Interview: JERSEY BOYS' Simon Bailey!

Hi Simon! How are you settling in?

I'm just having a great time. I don't think it's a huge secret that I've wanted to be in this show in this part for a long time, and it's exceeding expectations all the time. Sometimes you build something up in your head and it lets you down, but this really hasn't. It's everything I wanted it to be and more - I'm having a great time.

Tommy de Vito a joy of a part, isn't it? And you're following on from some very established actors in the role - Jon Boydon, Glenn Carter...

It's brilliant. I went to the press night when it opened - when I was in Teatro, we were guests, four guys in suits, singing musical theatre, we got invited. I wasn't that sure. We went along with open minds, and I didn't think I knew much of the music, but from minute one we sat there slack-jawed. All the songs - you go, "Oh, I know that one!" You just didn't know it was them. It was naive on our behalf. Well, my behalf. It's a hell of a show.

I interviewed Jon when he started the role and he was talking about emphasising the bullying side of Tommy, and when Glenn started the role he talked about emphasising the more charming side of his character. How are you approaching it?

I think with a combination of all of them. The script is the script and you have to deliver it with truth. If at the beginning, when you're directly addressing an audience, you have to try and charm them and get them on your side. Having someone step out and talk to you immediately when you're not expecting it, it can be a bit confusing, so you have to put people at ease, you have to make them laugh or smile, feel comfortable in your presence. They need to be able to connect with you. Obviously in some later scenes, when the dynamic shifts between the boys, it's different and you have to adapt to that.

What do you make of him?

When I was researching him, he's the last of nine immigrant kids, and that's always going to be hardest if you're the last in the line, looking for attention. They grew up in a poor area - and like we say, they came up on the wrong side of the tracks. What I can identify with is his need for survival. He tries everything to get this group up and running. Like he says, you can join the army, or you can get mobbed up - those two options, you're going to end up dead - or you can become a star. He did what he had to do. Whether or not I agree with his methods, I'm not sure about that, but that's for other people to decide.

What research did you do?

You try and track back, watch videos of them. There's not a huge amount documented about their lives. We work with the team here who have a lot of knowledge. We can search the internet and find as much as we can. As we started to rehearse, we used everything. Rather than creating a fictitious character, you're playing someone real. You have to make sure that while it's your take on that character, you're still implementing all the attributes they have as people otherwise you're making it up.

How are you clicking with the rest of the boys?

From day one, we got on great. Straightaway. Genuinely. I'm not just saying that. Everyone has been so supportive. Everyone else has done the job before and knew what they were going into, and I didn't. If I've been needing to run lines with someone or do dance moves, they've done it. It's a great bond, and the more we're doing it, the bond gets better and we gel even more on stage. It's just a lot of fun.

Simon Bailey stars as Tommy de Vito in Jersey Boys at the Piccadilly Theatre.

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