Interviews with some leading lights of musical theatre by Mark Shenton
Michael Ball | Elaine Paige | Linzi Hateley | Sally Ann Triplett
Linzi Hateley
On starting out and having an agent
Linzi trained at Italia Conti Theatre School. Previous credits include leading roles in Carrie, Les Misérables, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Secret Garden and Chicago, and she is currently playing Mrs Banks in the new stage production of Mary Poppins.
What was your first professional job?
'I was Pepper, one of the orphans in Annie at the Birmingham Hippodrome when I was 11. I'd been to the local dance school, but I never had singing lessons, I just naturally always sang.'
And then?
'I never got anything as a kid. I wasn't very cute, and though I had a nice strong singing voice, I was a bit too old for my look. But then this thing came in that wanted a slightly unusual teenage girl with a big voice. I auditioned and I was told I had the part on my 17th birthday! The show was Carrie, and we premiered it at the RSC's theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon, then took it to Broadway, where it closed the same week it opened.'
How did that feel?
'It was a baptism of fire, but it's one of those things I could never possibly regret. It was an amazing thing to experience: apart from anything else, to get to work with people like Broadway legends Barbara Cook and Betty Buckley in my first job was awesome. And to go to Broadway was quite unbelievable. I think in some ways I was probably quite lucky that I was young and didn't have anything to compare it to. No-one ever blamed me for the fact that the show didn't work. If it had happened later on in my career, maybe people would say, "Why on earth did she choose to do it?" But it was perfectly understandable why a 17-year-old who'd never worked before would say, "Yeah, of course, I'd love to!"'
You immediately went into Les Misérables as Eponine, so you bounced back quickly!
'Even though Carrie failed, Cameron Mackintosh had seen me in it and invited me to do Les Mis. As an 18-year-old offered the chance to be in a secure job in the West End, I just had to do it. It was still early in the show's long life, so there was a massive buzz about it: it was definitely the show to be in.'
That's when you got your agent, too, Barry Burnett. Why is an agent important?
'Certainly for someone like me, and I think most actors are the same, the thought of having to negotiate things for yourself is a terrible one. Thinking how much you are worth doesn't bear thinking about! It's great to have that person who can speak on your behalf and represent you in a good and articulate way. It's also important to have someone to guide you in the right direction, and make you think about ways to go. Of course, you may have your own instincts, but they're not always right.'
