Arts
An emotional journey
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Nick Grace.
Playing the lead role in the smash-hit musical Mamma Mia! which comes to Colombo this December is Scottish actress Shona White. Here she talks to Yomal Senerath-Yapa with Associate Producer of the show Nick Grace
Shona White looks very much in her element in the sun, fluttering happily around the Cinnamon Grand’s pool, hat in hand, having developed a slightly golden tan. It is easy here to see her running a taverna in a bleached Greek island- as does her legendary character, Donna Sheridan, in Mamma Mia!, the smash-hit musical.
Shona White is here along with a few co-stars for the launch of Mamma Mia’s first South Asian show, which will happen in December this year at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa theatre. We sat down with Nick Grace, the Associate Producer, and Shona, in the run-up to this epic Broadway and West End musical, unanimously held to be the “world’s sunniest and most exhilarating smash-hit musical”.
Mamma Mia! The jukebox musical that debuted in 1999, is based on the songs by ABBA composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It is the seventh longest-running show in West End history and the ninth longest in Broadway, 60 million people around the world having viewed this ultimate feel-good show so far. It has been running for nearly 20 years and the international tour has so far performed in 38 countries since the premiere in Dublin in 2004.
Shona White enjoying the Colombo sunshine last week
The story of Sophie Sheridan, determined to find her real father on the eve of her wedding so he can walk her down the aisle, and of her mother Donna, a strong, independent woman running a taverna and nursing a broken heart, owes its popularity to the fact it’s a believable family story whose characters you can immediately recognize and relate to. But it is also a brilliant, glittering, colourful celebration of friendship, love and family that makes your heart brim over.
Nick Grace explains that they will be bringing to Colombo the whole production exactly as on West End, which means a company of 56 people: performers, musicians and backstage crew. For Shona, the leading lady, playing Donna Sheridan is “a massive highlight”. This Scotswoman has a big voice, nurtured in church when a young girl, where during Easter and Christmas services she always did a solo. In a glittering career in musicals she played such iconic roles as Elphaba in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria, Éponine and Cosette in Les Misérables, and Florence Vassy in the Award Winning UK Tour of Chess. She is also the only actress to have played the character of the daughter Sophie and the mother Donna, having done Sophie more than 16 years ago.
Donna is talking for the rest of the cast as well when she says she loves the family feel of the show. “It’s a great show to be part of,” she says, revealing that Helen Anker and Nicky Swift who play her best friends on stage are her closest friends in real life as well. “It’s such good fun.” However it is not exactly a paid holiday. The main challenge the cast has to face is playing eight times a week, which, Shona says, requires enormous stamina- “seeing as it is a very emotional journey, and a challenging sing.”
That sense of glorious exhilaration bred by Mamma Mia!, testimony of an unusually great show, is not inspired by a few elements that were accidentally knocked together. “It all seems quite simple, but it is not,” Nick says, “It’s very cleverly put together- the direction, and the acting, the choreography, the lighting and the sounds”- not forgetting, of course, the music of ABBA that transcends generations; the heady Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes it All and Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
A lot of the beauty of the West End show can be attributed to the state-of-the-art technicality. Nick says, “I think it is a very select show and the audience likes the quality of the presentation as well as watching the show. The lighting, sound, scenery and beautiful costumes- they are all part and parcel of what you see and it’s exactly like the show in London.”
“But you need a heart at the centre”, and that heart is the story. “It takes a very talented company to convince you this is a believable story. And we have a fantastic company,” Nick assures.
‘A great show to be part of’: Shona White and Nick Grace with fellow cast members (behind left to right) Leisha Mollyneaux, Lucy Barker and Lottie Henshall Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Prior to arriving in Sri Lanka, Mamma Mia! will play in several venues including Toronto, Taipei, Singapore and Manila. Nick who has experienced Sri Lanka three decades ago says it was long ago that he fell in love with the island’s paradisical beauty while Shona along with the cast are impatient to explore the country probably taking precious spare time off during the December tour.
Mamma Mia is brought to Sri Lanka by Cinnamon Life, as part of their goal to create and support new initiatives that will assist and enhance Colombo’s overall offering, in line with the vision of making Sri Lanka a sought-after destination in the region. Nick promises that this is just the first West End production they will be bringing in to Sri Lanka with Cinnamon Life.
As Mamma Mia! will be on for a limited run of 10 shows in Colombo, it is advisable that music lovers book their tickets well in advance. Nick with his veteran’s experience of tours across the world says “book early to avoid disappointment”.
Presented by Cinnamon Life, Mamma Mia! is produced by Judy Craymer, Björn Ulvaeus and Richard East, and directed by Phyllida Lloyd. The book is by Catherine Johnson, choreography by Anthony Van Laast and the production by Mark Thompson.
The musical’s eight-day run with 10 shows will be from December 22 to 30 at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa theatre. Tickets are priced at Rs. 7500, Rs. 10,000, Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 20,000. Tickets can now be booked online at www.cinnamonboxoffice.com and at the ticket office at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo.