In conversation with… the cast of Girls Night Out

With only a few days to go before the new tour of a Girls Night Out opens in Newcastle we caught up with the cast during their final rehearsals.

Harry Capehorn told us about his character Pete, who is fairly sarcastic but a kind man. He also seems to be the most secure in his relationship and own skin… but he IS vulnerable as you will see.

We wanted to know about how he felt in working with a live audience, rather than in television and he told us that obviously, you have to do a lot more work in the theatre and really have to know your character and what he or she says before showing it to your audience. He told us that he comes from a TV background and that is where he feels most secure, but nothing compares to the thrill of a live performance. It gives a real buzz and its good to be challenged.

We know that theatre actors have to be disciplined working towards the next performance and Harry explains that he has to send his time staying disciplined on a grueling diet and exercise regime to be fit enough to get naked in front the UK which involves going to the gym a lot, interspersed with cinema etc. He’s also been writing and taking some time to finish off a few projects of his own.

Mark Willshire, who has worked on many high profile theatre musicals (Mamma Mia, Our House and Starlight Express) admitted that his favourite was Our House, being a very clever storyline and opened his eyes to the music of Madness. If he was to be specific about each role, then his favourite would be Never Forget.

But he admitted joining Girls Night Out wasn’t necessarily for the part, as such, but the direction he wanted to go for my career. He loves doing musicals but would love to go into more of the acting side of things he added.

Having toured extensively we wondered if he had any stories about the standard of “digs” he had endured and he told us he once turned up at some digs in Southampton, took one look from the outside and thought “No thanks!” So he got on the phone and found somewhere else which turned out to be really nice and had a great week.

He also remember in Sunderland going down the stairs at the digs at about 11am and the landlady had already polished off half a bottle of Chianti!

Amanda Bellamy told us about her character Sue, who is quite a liberated Auntie who enjoys the company of the younger generation and enjoys letting her hair down. She’s a warm caring person at a bit of a crossroads and wanting to have a bit of fun out of life.

Amanda has worked in many hit TV shows including classics such as Terry and June and played Rose, Madge Cartwright’s ward, in four series of “You Rang m’Lord” eloping with Lord Teddy in the last episode. She commented that it was a great privileged to work with David Croft and Jimmy Perry. She added she hadn’t done a lot of television when beginning “You Rang” but learnt a lot from watching ‘old hands’ like Paul Shane and from being given the chance to try different things. All the outdoor scenes for the series were filmed over a two week period when they all moved to Norfolk and stayed in the same hotel. It was a really fun and bonding time for the whole cast and crew and created a great atmosphere on set.

So with such a career being based in TV how does she fell about touring in theatre once again? Yes, she loves touring and is lucky enough to have quite a few friends dotted around the country whom its fun to have a reason to see. She loves seeing different parts of Britain and the world and always enjoy the slight difference in audience reaction you find in different places she added.

Judging from the casts enthusiasm Newcastle audiences should be in for a treat being the first to see this production before it starts a national tour.