Stunning, soulful and spectacular are just some of the words to describe Lucy Kay’s recent performance in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford, Kent. The audience gave the UK’s longest running musical a standing ovation and I managed to grab an interview with Lucy Kay, the successful classical singer whose debut album Fantasia shot to number 1 in the classical album charts in 2014. I asked about Lucy’s current role as the Narrator and what caused her move from singing opera to musical magic.
Hi Lucy, how did you come about getting the role?
“Well, since the age of 7 I have sung opera. I went to music college for 4 years in Glasgow and I thought that opera was going to be my path. However, after I went on Britain’s Got Talent (Kay came runner-up in 2014), my management team were approached by Bill Kenwright who thought that the role of the ‘Narrator’ in his production of Joseph would be a good part for me to sing. I got the audition on the day and we rehearsed it all within a week! It’s intense, it’s scary but amazing when we do it right!”
You came second in Britain’s Got Talent! Would you say that experience shaped you?
“Absolutely, I always loved opera and went on the programme to do that and then I decided I wanted to try something else so because of BGT, I had a lot of doors open up for me. I wanted to be as versatile as I could. So now I love acting because it’s different and means I get to move about and actually be a character. I would love to be on the West End for the rest of my days.”
What’s a day in your life like on tour?
“Wake up, have breakfast, come to the theatre, do a physical warm up, a vocal warm up and have notes from Henry (Metcalfe the co- director who also plays Jacob in the show) and he will say if we need to reposition anything and then we’ll get ready and have a half an hour call and go on stage for the matinee. Then, after that we’ll go for dinner and then come back, have another half an hour and then perform the second show. Then on Saturday’s we have three. It’s a killer especially when you’re singing the narrator part which is basically the entire show, I literally come off stage once through the entire production, so on Saturday’s I’m essentially singing for 6 hours! I lost my voice in the first week because I came straight from 8 weeks of panto (Aladdin in Wolverhampton) and didn’t have a rest and went straight in to Joseph. I was still singing even though my voice was gone because we didn’t have an understudy at the time.”
Your voice seems made for theatre!
“Yeah, I’m now finding that I can do lots of different things like this musical is really big for my voice because it’s high, it’s low, it’s shouty, it’s quiet, it’s belty but I love it because it’s everything rolled into one!”
What’s your favourite scene?
“I like when I’m shouting out the brothers’ names when Joseph is the King and I’m singing ‘is it Ruben, is it Simian?’ and I get to shout out ‘could it could it possibly be Benjamin?’ and then it all goes silent, definitely my favourite bit.”
Is performing as a part of the UK’s longest running musical daunting?
“Yes definitely. Last year when I first joined, every day terrified me but this year I’m loving it because I’ve done it before whereas before it was my first ever musical. I also get nervous about the reviews too because if you are feeling anxious on stage you think the reviewers are going to notice and think it was rubbish but luckily we have had really good reviews. I mean there’s been a few times when I’ve lost my voice or couldn’t sing as well as I wanted to and they pick up on that but you know that’s one person’s opinion.”
Do you get stage fright at all then?
“Well not as much this year but I still get the odd little healthy nerves that you need to get when you go on stage to give you the adrenaline. Once, I ended up forgetting the words and singing about biscuits and all the brothers were looking at me and laughing but it’s funny because that’s what happens sometimes when you only have 1 week to rehearse. Also there was this other time when I sang out for the baker when it was meant to be to the butler and it was all very confusing. But I’ve got it all together now!”
So Lucy, what does the future hold for you?
“I have 6 months left on the Joseph tour; after that I might do some other auditions for Wicked or maybe Shrek the Musical, just whatever my agent puts me up for. I just have to wait and see really!”
I thoroughly loved the production of Joseph as well as meeting Lucy Kay who is absolutely lovely and a natural star and - I can’t wait to see more from her!
Lauren Woodley- Dartford Grammar School for Girls.
