Gwyneth Paltrow is a Hollywood superstar. Terry Sanderson is a retired optometrist from Utah. They went skiing on the slopes of Deer Valley in 2016, and their worlds collided. In 2023, they went to court. Gwyneth Goes Skiing is the show by Awkward Productions (Diana: The Untold & Untrue Story) based on the court case. The show received global acclaim with sold-out runs in London, Edinburgh Fringe and even Park City, Utah – where the actual trial happened! QX spoke to Linus Karp, who plays Gwyneth Paltrow, about the huge success of the show, their trip to Utah and the latest run at Pleasance Theatre.
Gwyneth Goes Skiing has had enormous success and received global media attention. How have you been affected by that attention?
We love attention, so it’s been great. We haven’t experienced anything quite like this before, so watching our show being covered by the likes of Rolling Stone, New York Times, TMZ and Lorraine was pretty wild.
You took the show to Utah, the state where the story began. How was the show received there?
It was bUtahful and people loved it – it was so special performing to the people who experienced the trial and lawyers, witnesses, jurors, ski instructors and so many people involved in the actual trial came to see it.
How much fun did you have in Utah, and are there any stories to tell?
It was very surreal and an experience for life – such fun. We got to visit the actual slope where the collision happened, the courtroom from the trial and even visited Gwyneth’s lawyers in their office.
Now that the show will be staged at The Pleasance again, what can we look forward to? Have any adaptations been made as a result of your travels?
Since the last time in London we have had both Emmy winner Darren Criss and Edinburgh Fringe Award winner Cat Cohen join the show by providing their gwiconic vocals. We’ve added new costume changes, which I’m very excited about, and a pop culture montage that is a real highlight of the show.
This summer, Variety reported that InterTalent has signed you up. Vinnie Jones, Joan Collins and Shirley Ballas are on their books, along with queer comedic talent such as Mark Bittlestone, so the future is certainly looking bright. What plans for your future can you share with us?
Personally, I intend to be as much like Vinnie Jones as I possibly can. We have some very exciting plans on new shows and new places to bring our work too – can’t wait to share the news with you very soon!
Gwyneth Goes Skiing runs from 11 – 21 December at Pleasance Theatre, Carpenters Mews, North Road, London N7 9EF, United Kingdom.
20% off tickets with discount code GWYNETHQX20
Starring Linus Karp as Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Martin as Terry Sanderson and featuring original music by Leland (RuPaul’s Drag Race, Cher’s Christmas, Troye Sivan’s Something To Give Each Other), vocals by Darren Criss and Cat Cohen and a special video performance by drag icon Trixie Mattel.
