Emma Williams is currently starring as Annie Oakley in the UK Tour of Irving Berlin’s classic musical Annie Get Your Gun.
Ian Talbot’s production also stars Jason Donovan as Frank Butler and Norman Pace as Buffalo Bill.
With timeless classic songs including ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’ and ‘Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better’, Annie Get Your Gun tells the legendary story of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West female sharpshooter, Annie Oakley, and her romance with fellow sharpshooter, Frank Butler.
Emma made her stage debut aged 18 as Truly Scrumptious in the original cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium opposite Michael Ball. She has been nominated for two Olivier Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances as Jenny in Love Story (Chichester/Duchess) and Luisa in Zorro (Garrick).
Just a few of Emma’s other countless theatre credits include playing: Johanna in Sweeney Todd (Royal Festival Hall), Susan in Desperately Seeking Susan (Novello), Melinda in The Recruiting Officer (Salisbury Playhouse) and Shelley Parker in Bat Boy: The Musical (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Shaftesbury).
I recently spoke to Emma about how it feels to be playing such an iconic role, her first impressions of touring life and her incredible journey to the West End stage…
Annie Oakley is such an iconic role, but was it a part you have always had your eye on?
I saw the show as a kid when it was done by a local amateur society and I loved it. She’s one of those incredible female roles in musical theatre because she’s strong and she’s feisty! So often I think leading ladies, particularly the roles I sometimes play, are a little weak or drippy. She’s a role I thought I would love to play one day but, as an actor, the problem is you’re relying on other people to put on the production and to give you the job! You hope that at some point in your career the role will turn up and you’ll still be the right age to play it, and I’m just grateful it did and that the producers thought I was the right choice! She’s pretty far removed from the sort of stuff I usually do so I was absolutely thrilled when the phone call came through! It was absolutely amazing [laughs]! I’m loving every minute of it!
And since that phone call I believe the role has taken over your life – you took up circus training!
I always approach any role with the view of making myself the best version of myself that I can be. Ian (Talbot, director) mentioned in my audition the trapeze trick at the end of act one and, I hadn’t at this point actually seen a full script yet, I just said “Yes – trapeze, great!” What I failed to mention is that I’m absolutely petrified of heights! Like – horrifically scared! I did a play last year in Salisbury (The Recruiting Officer) where I had to climb up the equivalent of a ladder and in tech I got up there, they opened the doors and I couldn’t move! I was literally frozen! So when this came up I was like ‘I’m not talking myself out of this role. This is too good a role to talk yourself out of Williams!’ So the week before rehearsals I took myself off to do flying trapeze at ridiculously high heights. I thought ‘If I can do that I can do anything!’ I’m quite proud of what we’ve achieved so far! My aim is to finish the show being able to do full on aerial trapeze!
Wow – this is definitely the way to overcome a phobia!
[laughs] Yes! Let’s put it this way, if I had frozen in front of a full house it would have been terrible!
Emma Williams & the cast of Annie Get Your Gun
So many incredible actresses have played the role before you. Was that intimidating at first?
It is intimidating, but at the same time it’s such a privilege to join the list of names of actresses who have played Annie Oakley – that’s pretty special! But I have looked at that list of names and thought ‘Oh my god – wowzers, that’s crazy!’ I think my performance is probably very different to all of theirs. The only thing you can do is to go out there and give the most truthful performance possible. It’s also a privilege to be able to play this woman who really existed. She was an amazing woman! It’s sort of astonishing; to leave that kind of legacy behind is incredible.
You’ve created so many roles and been a part of so many original casts throughout your career…
I am very fortunate to have been in the original cast of almost everything I’ve done which is… ridiculous when I look at it like that. It’s not because I don’t want to take over stuff – there are loads of roles out there I would love to have the chance to play! Once day I would love to play Glinda in Wicked and I’ve auditioned, but it’s just never been me who’s been the one to get it. There are so many incredibly talented actresses out there so it is competitive. I’ve been so fortunate to do so many original casts because it often gives you the opportunity to work directly with directors, writers and composers which is always an incredible experience. There’s something about being trusted with brand new material that is very, very special.
What’s the cast vibe like backstage?
They are an amazing cast! This is my first tour and I couldn’t have hoped for a better company to spend the next five months on the road with. They are incredible and really supportive; we’re a proper family which is really wonderful! It says an awful lot that in Manchester when we were working thirteen and fourteen hour days, and it had been really intense and heavy going, about fifteen of us got together on our day off to have a Sunday roast! We’ve just had a holiday week and some of the girls were like “I miss you, can we all go to the theatre!” I went back to London for two days and six of us went to see The Pajama Game!
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| Norman Pace, Emma Williams & Jason Donovan |
What are your first impressions of touring life? How are you finding living out of a suitcase?
I need to pack less [laughs]! I’ve relinquished my hair straighteners and decent hairdryer and bought myself a little £10 travel hairdryer! For a girl who loves shoes as much as I do – I mean I really love shoes – I have to sit with my suitcase and think ‘hmm what can I get away with? I need trainers, a pair of flat shoes and something which will cope in the wet weather…’
I think that’s a common touring problem!
It’s crazy! The scariest thing is that when we finished in Manchester it took five massive bags to clear out my dressing room… and we had only been there for ten days! I’m hoping that most of that was down to the fact that I had my birthday on our gala night so I had a few extra presents that came my way which was very, very lovely. They’ve all been moved back to my parents’ house in the meantime [laughs]! But I’m loving it!
Where are you most excited about visiting?
I’m going to be able to see so many beautiful places that I’ve never visited before as well as places I love! Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities so getting to go there and perform in a theatre I’ve never performed in for a week is going to be wonderful. And then there are places like Torquay which I’ve never been to – it astonishes me that at 31 I’ve never been to Torquay! There’s something exciting about being able to take an amazing show around the UK to a wider audience, not everybody can see shows in London.
Exactly, and with the way things are going it’s now like having the West End on your doorstep.
I hadn’t seen a West End show until I was 16! I had seen three West End shows by the time I got Chitty. I think I had seen Chicago at 16, Blood Brothers at 17 and then The King and I for my 18th birthday! It was my birthday present and I remember sitting at the back of the gods with my mum and I said, “Mum, I’m going to be on that stage one day” and she said “Yes dear, ok…” and about a year later... I was [laughs]!
Wow! Casually cast in one of the most iconic roles ever written!
Crazy – absolutely crazy! I saw a lot of touring productions when I was growing up and there’s something really wonderful about coming out of the stage door and seeing young people who have seen the show, really enjoyed it and wanted to hang around afterwards because I remember being that little girl! It means a lot to me to be able to do something like this.
Jason Donovan & Emma Williams in Annie Get Your Gun
Right, imagine you had to go to a desert island and could only take three musical theatre songs with you. Which three would you take and why?
Ok the first one I would take, I suppose it’s technically a musical theatre song, is ‘Last Day on Earth’ – the Lance Horne song. I would have to take the version sung by Hannah Waddingham because, oh my god, it’s astonishing! It’s the most beautiful piece of music and Lance and Hannah are both good friends of mine – it’s just incredible! Hmmm, probably ‘Poisoning Pigeons In The Park’ by Tom Lehrer because it amuses the heck out of me! It’s one of the first Tom Lehrer songs I ever heard and I love it to pieces. I must have heard that on Hey, Mr. Producer actually [laughs] – that’s not stagey at all! Oh god!
And the last one..!
Gosh this is a really hard question! Hmmm, I feel like I need something dark… or deliciously melodious. Ooo, let’s take something overturey from Love Story – yes! ‘Clapping Symphony’ from Love Story! Having that seven piece orchestra on stage with us was amazing, they were beautiful – let’s take them! I love each and every one of them and that means I get to listen to something without lyrics which will be lovely!
Finally, it must be so lovely to have so much dedicated support from theatre fans behind you and your career?
It’s wonderful. Let’s be honest, it’s the audiences that make the job. We could put on a show but if there wasn’t anybody there to watch it then there’s no reason to do it. That’s why we do it! We don’t have the kind of job where we’re saving lives – we’re not nurses, doctors or firemen. But there is something inherent about you that doesn’t make you want to be an actor, but need to be an actor. What we can do is bring entertainment to other people and give them escapism from the reality of the real world, and that’s a privilege. To be allowed to do that as a job means everything to me! If I can change even one person’s evening, make them smile or make them cry, or make them forget about something going on in their life that they just need to get away from for a few hours, then I’ve done my job.
I’m immensely grateful to anyone that wants to come by and say hello at the end of a show! Love Story was a really amazing show for that because so many people would come to us afterwards who were suffering from cancer or had a family member they had lost or who had survived and we knew we had affected them. It was universal in that respect, and that’s one of the most joyous things about musical theatre in particular – even if an audience member doesn’t know what you’re saying because they don’t speak the language, the music itself and the way you play something will make that story clear to them which is so incredibly powerful. It’s something I grew up with and something I live with now. If I can move someone the way somebody else moved me, I’m doing my job. That’s all I need to do!
Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
Annie Get Your Gun tours the UK until 4th October 2014, including stops at the Churchill Theatre Bromley, Aylesbury Waterside Theatre and New Wimbledon Theatre. Please visit www.anniegetyourgunthemusical.com for further information, tour dates and tickets.
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