Theatre / Stage / EntertainmentTheatre / Stage / Entertainment
How will it be different performing the role this
time around, a few years later?
I’m a little bit older now which I think makes a
difference. We’ve got the original director Sir Richard
Eyre coming back and the original choreographers who
will, I’m sure, be making little tweaks so I think it will
be very exciting. We’ll be starting rehearsals in August.
Charlie Stemp has been cast to play Bert – have you
worked with him before?
No I haven’t but we have so many mutual friends that
I’ve met him a lot. He’s such a lovely person; I’m really
excited to work with him.
How do you cope with the responsibility of taking
on such a big role?
There’s always pressure in any role but you just have to
think “I am me” and I have to remind myself that I’m
not Julie Andrews. Naturally I bring a little bit of Julie
into the performance because that’s who I know but
then obviously I bring myself into it.
Do you share any traits with the character of
Mary Poppins?
I always try to be as friendly as I can to everyone in
any room that I walk into. Mary Poppins does that
too; she smiles at everyone and makes everyone feel
comfortable. I’ve had a lot of experience working with
kids and I’ve learnt that if you speak to them like adults
they respond better.
Why do you think the story of Mary Poppins has had
so much longevity?
It has this lovely moral that it’s not always the parents
helping the children but sometimes the other way
around. That is the case in any period of time. The
magical side of it is crazy too; everyone leaves after
seeing it thinking “did I just see that”. For example, the
carpet bag – we put a bag on a table and I pull out a lamp,
teapot and teacups, all sorts of things. It’s moments like that
you hear audible gasps from the audience. The whole show is
about escapism from anything that’s happening in your life.What can audiences expect from this show?A lot of life lessons, in the best way possible, lessons about
how to help and love each other. They can also expect a lot
of beautiful magic, choreography and songs to sing along
to. Feed the Birds is a beautiful moment and that’s possibly
my favourite tune. People will hopefully come away from it
feeling happy and elated. I hope everyone loves it.This is your dream role, how could you possibly top it?I used to think there wasn’t any other ‘bucket list’ roles but
recently I’ve been thinking about Charity from Sweet Charity- my middle name is Charity named after that character so I’d
love to play that part at some point.
On some rare time off, what do you like doing?Going for brunch with my friends, I’m a huge brunch fan.Finally, can you spell supercalifragilisticdocious?Yes I can (spells it out). I can say it backwards too!Mary Poppins officially opens at the Prince Edward Theatre on
13th November 2019, with previews from 23rd October, and is
currently booking until 29th March 2020.http://www.marypoppinsonstage.co.uk“I always try to be as friendly as
I can to everyone in any room
that I walk into. Mary Poppins
does that too.”Photo credit: Johan Persson.26 May 2019 groupleisureandtravel.com