spooky, this will be your jam. It did so well that it's coming back, and you will want to be strapped in to this one. What a cast!
If you are ready to Ride The Cyclone, then we have a little treat for you! We had a conversation with the fantastic male swing, Nathaniel Purnell, who told us all about the show and his experience. It's a crazy musical theatre ride of a lifetime, that you'll want to hear all about!
Q: Tell us about the show?
A: 'Ride The Cyclone' is quite crazy. If I were to choose 3 words to describe it, I'd say it's eerie, chaotic and heartfelt. The basic premise is 6 kids die in a roller coaster accident, and they each get the opportunity for one of them to be brought back to life. Which, on paper, sounds crazy. Pretty morbid. The audience learns a lot about these kids throughout the 95 minutes. You grow to care about all of the characters. Every character is on stage the whole duration. It's very intimate and intriguing.
Q: What is your role, and how do you make it your own?
A: I'm the male presenting swing and the dance captain. When I was learning each role, I found that all of the characters had very specific voices. It comes through in their lines, what/how they sing and everything! I learnt a lot about the characters from how our principals play the roles. I looked at how they play the roles, and thought about how I would deliver certain lines. I think each character has such a different personality, and I had to think about how I can get some element of myself in there.
Being a swing is a good crazy! There was a day last year I played Karnak during the matinee, and then I did Ricky in the evening! I think I'd made my Noel debut a couple of days before that as well! No day is the same. You never know what's gonna happen. It is an adrenaline rush for sure.
Q: What is your favourite ride at the fairground?
A: I love the teacups. I love anything that spins. Just the fun of trying to go as fast as possible without getting shouted at. That's definitely happened before!
Q: What is your favourite number in the show?
A: My favourite number is 'Space Age Bachelor Man'. I think out of all of the Noel, Misha and Ricky songs, 'Space Age Bachelor Man' is the one that I just love to sing! It's a mammoth song, but I think vocally, stylistically, it sits in my voice most comfortably. It's just epic. The whole space cats thing, I mean, what more could you want from it?
Q: What do you want audiences to take away from the production?
A: As someone who has watched the show, obviously loads of times, I want people to be able to connect to at least one of the characters. I think that is the great thing about the show, there is something in at least one of the characters for everyone to connect to. I know for me, I connect with, specifically, Noel and Ricky. Noel's queerness and how he felt that he had to hide. With Ricky, how he is pushed aside and the idea of feeling invisible. There's a message in the show about appreciating the little things in life. As cliché as it sounds, you don't know what you have until it's gone. You might have all these grand plans to do something crazy different with your life, but what if it was just that you could come back to life to see your loved ones again, the small things. The ending always gets me.
Q: What makes 'Ride The Cyclone' stand out?
A: Its uniqueness and the level of crazy. I say crazy in a good way and mental in the best possible way. I think that's why everyone loves it. I know, from speaking to people who didn't know anything about it, by the end they are like 'hell yeah, I love this!'.
Q: What is your favourite element of the show?
A: It is the music for me! I've always been a big music nerd. I started in choirs, singing was my thing. The fact that every character's song is so different. Every character basically has their own style, but it's still all linked. Even when we have underscoring stuff, it's all a theme, but then themed to the style of that character. It's so well written. It also means every cast member gets the chance to show off in the best possible way! I suppose it adds to the element of competition to be able to live. They all bring something different because every person has a different purpose. The differences in the characters make them stronger as a unit.
Q: If there was anyone that you could play that you don't get the opportunity to play, who would it be?
A: I want to try playing Ocean. She's a really fascinating character, and everyone who's played the role has played it differently. I think she's one of those characters who has no one set pathway to play her. I'd be really intrigued to see my own version of her. At the start, she feels everything's about her. It's all about her getting this new life, and then as the story goes on, these lessons she learns, she takes such a clear journey. I think it's unique to her character, and I'd really like to experience that.
Q: Describe the show in one sentence?
A: It is all the sort of chaos and craziness you would expect from a show about people being brought back to life after dying on a roller coaster, but with life lessons that you wouldn't expect to turn up.
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