One of the highlights of this year’s Brisbane Festival is The Lovers, which officially opens tomorrow night at QPAC before heading on tour to Sydney. Loren Hunter plays Hermia, the Perfect Little Princess, in Laura Murphy’s 21st century pop reimagining of Shakespeare’s tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The Scoop had the chance to sit down with Loren at the Media Call today. Loren talks all things The Lovers, including her favourite songs in the show and how Hermia has been reinterpreted for contemporary audiences. Read the full interview below.
How have the preview audiences responded to the show so far?
Oh my gosh. So well. They are laughing at everything we want them to laugh at. They’ve been the missing piece. This show, this script, the music, relies so heavily on the audience to give us feedback as we go. So that has been awesome. And I think we’ve definitely been ready, despite it being so technical and technically heavy. But yeah, I was so excited to share it with them all. They’re loving it.
Hermia is such a fiery and determined character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. How does The Lovers reinterpret her for a contemporary audience?
She’s still very much fiery and passionate, and front-footed. She’s going to do anything she can to get what she wants. And in saying that, she does defy her Dad. She leaves everything to do with Athens, which has very much confined her. She doesn’t want to go with the Athenian law; she’s under everybody else’s thumb there. So she’s still written in that way, which is brilliant.
But in The Lovers version, in terms of what she learns, it is really different. She doesn’t just go running back to Lysander. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, she’s like, Oh, all the magic has worn off, and now we’re back to being perfect. She actually learns a huge lesson, which is, as the saying goes, love thyself. It’s the idea that you should be able to love yourself before giving anything to anybody else. So there’s that, which is a huge lesson.
I think, for me, particularly growing up, we had that Disney trope of like, Oh, I’ll be saved by someone. And it just is so damaging as a young person growing up for that to be the lesson you’re learning. And we don’t realise it at the time. Laura Murphy is a similar age to me, so it doesn’t surprise me that she’s rewritten it in a way that makes more sense for what young audiences need to learn.
You’ve played a range of roles in musical theatre throughout your career. How does Hermia challenge or surprise you as a performer?
That is a great question. I’ve done SIX for the last five years, which is so specific. Coming back to a more traditional musical, in a sense, has been a challenge. You’ve got your scenes and your songs; it’s hard to explain, but SIX feels very much like a stadium concert, whereas this has a lot more character-based arcs.
So that’s been a real challenge, coming back into it and thinking, All right, what is my character trying to do? Where am I going? Where am I coming from? All of those Actor 101 things where I’m having to say, Oh, that’s right. It’s a different process for each show.
I’ve watched the first two opening numbers a couple of times now, and there are so many clever quips in the lyrics. Are there any lyrics in particular that make you chuckle every time?
This show is very silly and very, very funny. The boys are like boy band characters. So, the more we lean into all that, the better it is, I think. But there are so many. There’s some great lines of Oberon’s where she talks about how you used to just meet someone face-to-face, but now it’s all websites and eggplants:
Do you remember a time / When we didn’t have to swipe right? / We’d hold each other’s hands tight / And connect without a website / Do you remember a time / When we weren’t ashamed to slow dance? / And our perception of great romance / Was not a picture of an eggplant.
I love that, that’s hilarious! That leads to a question about the pop score. Is there a particular number in the musical that you always look forward to performing?
Chasing My Tail is such a banger. That’s one that Helena sings. I love the one that I sing, Perfect Little Princess, that’s at the start of the show. Wrap Around You – there are so many! Yesterday was my day off, and all I did was sing the songs. They are hard to get out of your head, very hard.
That’s something I will say. Audiences will walk out of the theatre with the music in their head; there are so many earworms. I always find a great way to get them out of my head is to listen to the cast recording online and then say, Okay, that’s that.
The next two questions I always ask because I love hearing the answers. Are there any roles or shows on your personal bucket list – what is the next dream project for you?
That’s a great question. I think I’ve done 13 years’ worth of musicals, which I…do not get me wrong, I love. It’s what I grew up doing. But there comes a time when you think, I’d like to work across different mediums and see what I can offer in that. So, whether it be straight play, film and TV, something like that. I would love to do film and TV. But first, Sweet Charity.
Yes! Sweet Charity, coming in December. And finally, what advice would you give to anyone who wants to get into this industry?
To always stay open, curious and playful. And look after your mental health. Because that’s a huge one. As much as you do your lessons, your acting classes, your dance classes and your singing lessons, it’s important to stay on top of – or just become aware of how you can stay on top of – your mental health. And discover what things can give you an equilibrium. Because it’s all up and down, this industry, so whatever you can do to find your equilibrium is a really good thing.
The Lovers runs to 5 October 2025 at the Playhouse, QPAC as part of Brisbane Festival.
It then transfers to Theatre Royal Sydney from 31 October to 16 November.
Tickets: https://qpac.com.au/whats-on/2025/bf-shakestir-the-lovers
Website: https://shakeandstir.com.au/mainstage/the-lovers
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/atqpac/ and https://www.instagram.com/loren.e.hunter/
Hero image credit: Loren Hunter inThe Lovers. Photo by Joel Devereux.
