Nina Wadia, a familiar face on our screens from ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ to her celebrity turn on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and more recently ‘The Sandman’ on Netflix, is tackling a whole new artistic challenge with her first-ever musical – ‘Now That’s What I Call A Musical’.
The popular stage show, on tour across venues around the UK until it culminates with a New Wimbledon Theatre run in London in early April, celebrates 40 years of the chart-topping ‘NOW’ albums. The 1980s soundtrack is woven into a heart-warming tale of friendship by award-winning writer Pippa Evans, with choreography by ‘Strictly…’ judge Craig Revel Horwood.
In this exclusive interview, the immensely talented actress tells iGlobal about the hard work behind her energetic turn as Gemma Warner in the show, her hope for more British Indians to enjoy their story reflected on stage and why she likes challenging herself to keep breaking new ground.
What attracted you to your first-ever musical?
It was nerve wracking for me. This is the most terrifying thing I've done; to sing publicly, having never sung on stage before. But I tend to do this.
My husband jokes that I'm doing this show because it's part of a midlife crisis, which it probably is (laughs). But it's also just a lot of fun. Every week we have an 80s pop star join us to do a guest star turn, and people go crazy.
So, in terms of me doing a musical, I just wanted to push myself into some kind of genre that I've not challenged or tackled. I know that's dangerous to do but, touch wood, it’s paid off.
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Given the 1980s theme, what was it like taking that trip down memory lane?
It was a simpler age. I love telling stories where there's not a mobile phone involved. Those were the days where if you wanted to talk to your best friend, you'd have to arrange a time when you got home from school and say to your parents, can I use the phone, please?
We have a Walkman in the show, and I had a Walkman! It was the biggest moment for me to get a Walkman as a present. There are just so many elements from that time that were so special to me, and they have come out this show. Those were genuinely some of the best days of my life!
What makes the theme resonate with such a diverse range of audiences?
Do you know this is one of the first-ever musicals that, without it being a fully Indian-themed show, has an Indian family at the heart of it. An Indian family from Birmingham. That's not happened before in such a massive national way.
To have British Asian actors as leads in a musical, I think that is really special, and that's something that I want to see more of. We're getting more work in TV; we're getting more work in film; we need more work in theatre. There's so much that we have to give, especially with a live audience. And, I see so few Asian faces in the audience. So, thank you for this interview.
The cast is so diverse. And, of course, 80s music was not just for white people – it was for everyone and part of all our growing up years. So, I want them (British Indians) to come and see it and just let their minds be blown.
The other thing about this cast, in terms of just diversity – it's every shape, every size, every age, every colour. It's just brilliant. It is one of the most diverse casts that I've ever worked with, and women are represented in every single way in the show.
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What have been some of your highlights on tour, so far?
I promise you will come away in stitches. I get messages all the time, I can’t keep up. It's quite wild. As I'm doing a different city almost every week, I'm also getting to see the UK for what it really is. There is such an interesting north-south divide in terms of audiences.
I find audiences anywhere from Nottingham up are quite wild. They get in on the story, they'll scream and shout at the stage. It's wonderful. And in the south, everyone's quite reserved.
I've been in television and film land for so long, it was so nice to go back into theatre. It is one of the hardest jobs. There's so much you need to give to it every day, especially when it's live because you can't let people down. I hate letting people down!
*Ticket info: Now That’s What I Call a Musical
