Actor Arthur Meek playing Richard Meros is pictured with a whimsical look on his face against a pink background. A thought bubble with a picture of Hillary Clinton with yellow flower wreathes either side of her is off to the left.Dashing Millennial Richard Meros is back in town with a persuasive argument that outlines the conditions and possibilities of Hillary Clinton taking him as her Young Lover prior to the 2016 Presidential Election. (You may recall him attempting the same thing with Helen Clark before election night 2008.)  I asked him some questions before his lectures (featuring a ‘Nuclear-PowerPoint’) start tomorrow night.

Q: This is the second time you’ve tried to get laid by a woman in power via the medium of theatre. Why do you keep trying?

A: I have to coach your language. This isn’t about getting laid, I’m not an egg. It’s about getting loved. I’m a romantic. I feel it’s better to woo and be ignored than never to have wooed at all (as Byron would have put it if he’d been any good at poetry) Also, no offence to Helen Clark, but Hillary is a much bigger catch. If she’s President she’ll have her own plane with a bed in it, which is way better than cuddle class on Air New Zealand.

Q. On the face of it, Hillary Clinton seems to be an unusual choice but the US Democratic primaries seem to fascinate a lot of people in New Zealand. Why do you think that is?

A: As Kiwis, we look to the US to tell us what to eat, watch, wear and buy. They help us decide who to spy on, arrest and blow up. Let’s face it, we’re in love with the US, so why don’t we face it and get our hump on rather than stand about like wallflowers at the bottom of the world waiting for the cute kid to ask us to dance?

Q. If I’ve seen On the Conditions and Possibilities of Helen Clark Taking Me as Her Young Lover will this just be more of the same?

A: Yes. Just like The Lion King and Frozen are more of the same Disney animations. This is the latest adventure of Richard Meros, B.A. It’s everything you’ll love – the humour the style and tone, and a completely different story presented by a man who’s eight years older and more beautifully delusional than ever.

Q. The show was described as ‘demented’ – in a good way –  by New York Magazine when it was performed in the US. Auckland audiences seemed to be favourable as well. Do you anticipate Wellington audiences feeling differently?

A. The thing you’ve got to understand about Wellingtonians is that they’re smarter and sexier than any other audiences on the planet. New Yorkers may have thought the show demented, but then they think that about public health care. Aucklanders admire anything that increases in value with time. So of course they like us. But Wellingtonians, they will be encircled in the swiftly flowing moat of pure reason.

  • Hillary Clinton / Young Lover written by Geoff Pinfield & Arthur Meek, based on a book by Richard Meros, on at Circa Theatre 30 January – 20 February 2016