Hi Lucy. You have been in the cast of the UK and International tour of MAMMA MIA! How was your experience about bringing the musical to so many different places?

To have had the opportunity to tell this story all over the world is so special to me. It’s amazing to see it mean so much to so many people, and how much it means to them that they’ve had the chance to see this West End smash hit in their very own town or country. The show is about love, and about bringing people together, and I’m so lucky that it’s enabled me to meet and work with so many people from different places and cultures. 


How does it feel to be playing at the Novello Theatre in the West End every night?

 The Novello Theatre is my thirty-fifth MAMMA MIA! venue! And not only that, it was the theatre I made my West End Debut in ten years ago, so it’s very emotional! I have such a connection with the building, made even more special by all of the people in it - my cast mates and everyone else behind the scenes, and all of the brilliant front of house staff who make the Novello such a wonderful place to work and for audiences to visit, we’re all part of the big worldwide MAMMA MIA! family and it’s so, so wonderful. 


Did you know ABBA's songs before working in MAMMA MIA!? What was (and is) your favourite song?

I did! I have always loved ABBA, ever since I was a little girl singing ‘Thank You For The Music’ on my karaoke machine, and listening to the ‘ABBA Gold’ Album on my CD Walkman as me and my mum walked the dog! And I’m absolutely not ashamed to say I still listen to lots of ABBA in my real life...! (I’m definitely in the right job!) My favourite ABBA song changes all the time - there are SO MANY amazing songs to choose from! But currently, it’s ‘I’ve Been Waiting For You’. The lyrics are so beautiful, and when Agnetha and Anni-Frid sing in harmony together near the end I could burst into tears it’s so beautiful!

MAMMA MIA! is now in its 21st year, and still very popular. Why? Is it for the songs, the themes, or maybe just because it’s fun?

First of all, it’s such an incredible experience to see audiences go crazy every single night, and to know that they’ve been doing that for the last TWENTY years! To give such joy to people night after night is one of the best parts of the job. I think MAMMA MIA! is such a continued success because it’s the perfect cocktail for an evening’s entertainment - the music (speaks for itself!), and the story is gripping, emotional, fun, relatable, heart-wrenching, the list goes on! You can be belly-laughing one minute and crying the next! One of the reviews from my first year of MAMMA MIA! said ‘it should be available on the NHS’, and I couldn’t agree more!
 

Have you seen any shows recently that you would recommend?

The last thing I saw was the play ‘Emilia’, which sadly isn’t on any more (It’s criminal that it didn’t run for as long as MAMMA MIA! has been!). But for anyone who didn’t see it, keep a lookout for if it ever returns, or treat yourself to the playtext. It was the most powerful and important piece of theatre I’ve EVER seen and I wish everyone could’ve seen it. I don’t get the chance to see a lot of theatre at the moment as I’m always doing a show myself(!), but I’m heading to the Edinburgh fringe for a few days at the end of August, so if anyone has any recommendations for me then definitely tweet me and let me know!

 

 

You can find the tickets for Mamma mia! at the Novello Theatre from £ 18 here

 

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