Frances Ruffelle is bringing her new solo show I Say Yeh-Yeh to the London Hippodrome on 5th May.
Having premiered I Say Yeh-Yeh at Crazy Coqs last year, Frances recently took the show to the Kennedy Center in Washinton D.C. The show takes the same name as Frances’ most recent album.
Frances famously created the role of Eponine in the West End production of Les Miserables. She reprised her performance for the musical’s Broadway premiere, winning the 1987 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical.
Her additional West End credits include: Roxie Hart in Chicago (Adelphi), Yonah in Children of Eden (Prince Edward), Dinah in Starlight Express (Apollo Victoria) and Princess Louisa in The Sleeping Prince (Theatre Royal Haymarket)
Frances’ theatre credits also include: title role in Piaf (Curve), Fastrada in Pippin (Menier Chocolate Factory), Narrator in Joseph (UK Tour), Candy in Whistle Down The Wind & Betty Shaefer in Sunset Boulevard (both at Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sydmonton Festival), Delilah in Apples (Royal Court), Paula in Bend it like Beckham (workshop) and The A-Z of Mrs P (Southwark Playhouse).
Her previous solo shows include Paris Original and Beneath The Dress whilst her previous albums include Imperfectly Me, Showgirl, Frances Ruffelle and Fragile. On screen Frances has appeared in Birds of a Feather, The Road to Ithaca, The Invitation, Secrets and Lies, Long Forgotten Fields, Devil's Tower and Tom Hooper's film adaptation of Les Miserables. She represented the UK in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Lonely Symphony (We Will Be Free)', finishing 10th.
I recently spoke to Frances about bringing I Say Yeh-Yeh to the Hippodrome, her upcoming return to the West End and why she’s learnt to embrace Les Mis…
You have so much going on at the moment! You’ve just been performing in America, you have a new album out, your London solo show is coming up and you just directed Evelyn Hoskins’ concert. How do you manage it all?!
[laughs] Well the show I’m doing at the Hippodrome I just did in Washington D.C., so I’m pretty confident with that which is good. When I was directing Evie’s show I was waking up in the night going through her show rather than my own! It has been quite nice in a way. Although I still have a bit of anxiety, it’s just nice to have been able to focus on something else. When you’re directing someone else’s show you feel very responsible in a different way. I always like to keep busy – last week I recorded a new track for an EP which is coming out in a few weeks.
