Star of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Jac Yarrow, 23, on stepping into the shoes of Jason Donovan and Phillip Schofield, returning to the stage after lockdown, and a rather embarrassing rehearsal in front of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Was there any pressure to get in shape to wear Joseph’s famous loincloth?
We don’t have a loincloth. I tried one for the first dress rehearsal. I had a really quick change into it and said to the dresser, ‘This is really small, I don’t think it’s going to fit,’ but we had to carry on.
It was at the London Palladium and it was the first time Andrew Lloyd Webber was there watching the show. I sang and stood up at the end of the song, and the loincloth just fell off my body on to the ground. I was stood there in my underwear in front of the Lord!
I had to keep going and I did the rest of the act in my tiny white boxer shorts. After that they thought we should maybe cut the loincloth so I now wear baggy white trousers with a rope belt. I’m the first Joseph not to wear a loincloth.
Weren’t you still at college when you landed the role?
The producer of Joseph came to see me in my final year show at drama school and invited me to audition. It was a whirlwind.
I auditioned five or six times in a week and they were intense auditions — I was in the room for three hours at a time. They filmed all my auditions and sent them to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.
I didn’t hear anything for two weeks and I was back at college doing classes. Then, on my 21st birthday, I got the call saying I was going to do the show. I went into college the next day and said, ‘I’m really sorry but I’m going to have to leave now and not come back.’
How much did you know about Joseph beforehand?
I actually played Joseph when I was 10. It was a condensed 30-minute version and I didn’t have a technicolor dreamcoat, so I was Joseph without a coat, which was weird. I then saw it on tour when I was eight and I watched the Donny Osmond video a couple of times.
You’ve stepped into the shoes of Jason Donovan and Phillip Schofield — was that nervewracking?
It’s an iconic role and normally it’s cast with someone who is very well established. There was me, making my professional debut. I had to pinch myself that they gave it to an unknown.
What’s it like returning to the show after a two-year break due to lockdown?
With a show like Joseph we’ve all known the songs for years so I could remember them. It was harder with the choreography.
Jason Donovan is back too – he’s playing Pharaoh – and we both thought that we’d go in and be fine and know everything. For the most part we did but there were some parts where we would just look at each other and wait for it to come.
Did you practise the songs in the shower while you were away?
I didn’t, but I was with my family in Cardiff for a lot of lockdown and they sing Joseph all day, every day. My parents and my sister love musicals.
Where do you live now?
I have a flat in London. I miss Wales a lot, I feel most at home in the countryside. I live on my own in London, which I enjoy, especially when I’m performing. I tend to just do the show and then come home and be quiet.
What’s it like working with Jason Donovan?
From day dot he was so supportive and welcoming. I was nervous in rehearsal when I had to sing Any Dream Will Do, as obviously he had a major hit with it. But he was the first person to come over and put his arms around me and say it was great.
Did he give you any advice?
He told me to remember that the work is going on stage and doing the show. He said it was easy to get distracted by the fans, the audiences, the reviews and the buzz around the show.
How old were you when you decided to be an actor?
I started going to drama classes and singing lessons when I was six. I took a magazine home from school, pointed to an advert for a stage school and said to my parents, ‘I want to do this.’ It was really out of left field.
What were you like as a child?
I was a theatre geek. I would follow my favourite performers on Twitter and Instagram. I wanted to know what they were up to and I’d see any show they were in. I loved Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stuff. I watched the Cats DVD and listened to Phantom Of The Opera.
Were you an autograph hunter?
When I was a kid my parents would say, ‘Let’s go to the stage door and get an autograph.’ I’d say, ‘No, I don’t want to, because one day I might be working with these people and then I’d be embarrassed.’ My parents would laugh but now I have worked with some of those people I saw in shows as a kid.
Jac Yarrow will star in a strictly limited season at the London Palladium. Performances start on July 12. josephthemusical.com
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