INTERVIEW: Ben Richards, currently starring in THE BODYGUARD at the Dominion Theatre

Ben Richards is currently playing Frank in The Bodyguard at the Dominion Theatre opposite soul Queen, Beverley Knight. His other credits include laddin (Shaw Theatre); Rock of Ages (UK tour); Oliver!(Sheffield Crucible); 9 to 5 (UK tour); Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Palace Theatre), Guys And Dolls (Piccadilly Theatre); Grease (Victoria Palace Theatre and UK tour); The Full Monty (Prince of Wales Theatre); Saturday Night Fever (London Palladium); Smokey Joes Café(Prince of Wales Theatre) and Grease (Dominion Theatre). On TV he has played Ben Bradley in Hollyoaks; Mr Kit in Doctors; PC Nate Roberts in The Bill; Justin in Holby City; Gayle Tuesday; Bruno Milligan in Footballers Wives, Footballers Wives Extra Time; and Dad.

First of all, how is it being back at the Dominion Theatre? It's been a little while since Grease...

It's great being back at the Dominion Theatre, this place holds a lot of great memories and where I got my break into playing roles when I took over the role of Kenickie in Grease

You're no stranger to a jukebox musical, or those based on movies, how do you prepare for a show like this? Do you watch the movie or keep well away and create your own character?

I did watch the movie just to remind myself of it and to get a feel of it, but as with all projects be it film, tv, or theatre, I will go through a process during rehearsals or in my own time to make the character and get my performance up to speed.

FIRST LOOK: UK Tour of Rock Of Ages

ROCK OF AGES The Musical is the ultimate rock mix-tape musical, an hilarious story of dreams, love and - of course - rock. A celebration of classic 80s rock culture, the show tells the story of a small town girl and a big city rocker falling in love to the greatest songs of the decade. Featuring memorable tunes such as ‘We Built This City’, ‘The Final Countdown’, ‘I Wanna Know What Love Is’ and ‘Don’t Stop Believin’, the show brings its wild celebration of Los Angeles rock culture to the UK. Warning: this show may unleash your inner rock god, and have you reaching for your air guitar in the aisles.   

ROCK OF AGES The Musical is written by Chris D’Arienzo, directed by Kristin Hanggi and choreographed by Kelly Devine.  The UK Associate Director & Choreographer for this tour is Leigh Constantine, and the UK Musical Supervisor is Elliott Ware.  Scenic design for the production is by Beowulf Boritt, costume design is by Tony Award nominee Gregory Gale, lighting design is by Jason Lyons, sound design is by Tony Award nominee Peter Hylenski, and projection design is by Zachary Borovay. 

ROCK OF AGES announces full cast

Following a three-year run in London’s West End, audiences around the country will get the chance to enjoy ROCK OF AGES The Musical as it embarks on a UK tour, opening at The Palace Theatre, Manchester on 5th May 2014.

The show will then tour to: Birmingham, Edinburgh, Torquay, Nottingham, Bromley, Bradford, Aylesbury, Bristol, Stoke, Liverpool, Sunderland, Glasgow, Brighton, Milton Keynes, Woking, York, Southampton, Dublin, Belfast, Hull, Cardiff, Oxford, Sheffield, Southend and Wimbledon.

ROCK OF AGES announces UK Tour, Starring Ben Richards and Noel Sullivan

Following a three-year run in London’s West End, audiences around the country will get the chance to enjoy ROCK OF AGES The Musical as it embarks on a UK tour, opening at The Palace Theatre, Manchester on 5th May 2014.

The show will then tour to: Birmingham, Edinburgh, Torquay, Nottingham, Bromley, Bradford, Aylesbury, Bristol, Stoke, Liverpool, Sunderland, Glasgow, Brighton, Milton Keynes, Woking, York, Southampton, Dublin, Belfast, Hull, Cardiff, Oxford, Sheffield, Southend and Wimbledon.

9 to 5 the Musical UK Tour: Theatre Review

9 to 5 the Musical is based on the 1980 film of the same name, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton. The film was adapted for stage, opening on Broadway in 2009. Parton, who wrote the title song of the original film, wrote the music and lyrics for the musical. The original production on Broadway closed after just 24 previews and 143 regular performances. However the musical didn’t just go away, it embarked on a US tour and last year came over to the UK and is currently touring the country. Set in the 1980s where the work place was a sexist place for women the show tells the story of three women Violet, Doralee and Judy who kidnap their horrible boss and give him a taste of his own medicine. They take over the office and show that just because you’re a women doesn’t mean you’re incapable of doing anything a man can do.

I must say that the score of this show is brilliant, for Dolly’s first musical she’s really done a fantastic job and really seems to understand each one of the characters plus getting the musical theatre style spot on, adding her own style to it too. She’s written a song for Judy which comes near the end of the show called Get Out and Stay Out, any person who likes musical theatre would know this song already but this has to be my favourite musical theatre song of all time. Patricia Resnick has written a great script, the thing I love about the show is that it’s a modernised version of the story (obviously still set in the 80s) but it still stays so true to the original essence of the film.