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Culture Stage

Q&A: Sarah-Louise Young, writer/performer, Julie Madly Deeply

If Julie Andrews is one of your favourite things, you’ll definitely want to see Julie Madly Deeply, Sarah-Louis Young’s delightful show about the legendary star of screen (The Sound Of Music), stage (My Fair Lady) and TV (various specials). She performs the show with musical director/pianist Michael Roulston as part of the Mirvish season’s Best of the Edinburgh Festival series (along with Sam Wills’s The Boy With Tape On His Face). See listing.

How did you come up with the idea?

I was in Australia doing another show, and saw Steven Brinberg’s Simply Barbra, about Barbra Streisand. I was talking to my producer about how untouchable certain stars are. And we were talking about how you couldn’t do a show about Julie Andrews. And then we paused, and said, Well, you could, if you weren’t trying to impersonate her. Then several things fell into place: one was the fact of her voice loss, and what that must have been like for her. I had gone to the O2 concert, which was billed as a comeback concert but wasn’t, because she wasn’t really singing in it. She was hard hit by critics. Some people left at the interval. Part of the show defends her. There are many strands. We wanted to tell the life story, and we also wanted to explore the kind of obsession that people have with her.

The show isn’t an impersonation, but you sound a lot like her in the show. Had you ever done an impression, even as a party trick?

I hadn’t done a Julie impression, but I had done a Liza Minelli impression. Liza, Audrey Hepburn and a few other people “appear” in the show. What’s interesting is that people think I’m impersonating her, because they’re projecting onto me what they want to see. I don’t think you could impersonate her.

What techniques do you use?

Whenever you take on a part, you have to approach it like an athlete. For songs, you don’t just learn the notes and words, but also you must learn how to sing them. She had this incredible four-octave voice, with operatic training. I had to train a good six months on the material before I could put it on the stage to place it in my voice. I come from an acting background, I like messing with voices, trying things out. She does have particular vowel sounds she uses.

Take me through the show’s structure.

The show is mainly about her, but my experience of being at the O2 Concert and processing the reaction from the fans. We chart her life from being a child star to the present day. It’s a mix of songs and stories. All the songs you hope to hear, from Mary Poppins and My Fair Lady and The Sound Of Music. But there are also a couple of lesser known songs – from the Sondheim revue Putting It Together, Victor/Victoria, one song cut from My Fair Lady on tour.

Did you know when you were making the show that it had the potential to tour?

I had no idea. In Australia, my producer and I were in the hotel room, dipping our Tim Tam biscuits into our tea. We sent out a proposal, and 24 hours later three venues said yes, so we were committed. I was happy with that. When Edinburgh went well, we were overwhelmed. When we got the West End run, we couldn’t believe it. We always wanted to perform in Canada. I hope if we do well here we’ll be able to do America as well. Maybe I’ll be doing this into my 80s, who knows?

Are you worried that people won’t see you behind the Andrews persona?

I do stuff as myself. When Michael [Roulston] and I perform our own material, I perform as myself. But my heart lies in acting. There’s something about putting the lens of a character in front of what you say. You can say more, be bolder, get away with more. The reason why character comedy is so successful is that if you create an extreme character, the audience can identify safely with a small part, but say, “Oh, I’m not as bad as that. It’s a safe mirror. With another show we do, Cabaret Whore, we have seven chars, and some are quite extreme in their opinions. I can get away with it because it’s character-based. I get to be me 24 hours a day, I don’t have to be me onstage as well.

What does it feel like when you put on that prim wig?

That wig is meant to be ugly. I’m sure Julie herself wouldn’t mind me saying that she’s had some unfortunate haircuts over the years. I do have an act two dress that’s a bit of surprise. I love it.

What detail about Andrews in the show would surprise most people?

That she worked with Alfred Hitchcock in Torn Curtain. I had no idea. It was his 50th movie. Was with Paul Newman. It was an unhappy experience. Hitchcock made no secret of the fact that he hadn’t really wanted to work with her. I also didn’t know until I did the research that she had an adult larynx as a child.

Have you invited her to see the show?

Yes. I wrote to her when we were in Australia. I thought as a courtesy I should. I haven’t heard from her directly. Her manager got in touch. He’s aware of the show. And friends of hers have seen it and said they liked it. My hope is that at some point it will get back to her. But she’s a very busy woman. Maybe if we took it to America there’d be more interest. I’d love her to see it. People often ask what it would like if she came in. Of course it would be overwhelming. But I think it would be more overwhelming for the audience. I don’t think they’d be able to cope. They’d be monitoring their reactions. On the first day, when director Russell Lucas sat with me and Michael Roulston, we agreed this had to be something that, if Julie Andrews saw it, she would approve and would love it. Although it is tongue-in-cheek and playful, it absolutely comes from a place of love and sincerity and respect for the work. It’s not sugar-coated, but no one who’s a big fan will be offended.

Well she is pretty tough and has a wicked sense of humour.

People forget how much of a clown she is. Tony Walton apparently said he married her because of her Stan Laurel impersonation. Look at the work she did with Carol Burnett. She played the straight woman, but they were equally funny. People think of her as this stiff upper lip Brit. She’s much funnier. If you look at the sequence in The Sound Of Music where she’s running up to the von Trapp house with her guitar: it’s pure physical comedy.

What’s next?

I just finished a straight play called Night Bus, with Linda Marlowe, Steven Berkoff’s muse. I’m in the very early stages of doing a work about Dorothy Parker. I’ve got about 10 projects I want to write. Michael and I want to do a musical about Grand Guignol. I have a few directing projects.

You’ve said that you never wanted to be in the chorus of Les Mis. Would you ever do a traditional musical?

In fact, I’ve been asked to audition for Les Mis. I’m interested in being in an original cast of a new musical. There are some shows like Cabaret, Chicago and Assassins, Sunday In The Park With George, Sweeney Todd, Grey Gardens… if they came up, I would absolutely jump at the chance. They’re such good material. But for me to go into a show that’s been running for 20 years to play a part where there’s no room to bring your own personality. I’m nearly 40. My time is precious. I don’t want to do anything that’s not fun. The dream is to work on new material.

How do you project your voice during an eight-show-a-week run?

I drink decaf coffee. I don’t drink alcohol during a run. Sleep and hydration are important. I’m very boring. I do my scales. I steam my voice three times a day. But when I’m not working I enjoy a nice drink. I’m also a big believer that the show should be as good on day one as it is on closing night. It’s a small sacrifice to make given that I get to do what I love for a living.

Is there a sing-along?

Yes. I resisted. The director and producer insisted, and I have to admit that they are right and I am wrong. I can feel people holding out, wanting to join in. In the West End, we hadn’t done the sing-a-long yet, and somebody yelled out: “Please let us sing!” It is entirely voluntary.

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