The West End star chatted to Emma Clarendon about taking part in Main Men of Musicals at Cadogan Hall on 31 May 2019.
Hi Liam, what are you most looking forward to about being part of Main Men of Musicals?
Getting to sing material that I don’t normally sing is really exciting, but also getting to work with the other guys. I’ve known Ben Forster for quite some time and he’s a friend of mine so to get to perform with him is a bit of a dream, and along with Trevor Dion Nicholas and Luke Bayer as well – that’s quite exciting. I’m also looking forward to working at Cadogan Hall as I’ve never actually performed there, and to working for producers Jamie Lambert and Eliza Jackson as well, they’re great up-and-coming producers and it’s exciting to be able to do stuff that’s all about men of musical theatre.
What made you want to get into musical theatre initially?
Well actually, it was an accident. I was working in the music industry from the age of about 14/15, and I had a number of record details that never really turned into anything. I did a load of tours and ended up thinking that I don’t want to stop, I just want to keep performing. So I went through a bit of a legal battle over a case and won, and they said ‘why don’t you go and do musical theatre?’. So I ended up going to musical theatre college, and I studied dance with my dance teacher back in Coventry and knuckled down for the two years and got accepted at Lane Theatre Arts, and from there went straight into Wicked!
What can we expect from Main Men of Musicals?
You can expect drama, tears, laughter, fun, vocals for days, and you can expect good banter between us all on stage. But also I think you can expect a high quality show – both Jamie and Eliza are adamant about putting on classy sophisticated productions and that’s what they do.
Have you got any songs that you are particularly looking forward to performing on the evening?
To be honest, all the songs that I’m doing are great, they’re all unique and different within themselves. Some of them people will know, like Sweet Transvestite which they’ve seen me do previously in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but there are others that people haven’t heard me sing at all, so that’s exciting. I don’t want to give too much away though because I like the element of surprise, so you’ll have to come and see it to see exactly what I’m singing.
Have you got any advice for anyone who wants to get into musical theatre? Anyone that wants to get into acting has to have a passion and a love for it, and you also have to know that this is definitely how you want to make a career – it’s not easy being a travelling actor! You find yourself out of work and then when you get the jobs it’s amazing, but you sometimes have to take risks that you wouldn’t normally take, especially if you want to be a leading performer and front some great pieces of theatre. You have to make sure your heart and your passion is there, because it doesn’t always bring in the money. But you do also get to create the most amazing bonds and friendships with other performers, companies, producers and directors and casting directors. So it’s such a fun and great industry to be a part of, it’s like a tight-knit family.
By Emma Clarendon
Main Men of Musicals will take place at Cadogan Hall on the 31st May.
