Interview with Phoebe Roberts, Midnight Cowboy
Conducted by Emmie for Theatre & Tonic
Based on the novel by James Leo Herlihy and the beloved triple Academy Award-winning 1969 film, Midnight Cowboy is currently making its World Premiere at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant this Spring. The story follows the journey of a naïve Texan called Joe Buck who moves to New York City, where he dreams of becoming a successful prostitute. He soon forms an unlikely friendship with a conman named Ratso, and together they navigate the harsh realities of survival in the big city. We chat with Phoebe Roberts to find out more about the production.
Can you begin by introducing yourself and telling us a little bit about how you interpret Midnight Cowboy’s narrative?
I’m Phoebe Roberts, and I play the roles of Chalkline Annie and Gretel, as well as being as the Dance Captain on the show. Midnight Cowboy is dark, and for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie or read the book, I think they’re in for a real shock. It’s deep — it’s hardcore. I explained it to my mum by saying, “It feels like proper theatre.” What we’ve created in the rehearsal room is kind of extraordinary, I can’t lie. I’ve never been part of anything like this before.
I've always gone into shows and stepped in positions. It’s a heartfelt piece, and it is going to break people's hearts. The show is about Joe Buck, who’s lost and trying to find a better life in New York. He’s carrying a lot of trauma from his past, and throughout the show, we see him relive those experiences through flashbacks. It gives you a real sense of what he’s been through before he ends up where he is now.
Along the way, he meets someone—at first, they’re not exactly friends, but slowly, a deep friendship forms between them. Watching that relationship grow is honestly beautiful, and the dynamic they develop is so compelling.
You’ve worked on big productions before, like Grease and Mamma Mia, which are beloved musicals. What was it about Midnight Cowboy that particularly drew you in?
It’s so different to anything I’ve ever done before. For me, I needed to discover what my passions were and what project was going to fulfil that for me. It’s about me doing something that no one would expect. The characters I’ve played before have big personalities, and this time I’m playing someone who is 15.
Have you encountered any differences in the creative processes for you with this new piece of work, and have you handled the challenges of the topics covered in Midnight Cowboy?
For me, it’s a total shift from what I’ve done before. I’ve sung upbeat songs like "Hopelessly Devoted" as Sandy, standing there in a classic role. But in this, I’m on stage singing about having sexual relationships with a line of men, each for 30 minutes—it’s wild! And yet, the song works. When you really listen to the lyrics, you’re like, “This is disturbing… but it’s so clever.”
When you join an established show, you do your research and watch the production to get a sense of the vibe they want—and usually, they want you to stick fairly close to what's already been done. You can add little touches of yourself, but you're mostly following a set script and style. With this, it’s totally different. The floor is yours. You can really take the character in your own direction. Nick’s there to guide and direct, of course, and he'll say things like, “I think this could work—what do you think?” But it’s very much a collaborative process. It's like, "Let’s try it and see if it sticks. If it doesn’t, we’ll change it.”
That freedom is amazing. You’re not locked into a robotic routine—every day in rehearsal can bring something new. You can come in and say, “This feels different today,” and explore that. Even though I’m nothing like the character I’m playing, it’s so nice to feel like I’m truly creating her from the ground up.
The atmosphere in the room is so safe too. Everyone in the show is so mature, so professional so it’s been really nice to bounce off one another and for other people to also interject and to see how their characters develop as well.
With your character Chalkine Annie - how have you developed her?
I’ve read the book and watched the film, they are quite different to one another. Our musical is heavily based on the book, the story starts off later in the book. She’s a young girl who has this rebellious side from her family - she sells her body to boys for 30 minutes and allows them to do whatever they want with her. I did a lot of research into forums and things to ensure that I dealt with the subject matter as sensitively as I could.
There have been a lot of interesting discussions surrounding the influx of stage adaptations based on movies and/or books that have exploded onto the stage in recent years. Where do you think Midnight Cowboy sits within that conversation?
It's nothing like other film-to-stage adaptations. It's not glorified, and it’s definitely not “happy-clappy.” It’s real theatre. It’s a play with incredible music that genuinely works and a script that’s so well written.
From an actor’s point of view, you can really sink your teeth into it: the lines, the vocabulary, the grittiness of the scenes. They’re dark, they’re disturbing — and I keep using that word because it’s the one that keeps coming to mind. The storyline truly is disturbing, but in a way that feels necessary and powerful.
And without trying to compare it directly, it’s not like Mean Girls, where you’ve got your stereotypical characters — the girls, the jocks, the predictable plot. This is something else. It’s heart-aching. It’s heartfelt. It’s a powerful piece that doesn’t shy away from taboo topics — both in the story and in what you see played out on stage.
We're not holding back. The graphic nature of it is there — you see it, you feel it. And in a space like the Playhouse, where the audience is small and intimate, there’s no hiding. You’re in it. You’re immersed. You're not just watching a musical from a distance — you're in New York, you’re in the world of these characters.
Why should people come and see Midnight Cowboy?
It’s completely different to anything else I’ve seen in recent musicals. It’s a play with songs, but the songs and how they are injected into the narrative are what I think sets it apart. It’s cast to perfection. It’s theatre at its absolute best!
Midnight Cowboy is playing at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant from 4 April - 17 May 2025.
