The Cheshire Magazine talks to Layton Williams and Shane Richie who are set to star in the UK tour of the award winning musical everyone is talking about

LAYTON WILLIAMS (JAMIE NEW)

For people who are new to Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, how would you sum up the storyline?

Jamie is based on a real character who was the subject of a documentary on BBC Three. I remember watching it years ago and it was about him wanting to be a drag queen and wanting go to the school prom in a dress and how his mum Margaret supported him. When he got there there was all this hoo-hah, the teachers wouldn’t let him in, then something wonderful and unexpected happened, his school mates refused to go in without him. The basics of his story inspired the musical and it’s been given a bit of theatrical razzamatazz. Our story is about a 16-year-old boy who wants to be a drag queen and it’s about his relationship with his parents - including his dad, who he isn’t much in touch with. It’s about Jamie finding himself and his drag persona and, without giving anything away, what happens when he does eventually go to the prom.

What do you see as the key themes?

It’s about acceptance. This is a show for everyone, especially for today. It’s not just for people who are into RuPaul’s Drag Race and stuff like that. The show is about a boy finding his path in life with the help of his close relationship with his incredible mum and her unconditional love for him. She loves him exactly as he is. A dad who isn’t supportive and lots of other characters that people will be able to relate to. It’s about family, friendship, trust and support. There are so many different, relatable characters in it - [laughs] although if you identify with the dad then have a word with yourself! And there’s so much diversity in the cast. The real Jamie is white and I’m not, but that wasn’t even a question for the producers and creatives - which is so refreshing and so fab, like just ‘He’s right for the role’ and that’s how it should be. Oh, and there are high heels, high kicks, drag queens, beautiful dresses, feather boas, some fantastic songs and brilliant dancing. It really is fun, funny and fabulous with a lump in your throat and a little tear. 

How important is the theme of inclusion to audiences both young and old?

Very important. I get messages from older people who have been helped by the show, whether it’s helped them come out or helped them understand their children better. It does obviously speak directly to the LGBTQ+ youth but it’s not limited to one faction. So many people can relate to being an outcast or feeling different but after seeing the show they’ll feel, to quote one of the songs, there’s a place where they belong. It didn’t happen to me personally but our director [Jonathan Butterell] said when he was doing the show in Sheffield a guy came up to him, grabbed his arm and said ‘I was Dean once’ - referring to the school bully character. Some people in the audience will maybe see the Dean character and think ‘That was me’ or they might see the dad and think ‘I was homophobic’ or they’ll go ‘Everybody is celebrating this boy here so why do I have these negative feelings?’ They might get dragged to the theatre by their girlfriends or wives, thinking ‘Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?’ then hopefully by the end of it their hearts and minds will have been opened and their opinions on things have changed.

What challenges does the role of Jamie present?

It’s about the emotional journey he has to go on. Eight times a week I’m having an argument with this person, bonding with that one, having to cry about this, having to cry about that… The rollercoaster of emotions is a lot to navigate. Being 16 years old is hard. I remember being 16 with all those hormones and stuff. There’s the acting side of all that, then there are so many songs. I have to keep my voice tight and right. That’s the difficulty - keeping myself on top form all the time so when I get out on stage I slay it. I want people to have the best experience possible and that means I have to be in full health, make sure I’m rested and always prepared. That’s the nature of the job but that’s what makes it exciting because you put your whole self out there on stage.

Do you know the real Jamie and have you based your performance on him?

Yes, I know Jamie Campbell, he’s a really lovely guy. I rewatched the documentary once I got the part. There a few things he does, like a few little dance moves, that I’ve put into the show. And with him as a person, I take some of his isms and personality traits. On the surface he might come across as someone who is really confident and fab and out-there, but as with lots of people you don’t really know what’s going on behind closed doors. There’s so much vulnerability to him. That’s  something I don’t necessarily have myself. I’m always getting notes from the director about tapping into Jamie’s vulnerability. I try to stay as true to him and his story as I can because I want to do it justice. I want everyone who comes to see the show to not just get this fierce, fully-formed teenager who’s got everything sorted because then it’d be like ‘So what’s this story about?’ If I came out in the opening number And You Don’t Even Know It like ‘Bam! I’ve got this!’ then the audience would just go ‘He seems fine, what’s the point of the story?’

Does the show resonate for you on a personal level?

Yes it does. I’m a queer boy from a council estate up North, so we have that in common. Me and my mum have had our moments in the past and sometimes on stage I’m thinking about the things we’ve been through. We always patch things up but families go through stuff. And my upbringing wasn’t rosy. As I say, I was a gay boy on a council estate and as much as I tried to hide it I had a few things coming my way. It’s not been the easiest ride but I put it into my art.

What’s your favourite musical number in the show?

And You Don’t Even Know It is fab because it’s the opening number and I get to sing and dance and do it all. Then I love the closing number Out Of The Darkness because I have my microphone in my hand and I feel like a real popstar.

The tour calls at The Lowry, Salford. Does it have any significance for you?

It’s the closest venue on the tour to my hometown, which is Bury in Manchester, so I’m excited that all my family will be coming to see me.

SHANE RICHIE (HUGO/LOCO CHANELLE)

You first played Hugo/Loco Channelle in 2019 and have recently returned to the role for the reopening of the show in the West End before the UK & Ireland tour. What first hooked you in about the role? 

I’d just come out of EastEnders and I was kind of happy just to have a break because I knew I was going to be busy from April/May onwards, but then Nica [Burns, the show’s producer] got in touch with my Manager and asked ‘We’d love to speak to you and Shane about the possibility of him joining the cast of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, there’s a part he’s perfect for.’ I’d heard a couple of tracks from it and I really liked them – but when you’re in EastEnders you’re in a bit of a bubble so I hadn’t had the time to go. So I went to see it with Phil Dale [Shane’s manager] and was like ‘Oh my God, I just love this show!’ They said ‘We’d like you to play a Sheffield drag queen’ and because it was so different to the next character I was lined up to play on stage [Archie Rice in The Entertainer] I thought ‘I need to do this’. I was in panto at the time so I didn’t get as much rehearsal time as I thought I would. It was seven weeks, then ‘Bam!’ me and Layton both started at the same time.

How has the past year been for you with theatres being closed?

When the Jamie tour got cancelled I thought it would only be for a few weeks but then we got to realise how serious it was. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, although I always knew I was going into the castle for I’m A Celebrity so I had that to look forward to. Before I went into I’m A Celebrity I was asked to go back into the West End production in January so when I was in the castle I was thinking ‘I need to lose a bit of weight so I can fit back into the dress’, knowing full well there was going to be no panto. Then two days before I was due to go into rehearsal the show had to be pulled. 

So it must have been great to finally return to Jamie in the West End this May?

[Laughs] It was fantastic but I struggled at first because my calves didn’t have muscle memory. When I put the heels back on I thought I’d only need a day to get used to them again, although the producer said ‘Shane, you might want to practice’. I was like ‘Shut up’ but then I put them on at home one day and I was a wreck. I couldn’t walk in them. People say it’s like riding a bike but once you’ve not worn heels for a long time it’s so hard. The first couple of shows I had a few little stumbles but now I’m twirling again and I know what I’m doing. 

How did you prepare to play Hugo’s drag queen alter ego Loco Chanelle? Did it take long for you to master the high heels?

I had a nightmare. With my left calf muscle, even when I just talk about putting on the heels I can feel it twingeing. It’s one thing standing in five-inch heels, it’s another thing to walk in them and another thing entirely to dance in them. Layton and the other drag queens in the show helped me and I’d do the school run, then come home, put the heels on and walk around the kitchen. My wife was like ‘Seriously, if the Tesco delivery man comes you’re not answering the door in high heels!’ but I walked everywhere in them.

What kind of feedback did you get from fans about your performance?

Those who have followed my career for years loved it, but there’s a whole generation who would only have seen me as Alfie Moon. There’d be these young girls whose mums wanted to come see the show because they’re going ‘What, Alfie’s playing a drag queen? I’ll come see that with you, darling’. At the stage door there weren’t just boys and girls and teenagers, they were there with their parents. If I can bring another generation to come see Jamie - the 40-plus-year-olds who wouldn’t normally come see a show like this - and then they love it, then I’m happy

How important do you think that message is in this day and age?

It’s so relevant. We’re in a country where there are so many social, political and cultural changes going on and people are being divided. We’re getting angry with each other, there’s the Far Left and the Far Right, then here’s a show that goes ‘Be who you wanna be, let others be who they want to be and celebrate diversity’. 

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie which will be starting at The Lowry from 1st September, www.thelowry.com

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