STOP THE BEAT!
THEATRE is “back with a vengeance” and will help us all forget the fear and put some fun back in our lives says Les Dennis, star of the big bright show Hairspray. The bouncy tale of plus-size teen Tracy Turnblad fighting for love and equality in 1960s segregated Baltimore in the US is always a smash-hit with fans.
The latest production In London’s West End sees Michael Ball and Les play her parents, Edna and Wilbur.
Many big shows are preparing to reopen while uncertainty swirls around the easing of lockdown.
There are also fears that theatres might be closed again or the public might not want to come back.
But Michael and Les say that once bums are back on seats and the curtain has gone up, everyone will soon remember the joy of watching live theatre.
“There is worry, of course, “Michael says, “and acceptance that we may have to socially distance.
“On the first day of rehearsals some people were nervous and hadn’t been in a room with people for months. It’s amazing how quickly that fear is gone.
“Audiences will feel the same but I guarantee within a few minutes they will remember why they wanted to come back.”
“I did panto last December,” Les says. “We were warned that with a socially distanced audience in masks we might not hear them but it was the opposite. People want to get involved even more, cheer louder.we’re back with a vengeance for live theatre now.”
In Hairspray Edna and Wilbur’s devotion manifests through playful bickering…a bit like the two stars when I caught up with them during rehearsals.
It is a joyous reunion for the pair.
Michael created the role in the original 2007 West End production before Les joined him on the 2010 UK tour.
“He was my first Wilbur on the road,” Michael grins, “and my favourite, without question. I’m so happy, although it’s a damned sight harder doing it 11 years later! Working with Les really feels like a marriage. He knows better than anyone how to be a double act, allowing each to shine, never ‘me’ always ‘us’. He has immaculate timing and I can just relax.” “It would fail if we treated it as a competition for laughs,” Les says. “We support each other on stage and off. I just had a knee replacement this year and Michael is very patient with me when I’m a step behind.”
“When I go wrong, I go wrong big,” Michael laughs. “I’ll glare at Les and make it look like everyone else has messed it up, that’s the trick.”
The last time we spoke, Michael cheekily revealed how Edna’s heels toned his glutes. “I actually grabbed them earlier,” Les reports. “They’re in great shape.”
“The rest of me isn’t,” Michael says, “but the buttocks are magnificent.”
Michael and his buttocks, of course, won an Olivier for the role. “He never mentions it at all, definitely not every single day,” Les laughs. “I never mention it at all, or the one I won for Sweeney Todd,” Michael cackles. “Les has none, and yet I treat him like an equal.”
“I’ve got the Pointless trophy,” Les hits back. “Quite,” is the whip-crack-like response.
While these two revel in their relationship, Les admits he had concerns when he was first offered the part back in 2010. “I was in panto with Henry Winkler and he told me ‘Wilbur loves his daughter and loves his wife.why wouldn’t you want to do it?’ That was it for me.”
Michael agrees: “The original Broadway director Jack O’brien told us we’re not funny, the show is – but we must play it for real. It’s never played with a nudge and wink like, “Oo, that’s Michael in a frock and Les off the telly. It has to be rooted in real love. We never hesitated about the kiss or felt we had to remind people I’m a bloke. It’s just beautiful. It is the happiest show to be involved in. It’s so well written with hit song after song. It’s also the right time for it. It touches on so many issues that have been thrown to the forefront over the past few years, but the show isn’t preachy. It is honest and wears its heart on its sleeve.”
Les isn’t just back on stage in Hairspray, he will make his first foray into operetta with a starring role in The English National Opera’s HMS Pinafore in October.
“People are always surprised I sing because they know me from Family Fortunes and Coronation Street,” he says, “but I’ve done Chicago, Me And My Girl, and Legally Blonde. I’ve known the Pinafore director Cal Mccrystal for years and he called me in. After my audition – and this has never happened in my life – they told me I had the job on the spot. I’ll be singing with a 40-piece orchestra and we won’t have microphones.
“Apparently, I’m loud enough, and hopefully tuneful enough.”
Has Michael ever had to audition or, God forbid, been turned down?
“Yes! Twice! Outrageous!” Michael shouts. “Both in America, for Elton John’s Aida and The Scarlet Pimpernel. I also originally auditioned for Hairspray. I saw it on Broadway and knew I would kill for the role but nobody would ever consider me when it came to London. By then I was established enough that I usually just had a meeting about a show but this time I lined up and auditioned. I absolutely nailed it. I’ve never wanted anything that much in my life. The American producers said, ‘Well, Michael, you’re batting a thousand’. I replied, ‘I’m from England, darling, is that good?’ The news spread and everyone was saying ‘What dreadful casting’, the same as with Sweeney Todd. I love that because you get to prove them wrong.”
Incredibly this year marks the 50th anniversary since a teenage Les made his debut on Opportunity Knocks. Surely two major shows is a lot to take on at 67?
“Yes, but I’m buoyed by it,” he says. “My energy comes up.the thing I am most proud of is that I am still here. A review of me in The Addams Family musical once said, ‘In the strange long career of Les Dennis, he makes yet another left turn’. So many people I started with in the working men’s clubs and variety shows are not working now because they didn’t change and adapt.”
Michael has also branched into new territory on his latest album, We Are More Than One, where he takes on songwriting duties. Not only that, he has placed his private relationship with journalist Cathy Mcgowan at the heart of it.
“It felt right,” he says.
“It started pouring out of me, mostly lyrics. The key is honesty and being open to being crap but not afraid to try.
“Cathy is the toughest critic but I’m used to it. You need people around you that are honest. She could perhaps dress it up a bit nicer but she gives it to me straight because she cares and she loves me.”
Les spent lockdown at home with his third wife, Claire, and their two children, Eleanor, 13, and Tom, 10.
“I feel blessed in all ways,” he says. “Barry Cryer once told me, ‘It’s a great age to become a new dad because you’re up three times a night, anyway’.”
When Les moves on to Pinafore, Michael will be back with his regular pal Alfie Boe for their Together At Christmas UK tour. It kicks off in November. “I’ll tell you this much,” he grins, “Les is a much better
kisser!”