Interview: Jonathan Roxmouth talks About Online Shows and Creating SHOWSTOPPERS!

In a time when live theatre is almost impossible to put on, many artists have turned to the online world. Jonathan Roxmouth, one of SA's leading lights in the musical theatre world, has taken the digital plunge and created SHOWSTOPPERS! He sat down to talk to us about the production and his experiences.

BWW: Let's start off with - SHOWSTOPPERS! is an online event. Is this your first time presenting an online show? And will it be livestreamed or available as on-demand content?

Jonathan: Yes, this marks my "digital debut" in every way. The show will be available to stream from 30 July - 6 August.

BWW: What can audiences expect from this show?

Jonathan: This is a very straightforward show. I miss singing this material and decided to do exactly that with 15 or so numbers from musical theatre. In addition, I wanted to do it with PEOPLE and not technology, so I managed to get 11 of SA's finest musicians together to perform with. It makes a huge difference and I think the end result is better for it.

BWW: Are there any particular highlights from the production that you're most looking forward to?

Jonathan: Certainly all of these numbers are great, so as to earn the title of "showstopper", but the smaller, lesser known numbers like Another Suitcase in Another Hall from EVITA and Finishing the Hat from SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE are very personal for me. The stories they tell are, in a way, my story.

BWW: What would you say is the hardest or most challenging part of putting on an online show? It's certainly very different to having an audience live in front of you.

Jonathan: It was only in the preparation for this online concert that I truly appreciated what television and film actors have to do in order to muster that performance energy I get from an audience in a theatre. Everything is up to you. It's self-sustaining magic on another level. There is no applause and there are no reactions. Just you and a round lens on the other end of the room. It's tough for an applause junkie like myself.

BWW: It's been a challenging time for performers around the world in the last 18 months. How have you found it and what have you been up to?

Jonathan: It has been cruel in every sense of the word. Work has disappeared, theatres have gathered dust and we have begun to lose productions and companies left, right and centre. Most creatives have had had to put their pride in their pocket and take up other ways of surviving. I have discovered a greater empathy for people and their struggles, as well as a newly cemented gratitude for the opportunity to perform when it pops up every now and again. An extremely humbling and levelling experience that I hope our industry is the better for when we come back. And we WILL come back.

Photo credit: supplied

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SHOWSTOPPERS! will be available to stream online between 30 July and 6 August. Tickets cost R200 each and can be purchased on Jonathanroxmouth.com.

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