People think I’m just Mr Nasty... but that’s not true
CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD TELLS MARION MCMULLEN WHY HE IS READY TO PUT ON A SHOWSTOPPER
Are you looking forward to finally directing the UK tour of Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom The Musical?
Thankfully, I’ve sort of forgotten about the two years of downtime now and I’m on a roll with this. I can’t wait for it to start.
I think the time we were forced out of the theatre was a chance to sort of regroup and actually work on the set and different aspects of the show. However, I was really raring for it to go two and a half years ago and we had employed Kevin Clifton.
It’s why he left Strictly in order to do Strictly Ballroom and then it all failed miserably when Covid struck.
When did you first see the original movie?
In 1992, when it came out, and then on VHS video and then that went kaput and I threw all my videos away and got the DVD and now I’ve thrown my DVDS away because I’m downloading and streaming it.
I’ve got Jason Gilkison as co-choreographer, who is the lead choreographer on Strictly Come Dancing on the BBC. He has a wealth of experience and not only that but the original Baz Luhrmann play was about Jason’s life as well. He knew all the real people.
The characters were changed for the movie, of course, but he knew everybody so it’s really a blast from the past – harking back to his real life.
I also spent the first 23 years of my life in Australia so we both understand Australian comedy very well. It’s such a funny, funny show.
Do you enjoy the change from working on Strictly Come Dancing?
Obviously the TV work over the last 20 years or whatsoever has pigeonholed me into a twodimensional character that people think I’m just Mr Nasty
at the end of a panel holding numbers from one to four, but actually that’s not true of me as a person.
On Strictly I see one minute 30 seconds of a dance routine that’s either good or bad and I have to judge it, but that’s not me in real life and that’s not me as a director or choreographer. I choose to employ the people in my shows and I am in love with them. I don’t employ people I’m not in love with.
Do you enjoy directing such a big musical?
I suppose we could have done it with 10 people, but we decided to do it with 25. We cast some great people playing really fantastic characters, It has to be that really nasty, backstabbing ballroom world that you don’t get to see on Strictly Come Dancing.
Everything is glossy, shiny, but the backstage stuff is like the juice. Just being able to see all of that stuff before they go on stage is way more enlightening because then you know how much that smile really means to them.
I think that’s the gift of this show. (Laughs) The more I can bring out their selfishness and nasty, desperate sides the better.
Are you looking forward to working with Kevin Clifton again?
The beauty about casting Kevin is he already has a passion about it. He’s already been through that, being motivated, being let down by people in the industry, adjudicators undermarking him ... like I did once in his final.
He was very upset about it, everyone else gave him 10, and he was really furious about that, but that’s just the way it goes, that’s life. He’ll be great in the musical because of that passion. He’s going to be extraordinary. (Laughs) Thank goodness Covid did not go on for 10 years because he would have been too old to play the part, darling.
Do you enjoy challenging yourself?
When I was filming the choreography in Paddington 2 it was all out of sequence so I didn’t really know the whole story.
You’re making it up and then the director puts it together. Directing opera I was scared to death because I couldn’t speak Italian. I had to learn everything phonetically.
Then there was doing my first ballet with the Ballet Boys at the Royal Festival Hall and Sadler’s Wells as well, but I enjoy that challenge and experience. I never thought for one moment I’d become friends with the Duchess of Cornwall for instance and have to make massive speeches with her for the Royal Osteoporosis Society, but I do. I’d never have thought I’d have the courage to do that, but when you are passionate about something you can talk forever about it.
Can you watch yourself on TV?
I try not to watch myself on television. If I turn the TV on and I’m there, I go ‘whoops,’ and turn over.
If it’s a performance I’m always judging myself. I’ve acted in movies that have been completely improvised where I’ve no idea who I am or what I’m doing. You are just putting stuff together and it is all in the edit.
I played the villain in Nativity Rocks! and from minute to the next hadn’t a clue what was going on. We didn’t know the actual full story until we went to the premiere. Isn’t that scary?
But I love that. That’s why I put myself in these ghastly positions. It’s like having the world as your playground. You become a kid again. I just love that as a job, Who wouldn’t want to get out of bed and make stuff up every day?
What was it like doing your first solo tour recently?
That was frightening on a daily basis. (Laughs) Two hours of just me. I loved it though.
Every night I was telling myself ‘Don’t be scared, just do it, see what happens.’ I did come out dressed as a woman at one point and that amused people, although some didn’t know what was going on and were thinking ‘when’s Craig turning up?.’
Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom The Musical tours the UK from September 26. Visit strictlyballroomtour.co.uk for booking information