INTERVIEW: Rob Houchen, currently starring in SOUTH PACIFIC on tour and at Sadler's Wells

Rob Houchen is a true modern-day Musical Theatre leading man, his CV is one to impress anyone out there with a huge range of work under his belt. He is currently playing the role of Lieutenant Cable in the UK tour of South Pacific after appearing in the production at the Chichester Festival Theatre, the show will also make a stop in the West End when it comes to Sadler's Wells from the 27th of July to the 28th of August. 

His theatre credits include South Pacific (Chichester Festival Theatre); Marry Me A Little (The Barn Theatre); City of Angels (Garrick Theatre); The Light in the Piazza (Royal Festival Hall), (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles) & (Lyric Opera, Chicago); Les Miserables All-Star Concert(Gielgud Theatre); Eugenius! (The Other Palace); Broken Wings (Theatre Royal Haymarket); Les Miserables 30th Anniversary (Japan); Titanic (Charing Cross Theatre); Les Miserables (Queen’s Theatre); The 12 Tenors (World Wide Events); Godspell in Concert (The Lyric Theatre); Candide in Concert (Cadogan Hall) and Peter Pan (Harlow Playhouse).

Television/Film credits include: ‘Tony’ West Side Stories: The Making of a Classic (BBC) and Les Miserables The All-Star Concert (Universal).

South Pacific has just opened at the Manchester Opera House, but we managed to speak to Rob during the rehearsal process. 

COMING HOME: Rob Madge, about to open their solo show ‘My Son’s a Queer (But What Can I Do?)’ and will be appearing in Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks

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! 

Before the pandemic, a lot of us didn’t have a clue what TikTok even was. Now, whilst some people have managed not to get the TikTok bug, for some, it's actually brought them a lot of joy throughout this really difficult time. Someone who has absolutely catapulted in this social media world is Rob Madge, perhaps a name you might not have heard before 2020 - but if you own any social media accounts and are stagey, you will definitely know who they are! 

On TikTok, Rob now has over 90,000 followers and over 3 million likes! With videos varying from their childhood productions put on in the living room to the out of time Glinda, these videos have provided so much entertainment to people through this tough time. Rob is also such a wonderful role model for all those across our industry, identifying as non-binary Rob has spread not only laughs across the internet with their comedy, but also a message to live as your authentic self. We spoke about this and Rob reflects on how it actually was quite intimidating, “being known for working in musical theatre as a ‘boy’ was a hugely daunting experience and I hope that one day this won’t be such a trepidatious concept for others. This industry needs to be our sanctuary, a place where all identities can be embraced. It’s an exciting time for theatre if people are willing to open their eyes to the possibilities of what we can all bring to the table in our own individual way.” 

COMING HOME: Richard Carson, just reopened in Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre

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!

Richard Carson is no stranger to Les Miserables, having been in the show previously at the Sondheim Theatre and in the concert production at the Gielgud theatre. He has played Combeferre whilst also covering the role of Javert and will return to the show in its West End home once again in the reopening. The concert production returned on the 20th May 2021 with an all-star cast, Richard included. 

A truly well-seasoned performer, Richard has had the pleasure of being in a wide variety of shows across his career; from classics like Oklahoma for the BBC at the Royal Albert Hall, the lead role of Sky in Guys and Dolls for the Mill at Sonning and the recent London Palladium revival production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to modern musical staples like covering Fiyero in Wicked on tour, playing Sky in Mamma Mia and even covering Chris in the revival of Miss Saigon at the Prince Edward Theatre. With this crazily impressive CV, he tells us of the importance of really relishing in each and every single moment; “the key will be to savour each moment that little bit more. Go out, see the world, see friends and family, and enjoy yourself.” A tip I think we all can learn from. This past year has been hard-hitting and we could all do with treasuring each moment we have a little bit more.