BWW INTERVIEWS: Singer, Actress And Cabaret Star Janie Dee

Tell me about the whole idea of the Live at the Delfont Rooms series.

Cameron Mackintosh has changed one of the rooms in the Prince of Wales Theatre, in fact it's one of the bars, into a super-duper cabaret room. It changes character at 11pm. And I'm the latest performer to be doing a cabaret there. Mine's on August 29, and it's based on the show I did for the Divas at the Donmar series. That show was 8pm - so for 11pm you need different material, and by all accounts it's difficult to get people out of the building afterwards!

You've done so much diverse work, how on earth do you go about putting a cabaret programme together?

At first you think where do I start? I get a big sheet of paper and write everything down, and then look for links. I'm looking to do a number, tell a joke and some stories, and there'll be some surprises
along the way. I discuss it all with my MD, director and my choreographer anyway, and then I'm looking to get in some special guests.

I guess you can't tell me who your special guests are...

Absolutely not! They're coming because I invited them, not because they're committed to it, so it wouldn't be fair to pin them down. They're doing it for fun, for mischief and for the opportunity.

You've not been in the West End for a few months, since you finished Woman In Mind in May, but you've been working...

I've been in Bath working with Peter Hall on The Applecart, and resting a bit. The secret is to enjoy the time off. We complain when we have eight shows a week without days off, and then in Bath I had three days a week off and that felt strange too! Bath is beautiful, though; the theatre was full of people and laughter and joy, and I had lots of time for my family and friends too. After that I went to Norfolk with my family, then pottered in the garden, and now I'm putting the cabaret together. I do like to use stuff in my set list that people will hope to hear, and I also keep in touch with new writers and do some new material; that way I get to do things that people won't expect, and makes it a fun night.

This is quite an unusual evening for London, though.

Cabaret is a special art, and we don't do it often enough here. I think it's great that Cameron's encouraging it with this new series.

How do you decide on your spiel between numbers?

People do want to find out a bit about you, but I think you should be careful about how much you give away! Also, it's always good to stay spontaneous and in the moment.

Do you think people want you to be a glamorous diva, or normal like them?

I personally think nobody's "normal"; everybody is extraordinary in their own way.

Will you be doing musical theatre again soon?

I'd like to. I've just been asked to do something, and I'm currently researching the whole idea. I love it, and I'll never turn my back on musical theatre, even when I'm doing plays by Ayckbourn, Pinter or Shakespeare. Most of us in musical theatre want to do "straight" stuff to be taken seriously, and there's still a tendency to be dismissive of musicals, but I think that some of the greatest actors are people who can do it all.

I've actually got three things on the table - one I've just turned down, one this musical theatre project, and one project of my own. Sometimes you have to be strong and not jump yet. I'm writing something too, and I want to produce the film of Woman In Mind, which Alan Ayckbourn has given me the rights to. My son starts school in September, so I'll have days to myself, and that'll be the time to pull it together. If I don't, I'll regret it, because Alan's shown so much faith in me. There is an awful lot of support around for me, so I want to do it properly.

So what can BWW readers expect from your cabaret?

A naughty, surprising, gorgeous night. That's it. That's all!

Janie Dee is Live at the Delfont Rooms, the Prince of Wales Theatre, on Saturday August 29 at 11pm.

 

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