After the curtains have fallen in theatres across the West End, the Finale season is just beginning at London’s Boulevard Theatre.
Every week on a Thursday evening at 10.30pm, a star of the stage will take to the mic to share their favourite songs and stories – maybe even a drink or two. The intimate cabaret space is the perfect place to hear your favourite show tunes like never before, in a stripped-back style that lets those incredible vocals shine.
Produced by Nadim Naaman, the series presents NATASHA BARNES tonight (28 November 2019), with future stars including Claudia Kariuki, Emma Hatton and Adam Linstead.
Natasha J Barnes’ stage credits include: Falsettos (The Other Palace), The Twilight Zone at the Ambassadors Theatre, Wasted at Southwark Playhouse, Tryst at Tabard Theatre, Funny Girl at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Savoy Theatre and UK tour, Cinderella at the London Palladium, American Idiot at the Arts Theatre, The Boy Who Fell Into A Book at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Chess at the Union Theatre, Snow White at the Old Vic, Come Dancing at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, Lend Me A Tenor at the Gielgud Theatre, I was Looking At The Ceiling… at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, and Spring Awakening at the Novello Theatre and Lyric Hammersmith.
Is performing a cabaret something you relish, a chance to be yourself with an audience and pick your programme of songs, or is it a bit nerve-wracking too, not to be in character etc.
I suppose it’s a bit of both. Having total control over what music to sing and what stories to pull on is a thrill but also a daunting task – the show could go a thousand ways. I find it challenging to get specific! Also, as any actor would classically say, it’s the hardest thing of all to simply be yourself.
How have you approached the show and choosing your material, will you perform numbers from musicals you have appeared in? The pre-publicity says it will be stripped back, so what kind of musical accompaniment are you going for?
It’s going to be me and a piano. I think it’s a way to completely focus the audience. To focus the ear and the mind on the story of each song.
I’ve looked at my career thus far and picked out the parts of it that are as dramatically different as possible. Some songs are fresh takes from a show I have done, some are anthemic to me and some are just 16 bars long each, because that’s part of the job. That’s the reality, auditioning with 16 bars of a song from a show you have wanted to do since you were 10 years old.
Have you had a chance to see the space you will be performing in? Is it exciting to be doing your show at a new and exciting London theatre?
I haven’t! I will set foot in the space the same day as my audience and we will discover it together.
Any surprises, special guests etc?
I’m sure I will have a few surprises, some will be surprises to me as well as the audience because that’s live theatre! Joining me are Oliver Savile and Natasha O’Brien, two of my co-stars from Falsettos at The Other Palace. We closed on Saturday and I have withdrawal already!
I have one other rather special guest who may or may not be flying in… [We have heard on the grapevine Lee Mead will now be there!]
Tell us a little bit about your time recently in Falsettos and what is next for you?
Falsettos has been an incredible experience. Full of firsts. I have played opposite a woman for the first time in my career, I have only been on stage in Act II, I had to use parts of my voice I am not used to using. I worked with old friends and met some new ones and came through a tough run side by side with a cast that I truly aspire to. The music is infectious and I don’t think I will shake it for a while.
Who knows what’s next! I’m returning to music for a bit after my first Christmas off in four years… that’s gonna be pretty special.
Get your tickets HERE.
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.