Phil Dunster on the ‘joyful challenge’ of staging a West End fundraiser

“It’s just the right amount of daunting,” Phil Dunster starts.

He’s a month out from hosting An Evening with Phil Dunster and Friends, a West End variety show, and the stakes feel higher in that it’s all in aid of Young Lives vs Cancer, a charity he holds close. But Dunster isn’t one to shy away from his fears – he has run a marathon (“my body is still hurting”) and he made his musical theatre debut in an 80th-anniversary concert staging of Oklahoma! (“it was amazing… but it was terrifying”).

The multi-talented performer is known for his TV roles in Catastrophe, The Trouble with Maggie Cole and Ted Lasso (Jamie Tartt doo-doo-doo-doo), and on stage in The Entertainer and Pink Mist. Now he’s taking on the “joyful challenge” of hosting a night of entertainment, and planning to channel his inner Dermot O’Leary (“an all-rounder” of an idol) and Rob Brydon (“he’s got that razzle dazzle”).

“I feel like in my life as a performer, I’ve been very fortunate to sort of straddle a few different camps”, he says, and that’s what inspired him to curate a variety show with his friends. Joining him for the fundraiser is Rob Delaney, who he first met on the set of Catastrophe: “Tragically, through the loss of his son Henry, we came back together again through Young Lives vs Cancer.”

The comedian’s two-year-old son, Henry, passed away in 2018 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. “But there is just such a wonderful, inspiring way of telling the story of Henry”, Dunster explains, “and the impossible tragedy that is losing a child, losing someone, or even having somebody in your family who has cancer.”

Delaney’s story very closely reflected what Dunster had experienced himself. His connection with the charity came from the loss of his cousin’s little boy, Rory, which is “sort of still really impossible to comprehend,” he says. Rory was diagnosed with brain cancer at four months old and passed away not long after.

Young Lives vs Cancer made the experience feel “as humane as possible” and he expresses his gratitude for all they did for them and continue to do for others: “From getting the right treatment, understanding the information, and ways to access funding should you need it; I was so impressed.”

Rory’s father, Matt, changed his career to work for the charity that helped his family. He and his wife Amy will also be performing on the night to honour their late son. “It’s a shining example of how grateful we are”, says Dunster.

“Really, I wanted to tell their story because he was such a gorgeous boy. And obviously, this is a tragic, horrible thing that is just so unfair for any family. The trauma of having somebody, a young person with cancer, to help them in any way that we can and so by telling Rory’s story, I hope that we can tell their stories and therefore do what we can do to move towards alleviating the nature of these tragedies.”

From lobbying parliament to funding research and working with charities, down to providing financial assistance and housing, Young Lives vs Cancer is there for every scenario. “What is just incredible is the love and togetherness that the charity has, and with all of the moving parts that come with the event that really is what it comes down to, the brilliance of the families and this charity.”

Also joining Dunster’s night is BEKA (“she is so radiant and such an extraordinary performer and singer”), musician Alex Vargas, comedian Aisling Bea (“a lot funnier than I am”) and new friend Zizi Strallen.

The duo took on the roles of Curley and Laurie respectively in Oklahoma! in the West End earlier this year. “It’s such a huge, iconic piece and to do it at Drury Lane, 80 years after it was first there, was special. And to do it with a 28-piece orchestra was the wind under the sails that we needed.” Citing his co-stars, Christina Bianco and Tosh Wanogho-Maud, he laughs: “I really had to bring my A-game! It was the first time I had done something like that.”

Currently starring in Oli Forsyth’s Brace Brace at the Royal Court (“a dream for any actor”), Dunster plays one half of a newly married couple whose plane is hijacked en route to their honeymoon. “It’s intense and very insular,” he says, “fly by the seats of your pants stuff.”

Dunster calls his co-stars WhatsOnStage Award nominee Anjana Vasan and Craige Els “inspiring,” adding, “they’re very silly people, which is what I think you need to have when you’re going through the play. We tend to laugh at the same things.” At the minute, it’s daily Moo Deng videos.

Of course, we can’t talk about friends without mentioning Ted Lasso and the entire cast. Dunster appears shy when questioned whether the gang would reunite for a musical appearance. Toying for a moment with the possibility of including stage favourites; Hannah Waddingham (he appeared in her holiday special last year) and Nick Mohammed (“as Mr Swallow”) before landing he’d reprise Oklahoma! laughing, “I know the material now!”

But he confesses, “I don’t quite have the range for Tony, but I’d love to do some Sondheim.” First, a short stay at the Victoria Palace Theatre for a glitzy night of variety.