Josephine McAdam is a London-based French/Scottish actor known for their work in horror anthologies such as The Mortuary Collection and Scare Package. Josephine plays the lead in Hard Reset and also recurred in HBO’s The Leftovers Season 2, Actual-play RPG fans will know them shows such as LA by Night, Battle for Beyond, Haunted City, and more. They are coming to Edinburgh to be part of a special actual play show, Call of Cthulhu – Live in the Library. We caught up with her to find out more.
STARBURST: What is Call of Cthulhu – Live in the Library?
Josephine McAdam: A three-hour improvised show using the Call of Cthulhu RPG ruleset to frame a 1920s mythos scenario set in Edinburgh’s Garrick Theatre! Creative director Mike Mason will act as Keeper of Arcane lore, guiding four brave Investigators through this tale.
How did this come about?
Chaosium, the publishers of Call of Cthulhu, wanted to expand the platforms we share these cosmic tales in – the Edinburgh Fringe Festival felt like a great venue to explore that! Having worked with them before and just newly relocated to the UK, I jumped at the opportunity to get to work with them once more in literally and figuratively new territory!
What else would we know you from?
I have been fortunate enough to get to act in both film and television productions as well as Actual Plays. A few films of note are Tower, The Mortuary Collection, and Scare Package. As for Actual Plays you can find me on Graveyards of Arkham, LA by Night, The Dungeon Run, Haunted City, the podcast The Between and more!
Is actual play roleplay now a legitimate part of theatre?
I personally find it no different to long-form improvised theatre, which generally follows a ruleset, to begin with – actual plays just often have a few more rules to integrate, though it really depends on the production! Many shows lean into the performance of it all, and you rarely see dice getting rolled at all. Instead, they use the established world of an RPG book as a setting to collaborate and tell a story. Like with theatre, I think we see all sorts of different interpretations of the craft develop, as is common with art – one’s level of enjoyment thereafter becomes subjective to the style one personally prefers to watch!
Do you have to be familiar with Graveyards of Arkham to enjoy this?
Not at all! This is a scenario separate from the Graveyards of Arkham story with new characters at play!
Who else is at the show?
We will be led by Chaosium’s creative director, Mike Mason, as our Keeper. Myself, Jasper William Cartwright, Katie Morrison, and Liv Kennedy will be the players!
Why the Edinburgh Fringe? And why such a limited run?
You’d have to ask Chaosium what led them to choose Edinburgh Fringe first – my best guess is that it’s such a great and welcoming creative space to try new things in, in a city surrounded by such great history and aesthetics that match up with Call of Cthulhu so well!
What was the most challenging part of the production?
So far – knock on wood – everything has gone smoothly! Everyone we reached out to to be involved in the show was available and excited to be a part of it! Now we just have to get there and improvise an entertaining show for our audience!
Why do we keep returning to Cosmic Horror?
In a world where we increasingly feel a loss of control or ability to impact events around us, I think it’s easy to connect to the idea that there is some greater Cosmic Horror playing with us mere humans. And it’s great escapism to feel like we might, in insurmountable odds, still be able to overcome or withstand those great horrors!
Are actual play RPGs the best format for these sorts of stories?
I think when talking about art, it’s almost impossible to say one medium is ‘best’ for a story – there are so many different mediums at our disposal, and this is just a wonderful other option in order to explore telling stories! Just like plays aren’t always better than novels that aren’t always better than films… it becomes subjective to which you prefer or feel like consuming at any time! I think it depends what you’re in the mood for!
What’s next for you?
I’ve just recently moved to London from Los Angeles so I’m excited to explore the acting opportunities ahead of me in film, television, theatre and Actual Play! I’ve got some Actual Play shows I’m fortunate to be a part of happening here in the UK in the next few months with the brand new Twelve Sided Studios as well as with Modiphius! I try to keep my social media updated with what’s coming next and when for more details! [@JCVIM on both Instagram and Twitter]
What other projects would you love to be involved with?
For me, my biggest passion is performing in genre work so anything that lets me step into another world of that kind brings me so much joy! It would be an absolute dream to be involved in shows like Interview with the Vampire or House of the Dragon, so I’m excited to see where the next few years here take me!
Shoggoths or Ghouls?
Definitely a Ghoul. I think I could befriend a Ghoul and we can share tea and biscuits together. Last time I met a Shoggoth… ng Y’ ahor mgsyha’h ot ai h’ ephaii
Definitely a Ghoul. I think I could befriend a Ghoul and we can share tea and biscuits together. Last time I met a Shoggoth… ng Y’ ahor mgsyha’h ot ai h’ ephaii
Doctor Who or Doctor No?
Doctor Who!!!
Godzilla or Cthulhu?
Oooof….. Cthulhu for me. I can’t break the Eldritch pact I made so many moons ago now…
Truth or Beauty?
Truth always!
You can find out more about Chaosium, here and book for the show here and find out more about Josephine McAdam here.
