Damian Humian has had a very busy year! This time last year he was starring as Charley Kringas in Maria Freedman’s production of Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Following a sold-out, critically acclaimed run at the Menier the production transferred to the West End’s Harold Pinter Theatre where it received more five star reviews than any other musical in West End history. Digital Theatre and Cinema Live teamed up to film the production, which also starred Mark Umbers and Jenna Russell, and broadcast it in cinemas all over the world for one night only throughout October and November. The recording is released on Digital Theatre later this month.
Damian is currently starring in Dickens Abridged, a fast-paced musical comedy from the co-creator of The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged), which runs at the West End’s Arts Theatre until 5th January 2014. It was also recently announced that he will star in the London premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s Putting it Together at the St. James Theatre next year.
His other recent theatre credits include: Harry in Company at Sheffield Crucible, Lend Me A Tenor at the Gielgud Theatre, Shoes at the Peacock Theatre, Seymour in the UK Tour of Little Shop of Horrors and Jamie in the UK Premiere of The Last Five Years at the Menier Chocolate Factory.
I recently spoke to Damian about why Dickens Abridged has been such a fun show to work on and who it appeals to, as well as what it was like to watch himself on screen in Merrily We Roll Along and why he thinks Maria Freedman’s production was so special…
Dickens Abridged is completely different to other shows you have recently starred in. What attracted you to it?
It’s over the Christmas period, it’s good fun and I’ve worked with the guy who wrote it, Adam Long, before and he’s a very fun director and very fun man so I jumped at the chance to work with him. That’s usually what attracts me to things – the people you are working with. And then we’ve got an amazing cast who are so much fun to work with!
What has the whole process been like? It looks like you’re having such a good time!
They’re all funny guys! Everyone brings their own type of comedy so when you’re working with such a funny bunch of people you can’t help but have a really good time!
Kit Orton, Jon Robyns and Damian in rehearsals for Dickens Abridged
What is it like being the only cast member who doesn’t play an instrument in an actor-musician show?
It’s an actor musician show and I’m the only one who doesn’t play any instruments – actually that’s a lie I do a bit of percussion – but I was constantly in awe of the other guys because they are amazing musicians, Jon Robyns plays some mean guitar! They are all incredible at what they do and I sat there feeling a little bit left out [laughs]! Jon worked on quite a lot of the arrangements, I have no idea how most of it works.
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| Damian in Dickens Abridged |
How did you find the whole rehearsal process? It must have been so different to be able to sit down and be involved with creating the piece?
A lot of the rehearsal process was just sitting in a room watching people create. We were all constantly thinking about how we could make each scene funnier and how we could tell the story better. The great thing about working with Adam as a director is that he’s doesn’t go for wacky, he looks for the truth within it.
Do you think you have to be a hardcore Dickens fan to enjoy the show?
Fans of Dickens should definitely come and see it but the show also appeals to anybody who enjoys that reduced Shakespeare style. It’s not a typical musical; the music is beautiful and has been mixed with wonderfully funny lyrics. To make an album of the music would be fantastic! The Christmas period is the perfect time for the show because, of course, one of Dickens’ most famous stories is A Christmas Carol.
It’s the perfect panto alternative for families!
Exactly, the audience aren’t left out of the comedy – it’s very much about them as well. But it’s not the typical “he’s behind you” Christmas humour. It tells the story of Charles Dickens’ life as well as his books in a funny and poignant way. It only lasts one and a half hours and, without sounding cliché, it makes a fun afternoon or evening at the theatre.
Recently Merrily We Roll Along was broadcast in cinemas all around the world. How did it feel to know people were watching your performance on screen whilst you were sat at home?
Gosh it’s funny isn’t it?! It’s weird because the whole point of theatre is that you’re there with an audience and you’re all experiencing everything at the same time. So knowing that it had been filmed and edited without you really being involved and that people were watching your performance was hard to get my head around! We had a cast and crew screening and it was funny because when you’re in a show you wake up in the morning and think “How’s my body feeling? What am I going to have to do or not do to be able to do the show tonight?” On the day of the screening I started having those feelings throughout the day but there was nothing I could do! The whole thing was amazing! Merrily is a show which hasn’t always worked in the past and our production was a hit and (Stephen) Sondheim and everyone seemed to love it!
Mark Umbers, Jenna Russell and Damian in Merrily We Roll Along
When you were originally cast in the Menier’s production did you have any idea how huge the show was going to be?
No! You can never go into any contract with expectations like that. Actually, the lower your expectations the better because then everything just comes as a nice surprise! It’s a special story and everybody involved had wanted to work on the piece for years. Maria (Freedman) directs with such heart, and the show was all about heart and friendship. Looking back you think "how could it have not been a hit" but at the time we were just trying to put on a good show!
A few years ago you starred in one of my all-time favourite musicals Lend Me A Tenor. The musical didn’t have the run it deserved but everybody who saw it loved it! What was that whole experience like for you?
It was a big thing, we had two years leading up to its West End opening. I think myself and Michael Matus (pictured right with Damian) were the only two from the West End cast who were involved from the original workshop stages. To go from the workshop to Plymouth and into town was quite a journey! There were a lot of things against us and some issues which just couldn’t be avoided. Everyone who came to see the show loved it – you could feel that. I’ve never had so much fun in the theatre, everyone who was there every night whether they were on stage, backstage or in the audience had a ball. We only ran for about nine weeks so it was a bittersweet experience. We were next door to Les Mis who had people queuing up to get in and then there was this new show that came along and nobody knew anything about. The weird thing about putting on a new show in London is that some people won’t go and see something that they don’t know anything about, so I feel sorry for producers who have to resort to things like celebrity casting because that’s the only thing which will get people who watch television into the theatre.
Do you get the chance to see much theatre?
I do! When you have friends who work in the theatre you have to go and support them. I generally like everything at the Menier but then I also like the big shows like Matilda!
You have received so much support from theatre fans throughout your career, what is it like having that kind of support behind you?
It’s nice! It’s funny you say that because all you can really do is focus on the work. The people who come and say hi at the stage door and appreciate the work I do is so nice. I love it when people come and see a show several times so they build up a really good opinion on the piece and you can have a proper chat!
I think that happened a lot with Merrily, so many people I spoke to seemed to have seen it multiple times!
Maria put so much detail into the show so if you went back again you could notice something else you hadn’t seen before. Also, because the story was told backwards in time it made for good viewing on the second or third times as you could look at it differently – and that’s the great thing about it being on Digital Theatre because you can re-wind!
Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
Please visit www.dickensabridged.com for further information and tickets.
Putting It Together runs at the St. James Theatre between 14th January and 1st February 2014.
Please visit www.stjamestheatre.co.uk for further information and tickets.
You can download Merrily from Digital Theatre from later this month.
Please visit www.digitaltheatre.com for further information.
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