George Maguire is currently starring as Macheath in the world premiere of new musical The Buskers Opera at the Park Theatre.
Written by Dougal Irvine, the show is in its final week with only limited tickets available. Lotte Wakeham directs with the cast also including Lauren Samuels and David Burt.
George won the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for originating the role of Dave Davies in The Kinks musical, Sunny Afternoon. George worked on the show from its very first workshop before going on to star in Sunny Afternoon’s run at the Hampstead Theatre and its subsequent West End transfer to the Harold Pinter Theatre.
His theatre credits also include: Busker in Lift (Soho), Marc Bolan in 20th Centuryboy (Coventry Belgrade/New Woseley), Berger in Hair (Piccadilly), David in Bank (Kings Head), Richard Loeb in Thrill Me (Charing Cross), Joe Vegas in Fame (Shaftesbury), understudy Stu Clutterbuck in Tonight's The Night (UK tour) and Captain in Oliver! (Palladium).
I recently spoke to George about why he’s attracted to new work, what drew him to The Buskers Opera, his whirlwind journey with Sunny Afternoon and childhood dream of being in Les Mis…
You’ve become known for taking on new musicals – you went straight from Lift into Sunny Afternoon and now into The Buskers Opera. What attracts you to these kinds of projects?
New work is one of the main things that keeps me going. I’ve been very fortunate – I’ve never gone into a show which is has already been running and done a takeover. I’m very much about doing new musicals because, as an actor, it’s very exciting to be able to create a role and to be part of a piece which is brand new. Everyone in the rehearsal room was coming up with it for the first time which for me is one of the best things about acting. It’s nice to not just be told where to stand and what to do. New musical theatre is something we should be supporting, especially in London, and it’s amazing that there is so much more new writing around now.
