From Rags to Riches

Cinderella, Richmond Theatre

At this time of year, kitsch is king. Across the land, pantos are being played out with cries of “ he’s behind you!” And on TV, The X Factor reaches its climax with its very own 'pantomime villain' Simon Cowell, 'heroine': Danni Minogue, 'Dame': Sharon Osbourne and 'Buttons': Louis Walsh. So who better to have a chat with than singer Lucy Newton – with extensive musical theatre credits including West End productions of Footloose and Les Miserables - who’s just opened in the starring role as Cinderella at Richmond Theatre, and was a finalist on last year’s X Factor in the group The Unconventionals.

Are you enjoying playing the rags to riches poster girl?
I love it. It’s my first time playing Cinderella, but I’ve done Panto before with Jack and the Beanstalk and Beauty and the Beast.

Everyone knows the story, so how do you bring something new to the role?
A lot of the time is who you’re working with. Su ( Douglas ) plays the Wicked Stepmother, and because she’s so wicked a lot of the time my motivation  comes from that. When she made me rip up the invitation, in rehearsal I nearly cried. When someone is so horrible to you it’s easy to work off that.
And Nigel ( Havers )  who plays the Baron, my father, is really good to bounce off as he’s so scared of her too.

Is it good for little girls to see wicked stepmothers and nasty female rivalry?
I think it’s the thing of if you’re a good person good things happen to you. And it’s showing if you’re nice to people everything is alright in the end.

And you get to wear a killer dress.
I have a beautiful dress. The little girls will be “ Oh Wow!”

Is it difficult playing to an audience full of children? They can be really harsh.
It can be difficult for the younger kids, as the younger they are the less able they are to understand that it is a character, not real life.
The beauty of Cinderella is that the Ugly Sisters are nasty but still lovable, the kids adore them.

Do you have to contend with lots of audience members screaming?
Most of the time they love the princess, luckily.
When I  did Jack and the Beanstalk two years ago with Simon Shepherd and Twiggy, there was an incident when the baddie comes out and goes into box and the little child was crying his eyes out.
It’s hard for actors as they have to keep up the character and can’t say “don’t worry, it’s not real.”

Talking of making people cry: what’s Simon Cowell really like?
Backstage Simon is really nice.
On the show he came out with a comment saying we were diabolical, then in the corridor said “in your first audition you blew me away.” He said, “Louis chose the wrong song for you, it’s all Louis’ fault.”
That comes across in the programme, they blame each other all the time.
But I was like: “why didn’t you say that to the public!”

What are the other judges like?
Sharon is really nice. Louis was a great mentor, really hands-on.
Then he arranged for us to support Westlife at the beginning of the year, which was amazing.
We played Wembley, Glasgow and Dublin.

Are you watching the show now?
I watch bits of it. I have to say that this year there isn’t really anyone that different or stand out.

So who do you want to win?
I quite like Same Difference, I don’t know why. They’re a bit pantomime as well actually!
They’re so happy, they put a smile on your face, kids will love them.

It’s all so competitive. Do you find that part of showbiz draining?
Yes. There are 20 of you going for one part, and 20 could play it. That’s quite a hard thing.
I did music festivals when I was younger, with judges who gave us notes and feedback. That prepared me for X Factor.
But now people see the only way of going into it ( music business) is through these reality shows.
I was established in musical theatre but as far as getting into the recording industry, you don’t know where to go or what to do.

Are you and the band are still together?
Yes, we had a publishing deal but that fell through , all to do with Northern Rock.

So what next?
We’re in talks for a TV series, me and the band.
It’s like a docu-soap, a script that’s written, but written for us. Something like Life of Mars. We call it Fretro : Fresh and Retro.
It’s set back in the sixties:  with all the outfits and songs.  It'll be next year, hopefully, so fingers crossed.

Loma-Ann Bonner

Cinderella, Richmond Theatre, The Green,  Richmond, Surrey, TW9 1QJ
Booking now until 20th January www.theambassadors.com/richmond/
0870 060 6651

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