INTERVIEW: Emma Hatton, star of Wicked, Evita & Cats on Launching her new Podcast

Leading Lady of the West End, Emma Hatton, is probably best known from her run in Wicked playing the role of Elphaba in the West End and as Eva Peron in Evita on tour and also in London. Her other credits include Grizabella in Cats (Kilworth House); Fantine in Les Miserables in Concert (Milton Morrissey); Maisey in The Distance You Have Come (Cockpit Theatre); 1st cover Scaramouche/Meatloaf in We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre), Donna in Dreamboats & Petticoats (UK tour) and as a lead vocalist for Postmodern Jukebox and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. As well as being a West End superstar she has also had success as a solo artist in the music industry, she even opened for Jools Holland at the Royal Albert Hall! She is launching her new podcast '"Dear Music..." and we got the chance to speak to her about her upcoming adventures!

How are you and Hendrix the cat holding up during Lockdown 2.0?

To be perfectly honest, I think Hendrix is pretty fed up of me being at home all the time! Lockdown this time around feels very different to the first one. I thought the first lockdown wouldn’t last too long so I took advantage of a bit of downtime to breathe and reflect but as things have gone on much longer than we anticipated, I, like most people, have started to adjust and am now quite busy. I try to just take things one day at a time otherwise I get a bit overwhelmed.

Your performing career to date has covered some of the most iconic music of all time; from Queen to ‘Wicked’, Soft Jazz to ‘Evita’, Blues to ‘Cats’ and so much more! What music do you normally find yourself gravitating to when you choose a playlist?

It completely depends on my mood but Jazz FM is my go-to radio station which is usually on in my house. Or the UK Jazz playlist on Spotify.

The Corona Diaries: Emma Hatton

These recent times have been some of the hardest challenges we've faced and as a community, it hit us pretty hard. However during these difficult times, here at Pocket Size Theatre, we wanted to spread a little positivity and share some peoples experiences because we are all in this together. Each day we'll be speaking to our friends in the industry to share their experiences with you all so take a read and see how people are getting through these hard times. 

Let's stick together, share the love and get through this as a community!

Emma Hatton's credits include Grizabella in Cats (Kilworth House); Fantine in Les Miserables in Concert (Milton Morrissey); Vocalist in Post Modern Jukebox (International Tour); Maisey in The Distance You Have Come (Cockpit Theatre); Eva Peron in Evita (Phoenix Theatre); Eva Peron in Evita (UK and International tour); Elphaba in Wicked (Apollo Victoria), 1st cover Scaramouche/Meatloaf in We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre), Donna in Dreamboats & Petticoats (UK tour), Fairy Godmother in Cinderella(Harlequin Theatre), Vanessa in Heaven Sent (New Wimbledon Studio), Twyla in When Midnight Strikes (Finborough Theatre), Daphne in Darling Of The Day (National Portrait Gallery).

On Monday 16th March 2020, The Society of London Theatre announced the closure of all Theatres in London. This followed suit with regional venues. Where were you when you found out and what was your initial reaction? 

I was at home self-isolating as I began experiencing symptoms on the Saturday prior. I don’t think it really sank in for me, initially. I had seen the news of Broadway going dark not long before and so, I suppose a part of me knew that it wouldn’t be long before the same happened here. The emotional impact took a while to set in. I guess because I’m not currently in a show, it didn’t hit me as hard at the time but my heart just went out to all of my friends currently working on a show. We all know how extreme a situation must be for a show to cancel just one nights’ performance and the reality of the magnitude of this gradually dawned on me and it still hurts my heart to think of all the theatres that are empty and quiet right now.

Can you tell us anything productive you’ve been doing?

I think, like a lot of people, I had so many ideas of how I was going to put this time to good use; brush up my piano and guitar skills, Marie Kondo my house, write my album (if my management are reading this, don’t worry, I am still working on that!) the list goes on! But I soon realised that I needed to take the pressure off myself. 

I think, after so many years of moving at such a fast pace, my body and my mind just needed to stop and process what was happening. I read somewhere that ‘This is a crisis, not a sabbatical’ and it really resonated with me when I was giving myself a hard time about not being productive enough. I hibernated for a while and just had to focus on getting through each day as best I could. I tried to limit my news consumption and spent a lot of time on FaceTime with my family and friends. I’ve always been a bit of an introvert so I was happy to spend my time cuddled up with my cat, reading, listening to music, exercising when I felt up to it and just recharge. Once I felt like I’d got my head around things a little more, I was lucky enough to be asked to join Post Modern Jukebox for one of their online concerts which was the first one I’d done and it was surreal but such an amazing experience.

REVIEW: The Distance You Have Come at the Cockpit Theatre

The Distance You Have come is a song cycle that weaves some of the famous Scott Alan songs into a story line that centres around 6 characters. We all know and love Alans music from his countless cabarets over the years featuring the crème de la crème of the West End and for this production he has pulled together yet again a stunning cast. 

The story line consists of three couples who cross paths; we have two gay couples, one we see blossom and one see we destroyed, and a straight couple in which one of them has moved on and one of them is experiencing major depression. The storyline was too complicated for such a short piece and the lack of book meant we missed a lot of information so had to fill in the blanks ourselves. It was a bit of a mess and to be honest, not interesting in the slightest. 

The cast seemed to be more in the know of the storyline then we were, and this is not a good thing. The audience like to be one step ahead of the characters, not playing catch up because we’ve missed vital information.

REVIEW: Wicked the Musical at the Apollo Victoria Theatre

It is not often you find someone unfamiliar with the story of Wicked, but as I took my seat in the middle of the stalls in Row H, I was greeted by a lovely couple who had travelled down from Durham to see the show. They told me their daughter lived locally to the Apollo Victoria Theatre and had insisted that while they were visiting her, 'Wicked' was the show to see, but they had no idea what they were in for. "Is this a musical or a play?" they asked... I proceeded to tell them this was not my first visit to the musical, and that I had previously seen Emma Hatton (Elphaba) when she was stand-by for the role back in April 2014, and that even when she was so new to the show, she blew me away. I assured them they were in for a real treat, and I was absolutely right. 

EMMA HATTON to star as Elphaba in London production of WICKED from Monday 2nd February 2015

WICKED, the smash hit musical that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, is proud to announce that Emma Hatton will star as Elphaba from Monday 2 February 2015 at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre.

Currently the Standby Elphaba, Emma Hatton will replace international Wicked star Jennifer DiNoia, who is soon to play a special limited engagement as Elphaba from 27 October 2014 to 31 January 2015. Current star Kerry Ellis plays her final performance as Elphaba on Saturday 25 October 2014. Savannah Stevenson continues throughout in her acclaimed starring role as Glinda.