Interview: Sabrina Aloueche, starring in the world premiere of Sleeping Arrangements at the Landor Theatre

Sabrina Aloueche will star as Jenna in the world premiere of Sleeping Arrangements, a new musical based on a novel by Sophie Kinsella at the Landor Theatre. 

Sabrina made her West End debut at a very young age as Young Cosette in Les Misérables at the Palace Theatre. After training at Mountview and Sylvia Young she went on to star as Eponine in the production once it had transferred to the Queen’s Theatre. Sabrina is also well known for playing Scaramouche in the West End production of We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre. 

Sabrina also played Eponine in the 21st anniversary performance of Les Misérables which was recorded for a BBC radio broadcast and last year she starred as Maurine in a production of Rent at the Cockpit Theatre. Sabrina is the co-founder of WestEnd Fest, a hugely successful serious of charity concerts which feature a variety of West End stars and introduces West End audiences to new, exciting performers. 

Last week I had a hilarious chat with Sabrina about her upcoming role in Sleeping Arrangements at the Landor Theatre, the next WestEnd Fest and what she thought of The Book of Mormon... 

It must be exciting to be creating a role in a brand new musical? 

You know what... it has only just dawned on me! I’ve always wanted to create a role and suddenly I’m about to do it. I am very excited to begin the creative process which happens when you create a role as it’s something I’ve never done before. I am also very much looking forward to working with Robert McWhir, the director. It is going to be such a fantastic experience! 

What can people expect from Sleeping Arrangements? 

It is going to be a hilarious and very light-hearted take on a few, fairly serious issues such as being in a loveless marriage or being a teenager who wants to be a man... but we are approaching these issues in a very comedic way. I’ve been listening to the workshop recording this week and last night I had to put the script down because I was laughing so much, it really is very very funny. 

So what is the show all about? 

It is about two families who are both given a luxury villa in Spain by their friend, Gerard. But Gerard accidently double books both families meaning they have to make the best of a bad situation by sharing the villa and splitting up various areas of the house – ie. Sleeping Arrangements. However, there are certain ties between the families, there’s some love interest and so on... 

What is Chris Burgess’ music like? 

It is very varied. My character has a few bluesy, belty numbers and she has also got a fun number with Sam (Adam Pettigrew). It’s a good Hammer To Fall-style song as we argue with each other – I can relate to that (laughs). The music is very narrative and the lyrics are clever which means the audience will actually have to listen as we don’t spoon-feed them. 

I was very excited when the cast were announced, are you looking forward to working with the likes of Jenny Gayner and Adam Pettigrew? 

I am very excited because I haven’t even met any of the cast, let alone worked with them before, which is a first for me! I have done some sneaky research and YouTube’d the hell out of them! Obviously Jenny Gayner is a legend – I have always wanted to play the role of Roxie in Chicago and she’s played it, so I am sure there will plenty of rivalry there (laughs). And of course Adam Pettigrew recently played Boq in Wicked alongside my good friend Gina Beck (who plays Glinda) so he has come very highly recommended from her! Seriously the cast all look fantastic... and we have all followed each other on Twitter so we are now practically related!! 

You have been in two huge West End shows but most recently you played Maureen in Rent at the Cockpit which is an intimate theatre, like the Landor. What is it like performing in these more intimate spaces? 

Well it was actually all part of my plan! Having done these two big shows, especially after being in We Will Rock You for about three and a half years, I wanted to take it back a bit and learn something completely different and I’m more afraid of performing in more intimate spaces. Rent was also a passion project for me because the Cockpit is my local theatre. I did my first ever show there when I was about four dressed up as a Persil box and sang about the ozone layer - so it was nice to revisit that! With Sleeping Arrangements the whole plot really appealed to me and having spoken to my agent about being very keen to create a role and taking it back a notch it was just perfect. 

Les Misérables, We Will Rock You, Rent and Sleeping Arrangements are all very different shows, so is variety something which is important for you? 

It is very important to me. I like to keep things fresh as I get bored very easily! I really do try to mix things up as much as possible. I’ve been very lucky with the roles which have come my way. Although recently I have become a bit of a comedic actress so perhaps next I would like to do something a little more tragic. 

Somehow you have also found time to set up and run WestEnd Fest... tell me more! 

Well WestEnd Fest is my baby! It’s a little concert I put on with Parnell Page. We met about four years ago as his partner was also in Rock You and we clicked straight away as he’s also a singer and is very passionate about the arts and bringing forth new talent. Last summer we sat down, had a Pizza Express and decided to create a concert with a difference! WestEnd Fest introduces new performers to West End audiences - we have comedians, dance troops and magicians as well as upcoming recording artists alongside West End stars. It’s exciting to have so many unique acts under one roof. 

You try and make each one slightly different, don’t you? 

We try and do something different every single time. Our first concert was for a student who got into Mountview but couldn’t afford to pay the fees. The second and third were in aid of Cystic Fibrosis and the most recent was in aid of CRY Foundation in memory of Matt Beadle who was a friend of ours who passed away last year. We raised £4,000 for the CRY Foundation which was just amazing. WestEnd Fest is so much fun and the audiences just keep coming back, we have regulars now! The next one we are doing is going to be West End Swaps where singers from West End shows will perform songs from shows they would usually be cast in. Maybe we will get Gina Beck in to sing a bit of Lion King? Or perhaps Mazz Murray will sing On My Own from Les Misérables? We have some very interesting numbers in the pipeline, it’s going to be fun! 

Have you had the chance to see any other shows recently? 

I have seen so many shows, I have formed a little theatre group! We saw A Chorus Line recently but I was gutted because Victoria Hamilton-Barritt had a scheduled holiday which I didn’t know about and she’s a very good friend of mine. But the show was still fantastic and I will be going again to see Victoria! I have never seen so many triple threats on one stage, I felt exhausted just watching, especially as there is no interval - hats off to the cast. I also went to see The Book of Mormon and a week and a half later I still have not found the words to describe it. People in the audience were having physical reactions. I arrived not knowing anything about the plot so innocently bought a t-shirt and later on found out what it meant... It was a crazy experience, there were standing ovations after every song and people were falling off their seats because they were laughing so hard. It was insane and I’m getting goose bumps just talking about it!

Dare I ask... have you got any dream roles...? 

I do... (laughs) but I don’t like talking about them – I don’t want to jinx anything! I have got a number of dream roles, I would one day like to appear in Hair, Wicked, Miss Saigon, Blood Brothers... there are loads! 

And I think there is one particular show a few people might like to see you in... 

(Sabrina cackles) We’ll see... 

Finally, what would you like to say to everyone who has supported you throughout your career? 

Firstly hats off to you all because I’m a nutter so thank you for still following and supporting! Every now and again you get knocks but it’s so nice to log onto Twitter and see a lovely, random Tweet from someone. I have the best fans who have been so supportive! During my first year of We Will Rock You I published a status saying ‘I can’t accept any more flowers because I really am allergic, so if you would like to get me anything my favourite book is....’ and it was a limited edition book which I couldn’t find anywhere. But somebody actually found it and left it at the stage door but they didn’t leave their name and it must have cost a fortune! So... if you’re out there, please come forward!! 

Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
andrew@westendframe.com

Sleeping Arrangements runs at the Landor Theatre from 17th April until 12th May 2013. Please visit www.landortheatre.co.uk for further information and to book tickets.

Follow Sabrina on Twitter: @sabssnowglobe 

Follow WestEnd Fest on Twitter: @WestendFests

Keep up to date with the latest theatre news, reviews & interviews on Twitter: @West_End_Frame