 |
|
|
|||
|
Interviews
|
|||
|
|
"The Day That Changed My Life" Philip Fisher interviews Leanne Jones, the Hairspray star who last night won the Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical. Dreams come true but myths have to be invented. That is the lesson that can be drawn from the short but meteoric career of Leanne Jones, the star of Hairspray. The dreams keep on coming as well. First, eighteen months out of work following college graduation turned into a West End starring role in the biggest hit of the year. Now only five months on, her first major recognition, the Critics' Circle Award for Best Newcomer has been followed by a nomination in the Oliviers that turned into the award for Best Musical Actress last night. Not only has the previously unknown Leanne Jones become one of the biggest names in the West End, but the American import received no fewer than ten other nominations which were converted into four major awards including a prize for Michael Ball as Best Musical Actor and one for the whole company which deservedly collected Best New Musical. This can now be set on someone's mantelpiece next to the equivalent awards from both the Critics' Circle and Evening Standard at the end of a supremely successful first few months. Even though her face shines down from posters, she occupies the star's dressing room and cheerily chats with the likes of Ball, one gets the impression that Leanne Jones has still not really worked out quite what a hot property she has become. That is an endearing quality in a profession where so many of the big names have a reputation as self-regarding and precious. This probably owes a great deal to the new star's background. While this is no rags to riches story of a girl strolling in off the street and being cast to play the lead in the West End's most successful new musical, the transformation in this young lady's life over the last twelve months is undoubtedly the stuff of dreams. As she is keen to emphasise, the person who is Tracy Turnblad has long harboured ambitions to pursue a career in musical theatre and has worked very hard to achieve her goal. As a child, "I always had the leaflets from musicals up on my walls rather than posters of film stars or boy bands. This is what I've always wanted to do". Having tried out various drama and other clubs as a schoolgirl, she attended Mountview from the age of 18 and has a degree in musical theatre. That, though, is not enough to guarantee any professional work, let alone a constant stream. "I was out of work for a year and a half" before she found parts in a couple of fringe musicals, one "a rock musical called Enchanted in Leeds and the other last April, A Karaoke Wedding at the Union Theatre in Southwark". For a year and a half of professional life, this represents thin pickings and might have persuaded many young wannabes that the stage was not for them. The star's persistence may have owed a little to her other experiences during this fallow eighteen month period. In addition to attending auditions and her two relatively brief theatrical outings, Leanne Jones filled in her time gaining experience in a number of different fields, none of which excites. The only permanent job was in an office with the Halifax Bank "with a headset on talking to mortgage brokers" who to this day probably do not realise that they were exchanging financial information with a future celebrity. In the year before that, she'd been a teacher, worked in a jewellery shop in Liverpool Street Station, helped out as a cleaner and served behind the bar in a pub before temping at the Halifax finally offered her the financial security of a permanent job that she did not crave but felt it wise to accept. It didn't last long as "within a month of working there I had to say I'm sorry, I have to leave now" but couldn't explain why. In that she was smiling and tearful and had been sick at the news that she had just received by way of the telephone, it is possible that colleagues might have been more inclined to start a collection to buy some baby clothes, rather than tickets to see their former colleague perform. With great honesty, the new West End heroine also talks frankly about the difficulties that she has faced in building a stage career. "I thought that it was going to be a lot easier. I think I was mistaken. This might look as though it came easily but for a while there was nothing suitable for me". It is a compliment to her determination that even more spending eighteen months doing very little stage work, this young lady never gave up on her dream, although she did consider taking a year off to refresh the batteries. The road to Hairspray was long and hard. It started in 2005, while she was still at Mountview, when The Stage advertised open auditions. Despite the fact that Miss Jones was rather taller than the specification, she put her name forward. Having got through all of the rounds and arrived in the last four competing for the part, she was preparing to sing her heart out for the American producers and casting team, when the project was put on hold. The following year, she had a screen test for the musical remake of John Waters' cult movie but didn't get top prize. She got a further call in 2007 to come in and audition once again for the London production of the smash hit Broadway musical and went through a similar process to that of a couple of years before. The difference this time was that having made it to the shortlist, the producers were determined to carry the project to completion. After another stream of auditions and contests, the team knew that they had found the perfect Tracy Turnblad and Leanne enjoyed "the day that changed my life" when she finally discovered that stardom beckoned. If getting this far had been rather like climbing a mountain, the next step was closer to standing on the summit and in a leap of faith in her own ability jumping off while trusting those fickle parties, the public and the media, to catch her. She describes his period as "a bit of a whirlwind. To me the scariest thing was first preview because that was the first performance I'd ever done of this for an audience. That was the night when my heart was racing - I didn't even know if any words were going to come out of my mouth". The excitement remained at fever pitch as rehearsals gave way to the biggest night of her life "the press might was just amazing ... a dream come true". The actress who does not conform to today's norm is not afraid to address the issue of her size. In a world where it seems the media idolises women who never eat, it is refreshing to meet the star who has made a conscious decision to take advantage of the differentiation. "I was encouraged to stay the big girl at college. I understood quite early on that I could market myself in this way and eventually something perfect would come up for me". She is clearly delighted to be working with a number of stars such as Ball, Mel Smith and Tracie Bennett (another Olivier winner) whom she knew from watching television as a youngster. The newcomer finds the experience "just amazing but they didn't feel like the same people. I met them and I was star struck but within a couple of weeks they'd morphed into just people I work with - just my friends. I did have to keep pinching myself." She giggles delightedly as she recalls looking in the mirror at rehearsals and finding herself singing a duet with Michael Ball, her cross-dressing co-star and one of the biggest names in musicals today. The reason to this becomes even more apparent, when she is asked to name her musical heroes, Ruthie Henshall is the first name that comes to mind. In that context, Miss Jones explains that as a child, she devoured the Les Miserables video, which also starred the man with whom she is now appearing on stage nightly, Michael Ball. Leanne Jones will be playing the part of Tracy Turnblad at least until the end of her year-long contract this October. She has not yet decided what she wants to do afterwards but does know that it will not be a return to her banking career. A mark of how little stardom has turned this multi-award winner's head is her single answer to a query about the next step on her dream journey. Her immediate fanzine-type answer is to act in a film opposite James McAvoy. The handsome star of Atonement was sitting next to her when she stood up to receive the first of what are bound to be numerous awards in what should surely be a glittering career "and I didn't even know until afterwards". The more realistic possibilities at the moment include extending her run in Hairspray: "I'd love to do this forever but I would hope that my career would move on". She would also love to have an opportunity to work in a straight acting role, in film ("I love film") or on TV. Who knows, maybe even Broadway might beckon if they are short of a Tracy at the right moment?
|
||
|
|
