My Top 5 Showtunes: Scott Garnham

Scott Garnham is currently appearing in Grand Hotel at Southwark Playhouse (you can read our ★★★★★ review here). His previous theatre credits include Made in Dagenham, I Can't Sing! and Les Miserables.

We caught up with Scott and asked him: "If you were stranded on a desert island, which five showtunes could you not live without?"

"Different" from Honk!

Honk was my first professional job at the tender age of 12 and is one of the main reasons I decided to continue working towards a career in professional theatre. George and Anthony [Stiles and Drewe] are two of the best musical theatre writers this country has ever produced and of all their songs Different is the one that has always stayed with me.

"Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast

As a child and into my late teens I visited Disney World with my family seven times! It’s a very magical place to me and holds some of my dearest childhood memories. One particular memory is the last holiday my granddad came on before he died. He was aware he didn’t have long left and we were watching a show in Disney Studios called Fantasmic! The song "Beauty and the Beast" began to play. He looked at me with his eyes full of tears and said "it’s truly wonderful", "the show?" I said, "No" he said "life". I’ll never forget that.

"Good Thing Going" from Merrily We Roll Along

I could have chosen so many Sondheim songs! I adore nearly everything he has written but I chose "Good Thing Going" as it’s the song I performed when auditioning for drama school. It gained me a place at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Merrily We Roll Along has remained one of my favourite shows of all time – I was particularly taken with Maria Friedman‘s version at the Menier Chocolate Factory. The direction was wonderful and Damian Humbley delivered a master class in how to act through song.

"One Hand, One Heart" from West Side Story

West Side Story in my humble opinion is the greatest musical ever written. It’s almost impossible to perfectly stage and cast due to the level of expertise the show requires. Incredible actors and singers with balletic dancing skills… and make an audience believe you’re part of a real and dangerous gang. "Maria" would probably be the obvious song for me to chose from this show as it’s one I’ve sang many times before but for me "One Hand, One Heart" represents everything the show is about.

"Cortina" from Made in Dagenham

Well I had to, didn’t I?! Made in Dagenham didn’t enjoy the run I felt it deserved but I feel very proud to have been a part of such an original and fun show with a strong message. I’ve also always wanted to have my own song on an original cast recording and with "Cortina" I’ve now achieved that goal.

Grand Hotel runs at Southwark Playhouse until 5 September. For more information and to book tickets, click here.