The sultry, mysterious atmosphere of Paris is coming to theatres across the UK – including Portsmouth Guildhall on Wednesday 9 October – with Come What May.
Starring AJ and Curtis Pritchard (Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing With The Stars, Love Island) and a cast of West End performers, this incredible show features all your favourite hits from the iconic movie-musical Moulin Rouge.
Carl Marsh spoke to AJ and Curtis ahead of the tour.
With Come What May, was it always the case that both of you were to be on board from the start, or one was asked first, then the other?
AJ– It was always both of us, to be able to do something together is fantastic. We say no to so many different tours and different things and sometimes we might say to ourselves, ‘Why did we say no to that?’ and then Come What May came along and this tour is the ultimate tribute to Moulin Rouge and other fantastic musicals. And we get to add even more value to these songs that each person’s probably got a different emotional attraction to.
Then there’s the outfits, the audience giving the energy; it’s overwhelming and such a fantastic opportunity to dance to these global hits. Personally, my favourite theatre show is Moulin Rouge.
Curtis– Yeah, I’ve got to admit it, it is a very good one and everybody can’t deny that.
So, it’ll be a show with massive songs from Moulin Rouge with fans having high expectations. Surely that brings an element of nervousness to you as performers – performing those songs they know and love?
Curtis– I’ll be nervous before going on for the first evening… and to be fair, I get nervous before going on for all the shows. I think nerves give you a bit of adrenaline and it gets you into the right mindset to rock ‘n’ roll. But, as of this moment, no, I’m excited to get going… you know, because some of my favourite songs are in it. Your Song is perhaps one of my favourite songs to sing. Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend isn’t my favourite song because you’re not gonna catch me singing that one on my own around the house! [Laughs]
AJ – No, I think what’s really exciting is usually with a tour you have the stress or the paranoia of, ‘OK, we’re not selling tickets’ or the reception isn’t good or we mentioned it to friends and family who’ve said, ‘Oh, I think I’ll give that one a miss’. Whereas the reception to this has been so overwhelming because it’s got the Moulin Rouge side, and people love musicals, people love to see a live show. And that’s reflected in ticket sales. And being able to talk about this as each person we’ve talked to has a relevant connection to a song that will be used within the show. And that’s kind of the easy thing for us. All we have to do is just do what we do best, choreograph, dance, perform and enjoy what we already do.
What can we expect from your performances in Come What May? Will it only be dancing, or are you acting too?
Curtis – Solo numbers, big group numbers; there’ll be singing here and there. Presenting, acting, the whole lot to be fair.
AJ– Yeah, a bit of everything because sometimes when you go to a theatre show, you don’t know what the storyline is, or what the concept of what the music will be. Whereas I think because it’s so well known we get to add that value. Yes, we’ll be dancing. I won’t be singing… I will say that!
Curtis will do one thing and I’ll be doing more of the presenting side. But what’s already there is so good and it’s quite nice to be able to come and see something and add an adaptation – if I could say – a Strictly’fied version of the big group numbers, but it’s really exciting to kind of build on something that’s so well known.
One stop of the UK tour is your home town, Stoke-on-Trent. Not only one of the highlights of this tour, but also perhaps the most intimidating as people you grew up with, and family, could well be in attendance?
AJ– There’s no excuse for close friends and family not to come and watch because usually when we do pantomimes, and we were in Swansea last year, that was a long way for them to come and see us, whereas now this tour goes to everybody, so nobody’s got an excuse, and I like that. I’m pretty sure our mum’s brought out half of the theatre already.
Curtis– Whenever we come back to Stoke and do anything, it’s a great audience. Our families all from Stoke, we flipping love the place to be fair. It’s a cool vibe and you can always tell that in the audience. It’s not that I don’t give 1,000% in every show, but because your friends and family normally do come to that one… naturally, you find more to give, if you know what I mean.
How’s the training preparation going for the tour?
AJ– We have not done anything yet! [Laughter]
Of the other performers, or those behind the scenes for Come What May, have any of you worked with any before?
Curtis– Yeah, I’ve worked with one of the choreographers, Scott Coldwell. He’s a cool guy. A fantastic choreographer with a great knowledge of dance. So, a really nice guy to work with and I’m looking forward to getting back into the rehearsal space with him and bouncing ideas off each other.
Lastly, you’ve got some of the biggest producers& promoters of any shows that take place in the UK [Sisco Entertainment, Cuffe & Taylor, Live Nation] behind this tour, so could you say it’s shaping up to be great?
AJ– It’s great to be working with Sisco, Cuffe & Taylor and Live Nation. If you mention these names within the theatre world, you know, you’re going to get quality. You’re getting something that they would not put their name to if they didn’t feel proud of it, I think that’s really important.
In this day and age with the value of the pound, people are struggling and we want to give great value with this show, the set, the costumes… even for ourselves, we would be embarrassed to turn up and be like, ‘Oh no, this is not something I’d want to put my name to’. And I think that’s the hardest thing sometimes; it’s picking and choosing your battles, and who you want to work with.
These are people that we want to work with. These are the producers that give it everything.
Tickets are available from CuffeandTaylor.com.
Full tour details:
20-Sept-24 Loughborough Town Hall
21-Sept-24 Skegness The Embassy Theatre
22-Sept-24 Blackpool Opera House
23-Sept-24 Cardiff New Theatre
26-Sept-24 Sheffield City Hall
27-Sept-24 Stoke Victoria Hall
28-Sept-24 Leicester De Montfort Hall
29-Sept-24 York Barbican
2-Oct-24 Bath Forum
4-Oct-24 Cambridge Corn Exchange
5-Oct-24 Swindon The Wyvern Theatre
6-Oct-24 Ipswich Regent Theatre
7-Oct-24 Brighton Theatre Royal
9-Oct-24 Portsmouth Guildhall
10-Oct-24 Warwick Arts Centre
11-Oct-24 Reading The Hexagon
12-Oct-24 Salford The Lowry
15-Oct-24 Aberdeen Music Hall
16-Oct-24 Newcastle O2 City Hall
17-Oct-24 Edinburgh Usher Hall
20-Oct-24 Dartford The Orchard Theatre
21-Oct-24 Guildford G Live
23-Oct-24 Southend Cliffs Pavilion
24-Oct-24 Folkstone Leas Cliff Hall
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