Mark Curry recently took over as The Wizard in the West End production of Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre.
Telling the untold story of the Witches of Oz, Wicked has now been seen by over 7 million people in London alone and is already the 19th longest-running show in West End theatre history.
Mark’s recent theatre credits include: Dr. Armstrong and Rogers in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (UK tour), Richard Willey MP in Ray Cooney’s Out of Order (The Mill at Sonning), Andre Cassell in Victor/Victoria & Larry in Company (both Southwark Playhouse), The Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show (UK tour) and The Compere in Victoria Wood’s Talent (Menier Chocolate Factory). He famously presented Blue Peter alongside Caron Keating and Yvette Fielding between 1986 and 1990.
I recently spoke to Mark before a performance of Wicked about joining such an iconic show, why seeing Wicked for the first time was an eventful experience and what went through his mind when he stepped onstage at the Apollo Victoria for the first time…
You’ve been in Wicked for over a month now, are you feeling settled in?
Yes! I enjoyed it right from the start of rehearsals… even the auditions were really nice [laughs]. I’m enjoying it more and more now because stepping into something like Wicked which is so well known and into a role that some great actors have done is quite daunting, especially when everybody else here has already been doing it for a while. I was very nervous for the first few shows, and I still get nervous – but now I have the nice nerves. It’s more excitement now… the first few nights I was like “What am I doing?!” [laughs] It’s because it’s such a big show and such a fantastic theatre and a lot is expected from you… and also everybody else is so good.
