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Sunday 1 July 2018

A Stagey Guide To Singing... Dayle Hodge and Michael Watson | Jersey Boys (UK Tour) | Stagey Sunday

Happy July stagey people and welcome to the first instalment of this month's Stagey Sunday. This month, instead of focussing on a specific show, we're looking at vocal tips and advice from theatre professionals. As a classical singer in training, I find hearing about other people's vocal journeys and advice super interesting, so I hope others who are hoping to get into performing or just general theatre fans will find it interesting and fun too!

 This week's advice is brought to you by the two Frankie Valli's of the current UK Tour of Jersey Boys: Michael Watson and Dayle Hodge...

What has your vocal journey been like?
Michael Watson: I always loved singing, I found my voice as a child and kind of carried on from there. As I progressed into shows, I met various teachers along the way who taught me their different ways. 

 Dayle Hodge: I’ve always sung from a very early age. In fact I was probably singing before I could speak and always had Disney sing-a-long videos on at home and singing was always something that I just kind of did. I was part of the school choirs and things like that but I never went to a choir in a way of “I’m going to go to a choir, I want to be a singer”, I just sang. I started performing at a very early age, I went to theatre school when I was 2 and did my first professional job when I was 4 so I’ve always been performing.



I did have singing lessons as I got older but not really proper ones until I went to Arts Ed sixth form when I was 16. Obviously being a boy you go through your voice breaking; my voice broke when I was 13 and it took a while to get it where it needs to be and back into a place where I was comfortable singing again but in terms of the journey I just always sang. 


What/who got you into music? 
Michael: It was probably Michael Jackson and my mum really! She used to play a lot of music in the car and I loved that 

Dayle: Growing up I always watched so much Disney and I’m still a big Disney fan now (not many people aren’t!) so Disney put me in that direction. The first show that I loved and always was singing at home was Oliver. When I was a kid I wanted to be in it so that’s probably what made me want to get into performing. I’m also a huge fan of Queen and Freddie Mercury and his voice is one of, if not the best, male voices ever so he’s a real inspiration to me. 


You’ve had a pretty diverse career vocally. How do you adapt to various styles/genres and when did you find your Frankie voice? 
Michael: I kind of had the falsetto there already for Frankie and my singing teacher, Mark Meylan helped me hone it to be able to do it everyday and to strengthen it. I think if you can keep your you voice supple enough and do enough exercises, you can sing any style really. 

It’s about maintaining the voice. You always want to bring your voice back to zero after you’ve sung anything so I would do a warm up and a cool down. As long as you can keep your voice around that level you’ll be good! 

Dayle: It’s interesting because someone came in to do a talk with us at college and basically said “we don’t think people can be that different… If you’re in Phantom we’re not gonna see you for Mamma Mia” and I completely disagree with that, as you can see from my CV. I think you can adapt and you can change and it’s all just about knowing your voice and how to use it. Everybody’s voice is different, obviously you can be taught technique and skills but only you know what your voice can do, so you have to find your way of doing it and making it work. 

The singing teacher can help you do that safely and technically correct. The best singing teachers that I’ve worked with, use exercises that they have created and developed themselves rather than using somebody else’s technique which for me is brilliant. It’s them saying, "I was struggling with this so I developed this to help with that" and I can take their advice and ideas to put that to use myself. There are some parts that I love to use and some bits that don’t work for my voice. So it’s just about knowing your voice and how you use it. Obviously some people are very much suited to one style and can’t necessarily sing others or they have a smaller range so in regards to doing different styles I think using your voice and practising different things, not just what you find easy is the best way to develop. 


How do you maintain good vocal health? Do you have a tips of tricks for when you’re feeling down? 
Michael: I have a few things! I think the best thing any singer can do is stretch their whole body through yoga or something like that because you’ll find that tension in your voice can come from weird places in your body. You could have a bit of tension in you hip and it can affect your jaw. Or your alinement could be off so your jaw is poking forward and you didn’t realise so you’ll get fatigued quicker, so stretching is vital. 

In terms of illness, I like to use day nurse. Don’t steam too much. I use a thing called accent method if I’ve got a cold which is connecting to the breathing. Don’t warm up too quickly or push the voice and also don’t try to ignore it; you want to feel as free both physically and mentally as possible. If you have something else on your mind it can distract from focussing on your voice so it’s important to be free and relaxed. 

Dayle: Loads of water. Drink as much water as you can, even if it means you’re on the toilet every 5 minutes, just drink loads because it’s so good for you. If I feel my voice is getting tired I steam which puts high intensity water onto the vocal cords at a temperature that’s very hot and clears any rubbish that’s on your cords. And rest is a key thing, that’s what your voice thrives on really; the more rest it can get, the better it will be. I look after myself a lot, I don’t drink really or go out partying in loud places very often because you have to shout over the loud music and that will affect your voice. 

In terms of if you’re struggling and feeling under the weather, again those things with water and steaming will help, if you do it all the time. I don’t really take anything other than before a show I take gaviscon to stop any acid reflux, but I don’t like to reply on taking pills or anything like that because to me you’re then just covering up anything that’s damaged and then you could damage it more. 


What is your pre-show warm up like? 
Michael: So I come in, if I’m feeling a bit stiff I’ll have stretch then I’ll chill out for a bit. If I’m feeling tired I’ll do a bit of accent method which gets the breathing connected. Then I start with slow humming, some lips trills and a lot of tongue loosing exercises particularly for this role, and then some jaw loosening exercises. Then going higher into my falsetto with a lip trill, a bit more falsetto and I should be done at that point. The warm up only really takes about 10 minutes but with the stretching and stuff it’s about half an hour. 

Dayle: I have a singing teacher that I see every couple of weeks and have a lot of exercises that she gives me. With singing the Frankie Valli stuff it makes your tongue very tight so I do a lot of tongue loosening exercises which get your tongue out of the way of where you sing. The more space you can create in your mouth, the easier it is to sing. The top of your mouth is a dome so if you get your tongue out of the way of that, the sound can just swell in there. I do those exercises on my own and then we do a full company warm up which is more scales and stuff which get me to the notes which I’m going to need for the show. On my own it’s more of a mechanical warm up to make sure that the mechanics of my voice are ready and then with the full company I use that to get the notes in my voice warm and ready for the show. 


Who would your dream duet partner be? 
Michael: Well besides my fiancé, I think I’ll go for Celine Dion. Her voice is unreal. Or if I wanted to look like I couldn’t sing, I’d go with David Phelps who would school me, he’s got an amazing voice! 

Dayle: Oh that’s a good question! I’d definitely go with Freddie Mercury! 


What’s your top piece of advice for aspiring performers in terms of finding and maintaining your voice? 
Michael: My best advice is to find the right teachers. If you’ve got a voice that seems to do what you want it to do then just keep going and don’t think about it too much. With the voice it’s all about bringing it from a place of joy and fun; don’t think that you have to try so hard and that it’s a rough journey. Find it fun. Your voice is meant to be strong naturally- a baby never loses it’s voice when it cries! So you’re just getting rid of habits you’ve formed as you’ve grown up so just enjoy the journey because your voice wants to go to the right place. You have to study it though; a book I like is called Finding Your Voice by Barbra Houseman, I worked with Barbara and she’s fantastic so I’d recommend her book to anyone. 

Dayle: If you want to do it, you’ve got to be very serious about doing it. It’s a very overpopulated industry and there’s always going to be somebody that’s better than you so you have to work hard to get what you want and to where you want to be. That doesn’t mean you can’t do it though, if you really want it bad enough, go for it and don’t give up. 

 Give yourself the best opportunity you can, don’t go to an audition after being out the night before cause you’re not going to be giving it your best and if you’re not the best then you’re not giving yourself the greatest opportunity to get the job. All the things I said about looking after your voice, do that and keep on top of things. Keep your voice active and moving but don’t overwork and make sure you rest!
A huge thank you to Dayle and Michael for chatting to me. Both can be seen as Frankie Valli in various Jersey Boys tour stops around the UK. More information can be found here.

 Interview by Editor, Olivia Mitchell

 See you next Sunday for a BATTY Stagey Sunday ;)

 Photo credit: Brinkhoff & Mögenburg
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Monday 20 February 2023

Bag Yourself a Bargain This London Theatre Week | ad


*this post contains sponsored content*

There's one thing better than the theatre, and that's the theatre at an affordable price. Well thanks to London Theatre week, you can snap up an absolute bargain. From the 20th February to the 5th March, tickets are on offer for £15, £25, £35 or £45 which means there's something for many budgets. 

What's great about these offers is that you can see something which might otherwise but out of budget. Hugely popular shows such as Matilda, Book of Mormon, The Lion King and Wicked are available at these discounted prices, so it's the perfect time to check them off your list. London Box Office aim to include all West End shows so there's certain to be one for you, or even better, this is the ideal time to buy a gift for someone else without breaking the bank!

The shows available include: Back to the Future: The Musical, Wicked, Disney's The Lion King, Disney's Frozen the Musical, TINA - The Tina Turner Musical, Dirty Dancing, Pretty Woman: The Musical, Newsies, OKLAHOMA!, Mamma Mia!, Crazy For You, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Mousetrap, Matilda the Musical, Grease The Musical, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Book of Mormon, The Great British Bake Off, Groundhog Day, Peaky Blinders: The Rise, Only Fools and Horses The Musical, Sylvia, Jersey Boys, We Will Rock You, Bat Out of Hell, Witness for the Prosecution, The SpongeBob Musical, George Takei's Allegiance, The Choir of Man, Bonnie & Clyde, Heathers The Musical, Cinderella in-the-round, 42nd Street, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs - English National Opera, The Dead City - English National Opera, The Rocky Horror Show, The Walworth Farce, Windfall, Titus Andronicus, Brilliant Jerks and more...

So Honey Whatcha Waiting For? Get searching and grab yourself a ticket for your favourite (or soon to be favourite) show. With tickets for over 60 shows with London Theatre Week, available for a limited time only, there really isn't a better time to book! Happy stagey days!



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Tuesday 1 March 2022

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club Announces New Emcee and Sally Bowles


The producers of CABARET at the KIT KAT CLUB in London’s West End are delighted to announce that Fra Fee will play ‘The Emcee’ and Amy Lennox will play ‘Sally Bowles’ from 21 March – 25 June 2022. This unique production opened in December last year to critical and audience acclaim, widely praised as the ultimate theatrical experience.

 

Adam Speers, Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, the producers of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club said today “We are thrilled to be welcoming the perfectly marvellous Fra Fee and Amy Lennox to our production of Cabaret. We wanted to recast these career defining roles with exceptional actors and so we’re just delighted that the stars have aligned with both Fra and Amy’s schedules.  We couldn’t have asked for a more exciting and thrilling duo to follow Eddie and Jessie.”

 

Director Rebecca Frecknall said today “It's always exciting to be able to keep a production live and evolving across its run, to be able to continue digging into the piece and making new discoveries. The fact that we will have new actors taking on the roles of Sally and the Emcee as Cabaret continues to run in the West End is thrilling, the original cast passing the baton to different actors who will bring their own perspectives to the work. I'm thrilled that Fra Fee and Amy Lennox will be the first new pair joining the production this Spring, two of our most exciting stage and screen actors. I know they will bring new creative energy to the production and will show me and our audiences new facets of the show.”

 

Fra Fee most recently starred as Kazi in the hit Disney+ series Hawkeye, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He created the role of Michael Carber in the award-winning play The Ferryman at the Royal Court, the Gielgud Theatre in the West End and the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Broadway. His other theatre credits include Owen in Translations and Amiens in As You Like It, both at the National Theatre and the title role in Candide at the Menier Chocolate Factory. He played Courfeyac in the film of the musical Les Misérables and also appeared in the stage production at the Queen’s Theatre.

 

Amy Lennox received an Olivier nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her portrayal of Lauren in the West End production of Kinky Boots. Her other credits include Ellie in the London premiere of the David Bowie and Enda Walsh musical Lazarus. She was in the original West End cast of the musical Legally Blonde and created the role of Doralee in the original UK production of 9 to 5 The Musical.

 

Fra and Amy appeared together in the critically acclaimed production of The Last Five Years in Belfast.

 

Also joining the production on 21 March 2022 will be Omar Baroud as ‘Cliff Bradshaw’ and Vivien Parry as ‘Fraulein Schneider’. Continuing in their roles will be Elliot Levey as ‘Herr Schultz’, Stewart Clarke as ‘Ernst Ludwig’ and Anna-Jane Casey as ‘Fraulein Kost’.

The cast is completed by Josh Andrews, Emily Benjamin, Sally Frith, Matthew Gent, Emma Louise Jones, Ela Lisondra, Theo Maddix, Chris O’Mara, Daniel Perry, Andre Refig, Christopher Tendai, Bethany Terry, Lillie-Pearl Wildman and Sophie Maria Wojna.

  

Omar Baroud (Cliff Bradshaw) is soon to appear in the series Wedding Season for Disney+. His other TV credits include Baptiste for the BBC and The Innocents for Netflix. His theatre credits include You Bury Me for Paines Plough, As You Like It at the Watermill Theatre, A Song at Twilight at the Theatre Royal Bath and All Places That The Eye of Heaven Visits at Shakespeare’s Globe.

 

Vivien Parry (Fraulein Schneider) has appeared in many West End productions including Madge Hardwick in the original cast of Top Hat at the Aldwych Theatre, Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre, Donna in Mamma Mia! at the Prince of Wales Theatre and Mrs Walshingham in Half A Sixpence at the Noel Coward Theatre. Vivien’s other credits include Twelfth Night and The Shoemaker’s Holiday, both for the Royal Shakespeare Company and Celia in The Girls at Leeds Grand Theatre.

 

Elliot Levey (Herr Schultz) most recently appeared in Nine Lessons and Carols at the Almeida where he also appeared in Three Sisters. His other theatre credits include the West End productions of Mary Stuart at the Duke of York’s Theatre, The Ruling Class at Trafalgar Studios and Much Ado About Nothing at the Wyndham’s Theatre. His National Theatre credits include The Habit of Art and His Dark Materials.

 

Stewart Clarke (Ernst Ludwig) most recently appeared in Be More Chill at The Other Palace. His West End theatre credits include Fiddler on the Roof at the Playhouse Theatre and Loserville at the Garrick Theatre. He also appeared in Assassins at the Menier Chocolate Factory and The Rink at the Southwark Playhouse.

 

Anna-Jane Casey (Fraulein Kost) was most recently seen in Girl from the North Country at the Gielgud Theatre in the West End. Her other West End credits include Mrs Wilkinson in Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace and Lady of the Lake in Spamalot at the Playhouse Theatre. She played Dot in Sunday in the Park with George at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Mabel in Mack and Mabel at the Watermill Theatre and the title roles in Piaf and Sweet Charity and Violet Butterfield in Flowers for Mrs Harris, all at the Sheffield Crucible.

 

In a time when the world is changing forever, there is one place where everyone can be free… Welcome to the Kit Kat Club, home to an intimate and electrifying new production of CABARET. This is Berlin. Relax. Loosen up. Be yourself. 

 

The Kit Kat Club has laid siege to the Playhouse Theatre. The performers have infiltrated the premises. The artists have staked their claim. Who knows for how long they’ll stay, but for now they are enjoying the party. The party at the end of the world.

 

Transforming one of London’s most famous theatres with an in-the-round auditorium and reimagined spaces, before the show guests are invited to enjoy and explore the Kit Kat Club with pre-show entertainment, drinks and dining all on offer. When booking, guests receive a 'club entry time' to allow enough time to take in the world of the Kit Kat Club before the show starts. But of course, the show really starts when you first join us in the club…

 

One of the most successful musicals of all time CABARET features the songs Wilkommen, Don’t Tell Mama, Mein Herr, Maybe This Time, Money and the title number. It has music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, book by Joe Masteroff. Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood.

 

CABARET is directed by Rebecca Frecknall (the Almeida’s Olivier Award winning Summer and Smoke, The Duchess of Malfi, Three Sisters), set and costume design is by Tom Scutt (A Very Expensive Poison, Constellations, King Charles III, Jesus Christ Superstar, collaborations with Sam Smith, Christine and the Queens) with choreography by Julia Cheng (founder of the House of Absolute, Philharmonia Orchestra Artist in Residence, recipient of the runner-up prize for Hip Hop Dance futures, Resident Choreographer for the Royal Academy of Dance, Judge and mentor for BBC Young Dancer and Breakin’ Convention – the UK’s biggest Hip Hop Festival, collaborations with London Fashion Week, Google and Dr Martens). Musical supervision and direction is by Jennifer Whyte (Les Misérables film, Caroline Or Change, Parade). Lighting design is by Isabella Byrd (Heroes of the Fourth Turning and Light Shining in Buckinghamshire – both in New York, Daddy – A Melodrama at the Almeida and The Flick at the National theatre) with sound design by Nick Lidster (City of Angels, Passion, Pacific Overtures and Parade at the Donmar Warehouse, Sweeney Todd and On The Town for English National Opera, A Chorus Line, Les Misérables and Miss Saigon). The casting director is Stuart Burt (& Juliet, The Drifters Girl and 2021 CDG Award for Best Casting in Theatre for Cyrano De Bergerac) and the associate director is Jordan Fein.

 

Tickets for CABARET at the KIT KAT CLUB are currently on sale until October 2022. kitkat.club

CABARET at the KIT KAT CLUB is produced by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions and Underbelly.

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Friday 25 February 2022

Millie O’Connell, Danielle Steers and Debbie Kurup to Play Cher in The Cher Show

“All of us invent ourselves.

Some of us just have more imagination than others.”CHER

The producers of the brand new production of The Cher Show are delighted to announce that the role of Cher will be played by Debbie Kurup, Danielle Steers and Millie O’Connell. The production features the actresses portraying Cher in three different ways throughout her iconic career, with Debbie as ‘Star’, Danielle as ‘Lady’ and Millie as ‘Babe’.  Further casting is to be announced.

 

With book by Tony and Olivier Award-winning Rick Elice (Jersey Boys, The Addams Family, Peter and the Starcatcher), direction by Arlene Phillips (Saturday Night Fever, Starlight Express, Grease), choreography by Oti Mabuse (two-time Strictly Come Dancing champion) and costume design by Gabriella Slade (Six, In The Heights, Spice World 2019 Tour), the UK & Ireland Tour will open at Leicester’s Curve on 15 April 2022 and will continue through to 1 April 2023.

 

Debbie Kurup’s theatre credits include Bonnie & Clyde (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), Queen Tuya in The Prince of Egypt (Dominion), Blues in the Night (Kiln), Sweet Charity (Donmar Warehouse), Mrs Neilsen in Girl From The North Country (Old Vic/ Noël Coward), The Threepenny Opera (NT), Anything Goes (Sheffield Crucible/UK Tour), Nikki Marron in The Bodyguard (Adelphi - Olivier Award nomination for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical), Velma Kelly in Chicago (Cambridge/Adelphi), Sister Act (London Palladium), East (Leicester Curve), West Side Story (Prince of Wales), Tonight’s The Night (Victoria Palace), Rent (Prince of Wales/UK Tour), Fame (UK Tour), Guys And Dolls (Sheffield Crucible), Pal Joey (Chichester) and Boogie Nights (Savoy).

 

Danielle Steers’s theatre credits include The Empress in Aladdin (Theatre Royal, Plymouth),  Catherine Parr in Six The Musical (London), Zahara in the original cast of Bat out of Hell: The Musical (Manchester Opera House, London Coliseum, Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto, Dominion Theatre, New York City Centre), Carmen in Sweet Charity (Donmar Warehouse), Lead Shirelle in the original London cast of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical (Aldwych Theatre), swing and cover Nikki Marron in The Bodyguard (Adelphi Theatre) and cover Killer Queen in We Will Rock You (International Arena Tour). Her debut album, The Future Ain't What It Used To Be, was released in 2021.

 

Millie O’Connell’s theatre credits include Maureen in Rent (Hope Mill Theatre - WOS Award Nomination), Jeanie in Hair (Turbine Theatre), Chloe Valentine in Be More Chill (Shaftesbury Theatre and The Other Palace), Anne Boleyn in SIX: The Musical (UK Tour and Arts Theatre, London - Olivier Award nominated), Ensemble/cover Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie (UK Tour), Ensemble/Understudy Annie in 42nd Street (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), Ensemble/Understudy Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street (Theatre Du Chatelet).

 

From a young child with big dreams, the shy daughter of an Armenian American truck driver, to the dizzying heights of global stardom, The Cher Show tells the incredible story of Cher’s meteoric rise to fame.  Cher takes the audience by the hand and introduces them to the influential people in her life, from her mother and Sonny Bono, to fashion designer and costumier Bob Mackie.  It shows how she battled the men who underestimated her, fought the conventions and, above all, was a trailblazer for independence.  

 

The musical is packed with 35 of her biggest hits, including ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’, ‘I Got You Babe’, ‘Strong Enough’, ‘The Shoop Shoop Song’ and ‘Believe’.  

 

With over 100 million record sales, an Academy Award®, an Emmy®, a Grammy®, three Golden Globes® and an award from The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Cher has influenced popular culture more than most.  Her on-screen career started in 1971 with her weekly television show that attracted 30 million viewers a week, and went on to include starring roles in iconic films from Moonstruck, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress, to Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, which prompted the New York Magazine to realise “every single movie—no matter how flawless—would be infinitely better if it included Cher.”  Her ‘Farewell Tour’ became the highest grossing music tour in history – in true Cher fashion, she followed up her ‘Farewell Tour’ with two further sell-out, worldwide arena tours.  She is the only artist in history to have a number one hit in the Billboard chart for six consecutive decades; an achievement that caused Vogue to deem her “eternally relevant and the ruler of outré reinvention”.  She became known as the Queen of Reinvention. 

 

In the 1990s, she established The Cher Charitable Foundation to support causes around the world.  She has been a long-time donor and supporter of Habitat for Humanity, The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and Keep A Child Alive, an organisation that helps to combat the AIDs epidemic.  Most recently, she co-founded Free the Wild to help rescue Kaavan the Asian elephant from Islamabad zoo.

 

Written by Tony Award-winning Rick Elice, The Cher Show made its debut on Broadway in 2018 in a production that earned two Tony Awards and delighted fans from around the world.  This new production will be the European premiere.

 

The Cher Show UK & Ireland Tour will have set design by Tom Rogers, musical supervision by Rich Morris, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Dan Samson, music production by Gary Hickeson, wigs, hair and make-up design by Sam Cox, associate direction by James Cousins, associate choreography by James Bennett and casting by Will Burton CDG.

 

The Cher Show UK & Ireland Tour is produced by ROYO with Fiery Angel, Cuffe & Taylor/LIVE NATION and Playing Field in association with Tilted, Aria Entertainment and JONES Theatrical Group.

 

Website: www.cheronstage.com

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram: @TheCherShowUK


photo credit: Matt Crockett


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Sunday 3 September 2017

In Conversation With... Stacey McClean and Stevi Ritchie | Sword and the Dope | Interview

Sword and the Dope is a musical retelling of the story of King Arthur, written by a dyslexic who can not read or write music but wrote the show as a bet/joke with a friend. It has now gone out for over 150 shows at three different venues prior to this run. Sword and the Dope stars Stacey McClean and Stevi Ritchie who sat down with Rewrite This Story to talk all about the show.



Can you both give a brief overview of your career and what your highlights have been?

Stacey: I was once a member of pop band S Club Juniors. Highlights from my time in the band were probably performing a Wembley and for the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Also getting down to the final 24 and performing for Kylie in Dubai when I went to the judges houses for X Factor.

Stevi: I started performing at the age of 15 at my high school in Grease the musical and played Kenickie. I've always loved performing but got many knock backs. But 2014 I entered the X Factor and since then life has changed.


You’re both musicians, how has the transition to concert performances to musical theatre been?

Stacey: In ways it is very different. Put me on stage with a mic and a band and I can do it with my eyes closed, but theatre is a little more challenging for me. It's a lot more intense, there is a lot of preparation involved and a lot more a stake. 

Stevi: For me it's been amazing and I've always loved musical theatre I trained at LSMT. Playing a prince in this show is great and taking me out of my comfort zone but I love it.


Can you explain what The Sword and the Dope is about?

Stacey: Sword and the Dope is a comedy musical with a politics edge. Think Monty Python, Black Adder and politics in a way you have never seen! 

Stevi: A sideways telling of King Arthur with a modern day political twist. One review said British humour at it's best with great musical numbers, for me that sums it up well. 



What drew you to the production? Are your characters anything like you?

Stacey: I play Sir Lancelot, a Knight who is a huge fan of the Green Party, so nothing like me really as I'm not into politics in the slightest. My character reminds me of Hermione from Harry Potter, slightly irritating, bit of a know it all who no one wants to listen to. The script was what sold it for me initially, I laughed my head off when I first read it. 

Stevi: I loved the script and especially the songs they are amazing. The character is similar to me it's cheesy and he loves singing.


The Sword and the Dope is a retelling of the story of King Arthur, if you could retell any story which would you choose?

Stacey: Amy Winehouse, now that would be a fantastic role!

Stevi: I would retell the story of maybe Bruce Lee or Elvis Presley or Freddy Mercury.


Can you sum up the show in five words?

Stacey: Funny, ridiculous, offensive, rude and camp! 

Stevi: Witty, camp,cheesy,Funny,eccentric.
Is there a play or musical you’ve seen recently that you loved?

Stacey: I have been to see Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour at the Duke twice now I loved it so much.  

Stevi: I love Les Mis and Grease.


Do you have any dream roles?

Stacey: Dream role would probably be Sophie in Mamma Mia, the lead vocal in Thriller and anything Disney!

Stevi: Yes, Thenadier in Les Mis or Kenickie in Grease.


Whats a fun fact people might not know about you?

Stacey: I was one belt away from a Black Belt in Taekwondo when I was 7 but I gave it up because I wanted to sing!

Stevi: Think everyone knows everything about me due to the press and being in the public eye.


What’s your best piece of advice for an aspiring performer?

Stacey: You have to have a thick skin in the industry otherwise you won't survive. The amount of times you get knocked back is not necessarily a reflection of how good you are, and that's something you have to be prepared for. I'm a firm believer that you get out what you put in.
Stevi: Just keep going and be you.


Thank you Stacey and Stevi for this interview. The Sword and The Dope is on at Waterloo East Theatre from Tuesday 5th September until Sunday 1st October.

 Interview by Olivia Mitchell, Editor

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