Shane Richie isn’t just touring the length and breadth of the country with hit musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie… he’s on a mission against hate.
The actor has fully embraced the West End show’s message of taking a stand against prejudice and wants to play his part by opening the eyes of bigots.
“There are bigots out there and I like to think they’ve come and seen the show then thought: ‘You know what, my eyes are well and truly open now’,” said Shane, who became a household name as the beloved character Alfie Moon in EastEnders.
“If it’s just one person, just one, then I’ve done my job.”
There can be few better ways of winning hearts and minds than by taking a starring role in one of the biggest musicals in the country, which is earning standing ovations in every theatre it plays with its fabulous musical numbers and uplifting story.
Everbody’s Talking About Jamie – which arrives at His Majesty’s Theatre on Wednesday November 10 – is based on a true story and tells of a 16-year-old drag queen from a Sheffield council estate who overcomes prejudice and beats the bullies when he asks a documentary maker to chronicle his life.
‘It’s a story about not giving up’
Shane said: “It’s a story about acceptance and – after the last 18 months, everyone one of us has had in the UK – it’s a story about not giving up and living every day as if it’s your last, just letting go and enjoying your life.”
He stars as Hugo/Loco Chanelle, an older drag queen who helps Jamie – played by Layton Williams – realise his dreams.
“My favourite moment in the show is when I come on in drag and close the end of act one,” said Shane. “It’s the moment when Jamie, played wonderfully by Layton Williams, decides he’s going to be a drag queen. It’s his big story that closes the act.
“Although it did occur to me the other day that it takes me longer to get into drag than I’m actually on stage in drag,” said Shane, laughing.
While it might seem like a complete gear change to go from Alfie Moon to Loco, Shane says the world of drag queens is one he is more than used to, thanks to his father running clubs in London.
“I’ve been in the business now 40 years. I grew up with drag queens. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know someone who was gay,” he said.
Jumped at the chance to join the musical
It was also a world where he witnessed first-hand the bigotry he detests so much, such as working in a theatre when he was just 13 years old and the artistic director was beaten up in a homophobic attack.
“I loathe and detest any racism, bigotry, sexism, any of that. We’re always looking for someone to blame and that breaks my heart. If anything keeps me awake at night, it’s that.”
Which was why he jumped at the chance to be part of the Everybody’s Talking About Jamie phenomenon, almost straight off the set of EastEnders.
Shane said: “When I went into the show in the West End, Alfie was still on screen. I think the producers were very clever by bringing someone like me into the show, because EastEnders has an audience that wouldn’t necessarily go and see a show like Jamie because of the subject.
“They wanted to open it up to a wider audience. Is it a show about someone being gay? No. The very first line in the show is ‘I’m gay, get over it’. It’s about someone daring to be different. If someone daring to be different is getting their nose pierced or wearing a dress to school, so be it.
Audiences flock to Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
“I think what the producers wanted to do was say ‘who’s the last person you’d expect on stage to play a drag queen’. So I brought a different audience to see it.”
Shane is also thrilled to be part of the “circus” of a touring show and back on the road again as theatres come back to life as pandemic restrictions ease.
“The tour was rescheduled from 18 months ago, so the hardest bit for me is I’ve got to keep my weight down… I’ve got to get into a corset and size 12 dress,” said Shane.
And he’s finding audiences are just as thrilled, with many flocking to see Everbody’s Talking About Jamie, which he describes as exactly the same on tour as it was in the West End.
“There are a lot of places where we turn up to play for a week, but we know we could easily play two or three weeks. I just think Jamie has captured the imagination and it is a show about today,” he said.
Shane back at HMT after 20-year absence
Shane hopes Aberdeen audiences will react the same when he arrives back in the Granite City, after a more than 20-year absence from the HMT stage.
“The last time I played His Majesty’s was in 1999 in a musical called Boogie Nights,” he said. “Why so long? Well, I got involved in a little soap called EastEnders for a while, got married and had kids… little things that get in the way.”
But he’s back and he’s got a message for everyone coming to see the Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
“Come with an open heart and I guarantee you’ll go away on such a high and realise how lucky we all are that we are where are and we’ve got what we’ve got.
More information and tickets for Everbody’s Talking About Jamie can be found at www.aberdeenperformingarts.com