Big Interview: Damian Humbley

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!

Review: Dickens Abridged at the Arts Theatre

Dickens Abridged

Arts Theatre

Reviewed on Monday 2nd December 2013

Dickens Abridged is the most exciting show I have seen for a very long time, it is incredibly refreshing to see such a creative production in the West End. Adam Long's piece thinks outside the box in every way possible.

Damian Humbley, Jon Robyns, Kit Orton, Gerard Carey and Matthew Hendrickson to star in Dickens Abridged at the Arts Theatre

Casting has been announced for Dickens Abridged, a fast-paced musical comedy from the co-creator of The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged). The production will open on Monday 2nd December 2013 (previews from 27th November), running until Sunday 5th January 2014. The production will star West End regulars Damian Humbley, Jon Robyns, Kit Orton, Gerard Careyand and Matthew Hendrickson.

Damian Humbley (Charles Dickens) was most recently seen as Charley Kringas in Merrily We Roll Along at the Menier Chocolate Factory and Harold Pinter Theatre. Other recent 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.

Jon Robyns (Fagin, Scrooge and many other characters) is currently playing Sir Galahad in Spamalot at the Playhouse Theatre. Other recent credits include Hollis Bessemer in Road Show at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Enjolras in the 25thAnniversary Production of Les Misérables, Marius in Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre and Princeton/Rod in the Original Cast of Avenue Q at the Noel Coward Theatre.

Storm in a Flower Vase and Dickens Abridged for runs at the West End's Arts Theatre

It has been announced that Storm in a Flower Vase and Dickens Abridged will both receive runs at the West End's Arts Theatre later this year. 

Alan Strachan directs Anton Burge’s Storm in a Flower Vase, a vivid portrait of the iconic floral designer Constance Spry. Enigmatic and eccentric, Spry is best known as a society florist and best-selling cookery writer who popularised a do-it-yourself approach to home-making in mid 20th Century Britain. 

Anton Burge’s new play is a sensitive look at this pioneering spirit who, behind the flamboyant glamour associated with names such as Cecil Beaton and Syrie Maugham, was a complex and unconventional woman with a life of marital discord, affairs and heartache. Storm in a Flower Vase takes its inspiration from The Surprising life of Constance Spry by Sue Shepherd (published by Pan Books).