From budding TV showman to fully fledged board-treader, Brian Conley has ever been on a high wire to theatrical greatness, writes Andrew Youngson
“Well it’s a bit of pot luck, isn’t it,” said Brian Conley, his voice still slightly thick after recovering from a chest infection.
“Unfortunately, I have a job where I sing, run about and walk on a high wire. But I’m fine and getting on with it. And I absolutely love doing the show.”
Such is his enthusiasm for the show – Cameron Mackintosh’s vibrant production of Barnum – Brian could only be convinced by his company manager to miss two performances of its Edinburgh run to recuperate.
The high-octane musical, which charts the bizarre life of real American showman P.T. Barnum, requires a lot from its leading man. In the few months it’s been on tour alone, Brian has dropped in weight from 13st 4lb to 12st 6lb.
The dangerous acrobatics he has to perform on stage alone explain the strain. And as his understudy found out when Brian was ill in his bed on Halloween night, a moment’s slip of concentration is all it takes for the show to come crashing down.
“Yeah, he broke his foot,” said Brian solemnly of his ill-fated understudy, John Stacey.
“It gives you an idea how dangerous it is, because you are seven feet up without a safety net or a wire. Bless him, John is devastated because he’s now out of the show for some time. But, you know, that’s part of the show. It’s what makes it the big finale to the first half. It’s a metaphor for what’s going on.”
At that crux moment in the show, P.T. Barnum is traversing the precarious “wire” between life as a devoted husband of his lifelong love Chairy – played on stage by west-end starlet Linzi Hateley – and a tortured cheater, falling for Swedish opera nightingale Jenny Lind, played to pitch-perfection by Kimberly Blake.
“He’s having an affair, basically, and the woman’s on the other side of the wire. If he does it wrong, he’s going to get hurt, and everyone’s going to get hurt. What’s nice is that the audience really know the danger,” Brian added.
The 53-year-old had been practising tight-wire and stilt walking for months in preparation for the role, making sure that he could last the full run without incident. But, ever the committed actor, he found that getting into the mindset of P.T. was the best insurance policy.
“It’s funny, because my trainer, Pascal, said: ‘You’re a very good pupil.’ But I just said: ‘No, it’s because I know that P.T. Barnum really needs to get across this wire.’ But it’s all instinctive now; you don’t have time to think about it. The wire doesn’t suffer fools. If you want to get across, you won’t, because you lean forward. As I was expertly advised: don’t try to get across, just stay on the wire.”
As Brian went on to explain, Barnum is the story of the “first Richard Branson”, but also a love story. The circus, meanwhile, is the glue that keeps it all together. Set in the 1800s, the show blends vignettes of P.T. Barnum’s life with stunning musical and acrobatic sequences – the latter carried out in the main by trained circus performers.
Launched in Broadway in 1980 with Jim Dale and Glenn Close in its lead roles, the show quickly spun out into the Olivier award-winning London production featuring Michael Crawford as Barnum.
Brian was in the audience during one of Michael’s 655 performances in the role and, since then, has been hooked on the show. While he never dreamed of getting the chance to star as Barnum, he understands why he now finds himself in the role.
A household name ever since his eponymous TV sketch show propelled him to become the highest-paid male TV personality in the UK, Brian soon brought his skills in comedy, singing and dance to the stage – picking up lead roles in a raft of productions, from Jolson to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Hairspray and, of course, making regular panto appearances.
He has unknowingly been on an inexorable trajectory towards a role like Phineas Taylor Barnum ever since he cracked his first joke.
“It’s as if I’ve been building up to this part my whole life,” he said honestly.
“Everyone keeps writing that I was born to play it, and honestly I believe I am. That’s the first time I’ve felt that out of all of the shows I’ve done.”
There’s something about playing the role that just seems to fit, he said. A self-proclaimed “Cockney lad, whose dad was a cab driver”, Brian learned from a young age during his upbringing in council dwellings that comedy and showmanship were natural tools at his disposal.
“I’m a performer; it’s just in me. I do it because I was born to do it. I’m dyslexic. As a child, I used to combat that by making everyone laugh in the class. I didn’t know I was dyslexic, I just thought I was thick.
“But now I see dyslexia as a gift, because it has made me what I am. I was a funny young child because to keep up with everyone I would make them laugh. And now I make people laugh for a living.”
Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Barnum, starring Brian Conley and Linzi Hateley, will be at HM Theatre, Aberdeen, from next Tuesday, November 18, to Saturday, November 22. Performances are at 7.30pm each night, plus matinees at 2pm on Thursday, and 2.30pm on Saturday.
Tickets are available from www.aberdeenperformingarts.com or by calling 01224 641122.