"My musical skills help me pick up acting roles faster, and my acting makes teaching and directing more fun."
Q. Can you share the pivotal moments that led you to pursue a career in theatre and digital content creation?
When I was younger, I would take part in school shows and attended a Saturday school where I was thoroughly inspired. Whenever I was on stage, I was at my happiest - the adrenaline rush you got from performing was unlike anything else! There was a point in my teens where I knew that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Just being in the industry and being creative was enough. During lockdown, when theatres shut down, I had to find a creative outlet, and so I started posting videos on TikTok. One of my videos went viral, and I ended up posting more and doing different kinds of content, and that was that!
I love make people laugh, whilst educating people about our industry but also inspiring others and to make people feel good about themselves.
Q. How did your experiences in live theatre influence your approach to creating content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram?
It was actually the other way around! I started making content before I started working professionally - and by that point I had a presence online and I knew I wanted to document what it was like working in the industry.
I started making Youtube vlogs showing what is was like being a swing when I did Footloose, and I continued making content on TikTok. Instagram sort of developed after a few years of posting on TikTok and now I post the same content on both platforms.
Q. Your reinterpretations of pop songs in a musical theatre style are captivating. What inspires these transformations, and how do you select the songs?
This idea happened during covid when I needed that creative outlet, and the response I received was overwhelming. I first chose ‘The One That Got Away’ by Katy Perry because it had such a musical theatre element to the lyrics / story, and so I just acted it as if I was performing it in an audition or onstage.
Following that video, I tried to choose songs that I thought were very un-musical theatre like, which made it funnier but also more of a challenge to try and adapt. Now I just choose songs I enjoy singing!
Q. As an actress, musician, composer, and content creator, how do you manage and integrate these diverse aspects of your career?
Honestly, in this industry (and in general really) the more skills you have to offer, the more work you are going to come across, and ultimately you’ll find yourself with less periods of unemployment. I find that each job I do, other skills I have to offer come in handy, and will either make it easier to complete, or will lead to other connections and opportunities.
When I’m teaching or musical directing, acting comes in handy to help lead these sessions with charisma and to make them fun, and when I’m in a rehearsal room as an actor, my musical knowledge helps me pick things up quicker. The skills are so transferable that they all blend together!
Q. Could you tell us about your collaboration with Ben Barrow in 'Barrow and Ireland'? How does this partnership enhance your creative output?
Ben and I trained together at the Guildford School of Acting on the actor musicianship course. We became friends very quickly and discovered our passion for writing music and quickly formed a writing partnership. Since that time, we’ve written three musicals, one that was put on in 2021 at the Chiswick Playhouse and received four stars reviews from The Guardian and The Stage (called From Here).
Again, it’s another skillset that I value and every time we get together to write, I learn new things! Composing is honestly something I never thought I would be known for, and having a friend to work with just makes it so much more enjoyable.
Q. What was it like performing in Twelfth Night, and how did that experience challenge or expand your skills as an actor and artist?
It was so much fun. The whole production was outside, no microphones or forms of amplification were used, and we had a different venue every day. It was quite challenging because I had to really rely on my technique to project my voice, and there was also the weather to consider.
We had a lot of hot days and I was wearing a fleece lined leather jacket for most of the show! I learnt a lot during that project, especially as it was Shakespeare. Much of the rehearsal process was studying the text and understanding the story - it’s crucial for performing Shakespeare, otherwise it’s just empty words. Playing Viola was a memorable role that I learnt so much from.
Q. If your life were a movie and you had to choose one song—from all the music you love—as its background score, which song would it be and why?
Wow, what a great question! A hard one too. If I had to pick something, I would actually choose one of my favourite film pieces ‘Define Dancing’ by Thomas Newman (from WALL-E!). It’s such a gorgeous piece of music, a bit cheeky, hopeful, and doesn’t quite feel like it’s finished at the end. I think it sums up my life and depicts in one aspect how I am as a person and that I still have many exciting things to do and achieve!
Bio
Lucy is also part of the writing duo Barrow & Ireland, with Ben Barrow. They are known for their new musical From Here which premiered at the Chiswick Playhouse in 2021. She is also known online on both TikTok and Instagram for her impressions videos, types of singers, and acting comparisons content.
Interviewed By Irene Elina Eldhose
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