When Jamie Met Carrie Hope Fletcher!
I was lucky enough to catch up with the west-end stage legend that is Carrie Hope Fletcher about the upcoming pantomime at The Hawth, here’s what we discussed…
By Jamie Di Francescomarino
So, you have been on stage since age 7, what was your most embarrassing on-stage moment?
“The one that springs to mind would be when I was playing Fantine in Les Misérables in the full production, my dress was just a little bit too long and there is this big moment which is in pure silence where Fantine takes the hand of Rich Carson’s character and he’s meant to roughly pull me off stage and as he pulled me off, my dress got caught underneath me and I face-planted the stage and the whole audience gasped!”
You are starring as Carrabosse for the second year in a row with the first being last year in Canterbury. What did you learn doing your first panto last year that you will put to practice this time round?
“It’s definitely the stamina of doing 13 shows in a week, I’m used to doing 8 maybe 9 but 13 shows, you really need to pace yourself, I do get nervous for an opening night/press night, give it 1000% and then realise I don’t know how much I have left in the tank to give! So being able to pace yourself and being prepared for the audience and their interactions.”
You’re no stranger to being on stage but what is the most impressive production you’ve ever seen?
“When I was 14 and at school, we went to see a play called A Brief Encounter, which was originally an old black and white film and it was the most extraordinary thing I’ve ever seen because it was set in an old train station refreshment store, there was music and everyone was playing instruments, the set was like an old cinema screen and there were people playing plants, that were sitting in the audience that jumped onto the stage and ended up on a screen behind it, it was so intricate and it really stayed with me.”
How do you feel about playing the villain role?
“I love it so much, I think because I am such a big fan of Halloween, I decorate for Halloween like people do for Christmas, so I love that I get to wear this costume! And also, because I had never really done it before last year, it’s very different to Fantine!”
As you are Carrabosse, if you had a special power in real life, what would you choose?
“I would love the power of teleportation because I get quite car sick on long journeys! So, to click my fingers and be where I need to be would be amazing, also because of the amount of commuting I have to do for my job!”
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