Pocket Size Theatre and Liza Heinrichs (Captured by Liz) have teamed up again and created our new series 'Coming Home'. In this new piece, we look at the reopening of Theatres in London and around the country and celebrate our industry coming back. We got together some performers who will be some of the first to return to theatres and created this piece to bring some positivity to the theatre industry which has been through one of the toughest years in our lifetime. Whilst it is important to acknowledge the hardships we've all gone through, it's important we pull together as a community and celebrate our beloved industry finally coming back!
Danny was in the original London cast of ‘The Prince of Egypt’ at the Dominion Theatre, a show he had only been with for just under a month when theatres shut their doors. With the recent announcement that the Dominion will be reopening its doors on the 1st July, Danny takes time to reflect on how it might be when the show returns; “I can’t wait for the end of our opening number, ‘deliver us’ when we hit that button and the light shine on the audience, it’s going to be electric!”.
Danny was in the ensemble of the show and was also covering the roles of Aaron and Moses, he didn’t have the chance to go on for either of these roles before the show closed but it won’t be long until he’ll get the chance! His other credits include covering the role of Fabrizio Naccarelli in The Light in the Piazza at the Royal Festival Hall, understudying the title role in Disney’s Aladdin at the Prince Edward Theatre, The Who’s Tommy at the Greenwich Theatre and playing Niki in Out of this world at the Old Rose & Crown.
During the past year with lockdown and the Prince of Egypt unable to reopen, Danny has been keeping pretty busy. He teaches a class at Pineapple studios which he has been continuing online. 'Dance for Professional Actor/Singers' is a dance class specially designed for actors and singers. Danny and his fellow teacher Blythe aim to improve confidence and technique for those who may not be used to a typical dance class environment. They aim to create a judgement-free atmosphere with an element of fun. As well as this, Danny provides classes for drama schools.
He has also experienced the online side of theatre that has been thriving over the past year. Along with West End star Lauren Samuels, he starred as Jamie in The Last Five Years. The production, filmed in the actors own homes, ran online through The Other Palace and received four and five-star reviews!
We asked Danny about some of the issues in the industry that have been raised over the past year and he gave a really hopeful response, telling us about how he remains positive and always aims to look at the brighter side of life. He really emphasises the importance of the past year, how it has forced us all to stop for a moment and reflect on ourselves. “I think this time has given us a moment to pause which allowed us much-needed time and space to take stock of what was working and what wasn’t. I believe we will see a lot of change and a lot of much-needed positivity in terms of diversity and collaboration within the arts. This time has also given a real opportunity for newcomers to work with some extremely experienced people within our industry, who wouldn’t normally have the time. I think this will lead to some very exciting new faces both in front and behind the table.”
To round off our chat with Danny, we asked him what advice he would give to himself and/or others going forward. “The main bit of advice which I often give when I teach in London and around the country is to stay inspired and keep training. For me, finding new and exciting teachers and genres in classes is how I keep inspired and also on my game. So I would say learn something new find a new passion develop your skills in new and exciting ways.” A good reminder for us all that just because we may be getting back to some sort of normality, it doesn't mean we shouldn’t still try new things! A lot of us have learnt new skills over the pandemic, some for pleasure and some for survival, but we shouldn’t stop. We should continue to grow ourselves as people.
We cannot wait to see the return of The Prince of Egypt, with the show expected to reopen on the 1st July 2021 at the Dominion Theatre, I can’t even imagine what that opening number ‘Deliver Us’ will feel like on that first performance back!
Want to sponsor this article? We have business opportunities available, just get in touch and drop us a line at contact@pocketsizetheatre.com.
