Ansell's The Man with a plan

Published on Friday 12 March 2010 09:29

'MY secret dream was always to be able to stand in front of an audience who had come just to see me . . . rather than because of the music I was singing. I always, in my heart of hearts, hoped that one day it would come true. And now it looks like it has."

So declares Jonathan Ansell, one-time member of pop-opera boyband G4, on his website. Which is probably why he's in his element as The Man, in Bill Kenwright's touring production of Whistle Down The Wind, which tours to the Edinburgh Playhouse next week.

An extraordinary tale about the transforming power of love, Whistle Down The Wind, with music and lyrics by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman, is based on the 1960s film of the same name starring Hayley Mills and features the song No Matter What, with which Boyzone topped the UK charts for six weeks.

In the current production, all eyes are indeed on Ansell as he makes his acting debut in the piece, which revolves around a bright-eyed young girl and her friends.

Through a twist of fate, Swallow discovers a mysterious man hiding in her family's barn. When she asks his identity, the first words he utters are 'Jesus Christ.' It's as though her prayers have been answered and, while the rest of the townspeople search for an escaped fugitive, Swallow gathers the town's children to protect their new found saviour from the cruelties of the outside world.

"It's unbelievable to be part of such a great production, but what is really great is to have the support of so many people who have been along the road with both myself and G4 over the years. To have them still coming to have a great time with me is amazing," says the Bognor Regis-born performer.

Now 27 years old, Ansell first came to attention in the 2004 series of The X Factor. G4 won that series before going their separate ways three years later, freeing Ansell to follow a solo career and achieve his secret dream.

"Musical theatre was always a route that I wanted to embark on at some point. That was obvious to me but, because I had trained as an opera singer, some people within the industry weren't sure," he says. "Thankfully Bill Kenwright saw something in me and gave me this debut role. Hopefully musical theatre is somewhere I'm going to stay for a while because I'm loving it."

Ansell reveals that he always knew that switching from a pop-opera background into musical theatre wasn't necessarily the easiest of options, but then going into straight opera would have been equally as hard.

"For some of the guys who have now gone into opera, they have had to de-brand themselves from G4. People in that world were unsure that someone from a populist background could maintain a role in opera – luckily for me that has not been a problem.

"When you are not purist in a genre – whether it be rock, R&B or opera – and are not doing it in the coolest or most traditional way, then people kind of look down on you. I think that's a shame. G4 were definitely cheesy and pushed the boundaries of what was previously accepted but we enjoyed pushing those boundaries and were enjoyed by audiences."

Although Ansell started singing at the age of seven, it wasn't until the Guildhall School of Music that he realised it was something he could do professionally.

"In second year I began getting more and more gig opportunities. Suddenly I didn't need to subsidise my income with a part time job in Tesco's or in a camping shop or any of the other things I'd done. I found I could just maintain a lifestyle through singing."

The job that allowed him to do that also gave him his first taste of performing, albeit in unorthodox circumstances.

"A lot of my income came from a company called The Three Waiters. It was a spoof singing waiter company and we would perform at weddings and birthdays and corporate events. In a way I suppose it could be seen as dumbing down opera to an extent but more importantly for me it brought opera to masses who had a great time – whether they were opera fans or not.

"I was the youngest in the company so looked most like a real waiter and would be the last one to come out. The other two would have a big argument in the middle of the event and then I'd come in, look bemused and just break into song. That confused the audience no end. It was brilliant.

"I loved working the audience prior to the performance as well, knowing that when I sang they'd be really embarrassed that I wasn't a waiter at all – especially the rude ones who only moments earlier had been demanding, 'Where's the loo,' or complaining, 'You haven't topped my drink up.' I'd make sure that I sung to them.

"I was doing that right up to The X Factor, so from the start I suppose I've always been on the commercial edge of opera."

Opera takes a back seat next week, however, when the singer comes to Edinburgh in a role that makes him almost unrecognisable.

"My hair has grown and my beard is really long now. I am becoming the character more all the time, living him, which is definitely enhancing my performance on stage. I love the fact that as a part, The Man is slightly less predictable than other musical roles and it has certainly pushed me and taken me out of my comfort zone."

And the singer once tagged opera's answer to Justin Timberlake adds, "I just love that I can jump from genre to genre. I never want to rule anything out. I'm always up for breaking down barriers and the preconceptions that you have to be one thing or another."

Whistle Down The Wind, Edinburgh Playhouse, Greenside Place, Monday-Saturday, 7.30pm (matinees 2.30pm), 10.50-34, 0844-847 1661

Aida still make fascinating viewing at 25ish

THREE little maids? For those of you who thought Fascinating Aida had retired, next Thursday's show at Musselburgh's Brunton Theatre isn't a comeback, it's a chance for you to help them celebrate an auspicious birthday.

Yes, the trio – Dillie Keane, Adle Anderson and Liza Pulman – are continuing to celebrate their silver anniversary and are as brassy and biting as ever.

Since Keane first formed the group 25 years ago, ("Strictly speaking 26, but 25 looks better on the poster," she quips) Britain's top female comedy trio have toured the world and their West End shows have garnered three Olivier Award nominations.

Described by Ken Russell as "the love children of Freddie Mercury and Dawn French", in this show Fascinating Aida stick the satirical stiletto into health and safety, wannabes and D-list celebs and Gordon Brown and his mob. They have a go at explaining modern finance, extol the joys of al fresco sex, and wonder if global warming will mean we all have to move to the Shetlands.

Topical, shocking, funny and often gleefully smutty, age has made the trio more acerbic than ever.

As their publicity points out: "Fascinating Aida are one of the last legal pleasures left. See them now before Special Branch do."

Liam Rudden

Fascinating Aida, Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Thursday, 7.30pm, 10.50, 0131-665 2240