Aberdeen actor Jenna Innes was overjoyed to land the dream lead role in the UK tour of Heathers The Musical, but she had one question: “When do I go to the loo?”
“The show is about two hours 15 minutes long and (my character) Veronica is on stage for about 90% of that, so there’s only one point in act one where I can go to the toilet if I have to. That’s what I’m worried about, when do I pee?” said Jenna, laughing.
But loo issues aside, Jenna is thrilled to have picked up her biggest role to date as Veronica Sawyer in the smash West End musical that is now touring the UK.
“It is a huge role and she has a lot of great songs, beautifully written, so I absolutely love it.”
Heathers, a smash hit in the West End, is based on the cult teen 80s film, which starred Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.
Pressure to do Heathers justice for the fans says Jenna Innes
It follows Westerberg High’s “nobody” Veronica whose dreams of finally becoming popular come true when she joins the beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers. Things take a wild turn when Veronica’s new boyfriend – mysterious teen rebel JD – teaches her it might kill to be a nobody, but it is murder being a somebody.
It’s a role which Jenna is relishing.
“I don’t think there are many female roles which are this gritty. Veronica is a flawed person, she’s an emotionally intelligent person and she’s very funny. There just aren’t that many multi-layered characters out there, so it’s a joy to get my teeth into it.”
However, Jenna has an admission to make. She wasn’t a fan of Heathers before she landed the role.
“I didn’t really know it, I saw it once maybe three years ago and that was it. I think that kind of helped because I wasn’t aware of how huge it was until we started rehearsals. But I love it now, it’s up there as one of my faves,” she said.
“But because it is so beloved by so many people there is a little bit of pressure to do it justice. The show belongs to the fans and we’re just looking after it for a little while.”
Aberdeen-born star Jenna Innes is no stranger to West End smash hits
Jenna is no stranger to West End hits. She was part of the gifted cast of Les Miserables during which she was, memorably, given a four-minute warning to switch from understudy to leading lady as Eponine in the classic musical.
She has recently completed the UK tour of Les Mis as cover for both Eponine and Fantine. Jenna is more than aware of the jump from being a cover to taking on a lead role, night after night in a hit musical playing to theatres across the UK.
“It is a very big leap, but it is a leap in the right direction,” said Jenna. “You get to make some choices, you get to do it every night and notice some things you want to do differently.”
While she is finding new fans across the UK in Heathers, Jenna is already a familiar face for Aberdeen theatre-goers, having played Snow White in His Majesty’s panto in 2018, opposite Lee Mead.
And before that she was in countless shows in her early years with local Aberdeen theatre companies, such as Leading Lights, Aberdeen Youth Music Theatre and Lamour School Of Dance.
Jenna Innes credits her Aberdeen acting roots for her West End success
Jenna credits her Granite City drama beginnings with the glittering career she is now enjoying.
“With Leading Lights and AYMT, it created such a wonderful safe space where you could just be yourself and absolutely go for it.
“I got so much confidence and learned so much and learned so much from my friends because they were so talented, too,” she said.
“Even if you don’t want to go off and do acting professionally, being a part of a group like that gives you confidence for life and life skills you wouldn’t get anywhere else. Keep the arts!”
And she admits when she first stepped onto the stage in Aberdeen, she never dreamed one day she would be doing just that in the West End.
“I always hoped I would and I always thought that’s what I wanted, but there was always a part of me that thought it just won’t happen for someone like me. And when it started happening, I thought ‘maybe this sort of stuff does happen for people like me’ and that was rather nice.
She also hopes her experience will be an inspiration for the next generation of actors being incubated in Aberdeen’s rich drama and theatre community.
“Work hard, be kind, and keep going. It does happen. Someone has to get the part, so why can’t it be you?”
Jenna Innes hoping for an Aberdeen ‘home crowd’ in Glasgow
While the Heathers tour is an extensive one, it isn’t coming as far as Aberdeen. The closest it will get is Glasgow, when it arrives at the King’s Theatre from June 27 to July 1. But Jenna is fairly confident she will still be playing to a home crowd.
“I think most of the audience will be my mum and dad and the busloads of people they are dragging along with them, which is brilliant. It’s a lovely thing to bring it not quite home, but close to home,” she said.
Of course, her focus is entirely on the UK tour of Heathers at the moment – but Jenna still has one eye on the future.
“What I would like to do is originate a role in a brand new musical where I would be the first one to do it. And I would love to do Wicked at some point in my career, but I don’t like putting things out there in case it doesn’t happen.”
For more information on the UK tour of Heathers The Musical visit heathersthemusical.com
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