Interview: Rob Fowler Talks BAT OUT OF HELL UK and Ireland Tour

Rob Fowler is synonymous with the hit musical Bat Out Of Hell. Having originated the role of Falco in 2017 during the original Manchester production and the show's West End run, he's now returning to the Bat-Fam on tour.

He chats about what's brought him back, what's changed since the West End, and the incredible fan support for the show.

For people who haven't seen it, how would you describe Bat Out Of Hell?

It's such a great escapism show. It's like an amalgamation of We Will Rock You and The Rocky Horror Show with a Peter Pan, Romeo and Juliet-esque feel to it. So it's got so much for everybody.

It's basically about a family who just wants to protect their own, because they feel threatened by a society where people are going against the system and the rules. The show starts with Falco trying to protect his family from a chemical explosion, which is poisoning the world and he doesn't want his family out in it.

There's so much fun within the show too, and it's such an exhilarating roller coaster, you want to get back on it. That's what we find with Bat Out Of Hell, that people keep coming back and there's a Bat-Fam of fans. In the 25 years I've been in theatre, I've never experienced anything like the fandom that comes with this show.

Knowing you've got that much fan support must be an incredible feeling?

It is, it's really amazing. We've fought really hard to get back into theatre, and we couldn't have done it without the fans. Not only the fans of theatre, but fans of Jim Steinman's music, and it's nice to keep celebrating his music.

Before Covid, when we were allowed to meet people at the stage door, audience members would tell me they'd seen the show five times, and after the first time they'd gone home and taken out their old vinyl records and started to play this music, because it made them feel like a teenager again.

Sharon Sexton, who plays Sloane, has a lot of younger girls come up to her and see her as this power mother. They open their hearts to her and say, "I'm so lost, I'm turning 18 and my parents don't understand me, and you seem to understand your daughter in the show."

The journey it's taken us on as actors has been really interesting, and to see how many people it's brought together. There are so many different fan groups that all join together and support this show, and then invite other people to join with them.

Has the show changed since its West End run?

It has been condensed for the tour, because there's some things which would be difficult to tour on a two-week venue stop. There are also a few twists in the show that make it a reloaded version of Bat Out Of Hell.

I can honestly say, having been in the show since the previews in Manchester in 2017, the changes have made it tighter, and it's much more intimate. There's a couple of things that have been removed from the show, but it makes you more engaged with what's happening on the stage.

We don't have a Blake character anymore. They've joined Valkyrie with Blake, so the highlight vocalist is now a sub-principal character. It's added a really beautiful colour to Jim's music. Now Valkyrie sings "Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire" and "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are", as well as the other songs that she previously sang in the show too. It's really interesting to hear her sing the verse in "Objects", which is about having an abusive father - it basically crushes your heart. It was so brilliant with everybody who's played Blake before, but having Valkyrie do it, it's chilling and a really special change. That was on the US tour, and they've implemented that into the UK tour.

Because it's such a visual show, we've also got a five-metre billboard, which projects footage which is filmed live on stage. We have a live camera person on stage with us, and so you've got that cinema meets theatre feel. When Jay Scheib [the director] first did it, a lot of people were like, "You can't have your back to the audience in the scene". And he said, "I want them to look at you on the screen, because I'm giving the audience the permission to zoom in via the video". And it really does work, and people love it. It gives the audience the chance to come back and watch three different shows if you want, because we're giving you three different perspectives to watch it in.

Bat Out Of Hell seems like the perfect show to take those visual risks too.

Yeah, especially with Jay's opera background, and Jim Steinman's music being so Wagner-inspired. Even the opening duet, "Who Needs The Young", which I sing with Sloane, it's very staccato and in-your-face.

I remember speaking to Jim with our musical supervisor, Michael Reed, and Jim was saying, "Listen to this music, listen to Wagner, this is what I want. I want unhinged, jarred, dysfunctional family straight from the beginning." I love the fact that Jim dared to put these different elements of his operatic background into the show.

Having originated the role in 2017, what is it about Bat Out Of Hell that made you want to come back for the tour?

I think once you originate a role, you give a little bit of sweat and tears and blood to give it life.

I know if somebody looks at my past work, whether it's Galileo in We Will Rock You, or Frank-N-Furter in Rocky Horror Show or playing Dan in the German production of Next to Normal, I've got a little bit of all these characters that I've played into Falco.

I didn't want him to be the typical two-dimensional villain twisting his moustache, I didn't want him to just be a cliche. I wanted him to have so much heart, like Dan Goodman from Next to Normal, the flirtation of Frank-N-Furter, and the youthfulness of Galileo within him, to show that Falco's just really struggling with getting old. He has a huge heart, because all he wants is to protect his daughter, but at the same time, he doesn't see the knock-on effect of protecting too much being as harmful as not protecting them at all.

I think that's why I return, because I've given so much of myself trying to create it, I'm not ready to let go of the baton just yet completely. And I think whilst I'm of the age where I can play the father, why not keep playing something that you love so much?

Is there a song in the show that you look forward to hearing or singing?

The song that really hits home with me is "What Part of My Body Hurts the Most", because Jim wrote it for the piece. That song was kind of made in the room with me, Sharon Sexton, Michael Reed and Jim Steinman, so it's a very special moment in the show.

I also think an unsung hero of the show is "Heaven Can Wait". I think that's such a beautiful song. There are so many great songs of Jim, and "Objects In The Rear-View Mirror" always gets me too.

How do you cope with performing such an intensive show, eight times a week?

I think the only way you can sing those songs eight shows a week is to actually build up the stamina.

I remember the first time we did the sing-through and thinking, wow, I'm not going to have a life other than the theatre for however long the show is running for, because it's such a challenge. But then after the previews and we all got settled in and did the eight shows, we kind of sunk in and we were fine!

Because the voice is a muscle, you build up the stamina. There's some serious vocal Olympians in the show, and I'm very honoured and proud to say that I'm part of this cast, and I'm fortunate enough to be able to do it. There's so much talent and charisma in the show, and we respect each other and each other's talent so much.

The team behind you makes those vocal Olympics of the show so easy too. Gareth Owen's sound is a dream, it's like singing in the studio, and the people who make us look like these characters. That's what makes our job easier, the unsung heroes from backstage.

What's the most challenging thing about being in Bat Out Of Hell?

I think the biggest challenge is not having too much fun, because I think it's so easy to surrender to Jim's music. But if you play just sincerely and try not to have too much fun in the music, it will have much more of an impact on the people watching it for the first time.

Because you don't want to anticipate a joke, you don't want to anticipate the strength of Jim's music because it's so dynamic. Keeping it as pure as possible, that's the hardest thing, because it is so phenomenal. It just hits you in the chest and you can't surrender to it too soon, otherwise the audience don't enjoy it as much.

What are you looking forward to the most about being on tour?

To see the word of mouth about the show travel.

Seeing full houses is brilliant, and to see and hear the reactions of different cities, I always love that. I always love to see how, for example, Glasgow reacts differently to Oxford, or Oxford reacted differently to Manchester, who differ to London. To hear those different reactions, and that chain reaction of laughter is wonderful.

One thing that Jim Steinman did really well in this piece, it's very universal laughter. I don't think there's ever quiet houses with his work - it doesn't allow you to just sit there and be quiet.

Why should people come and see Bat Out Of Hell?

Because it's your roller coaster ticket for the best escapism that you'll ever get. You feel like you've stepped into a time warp - it's filled with fun.

Bat Out Of Hell continues its UK and Ireland tour on 4 January 2022 through to 5 November 2022. Tickets are on sale now - book here

Photo credit: Chris Davis Studio

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