Emma Marsh has played Snow White. She has played Dick Whittington. Now she turns her attention to Aladdin at the New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth this Christmas.
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00:00 Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Lovely this
00:06 morning to be speaking to Aladdin, Emma Boyle, who is going to be Aladdin at the new Theatre
00:12 Royal in Portsmouth this Christmas. Now, Aladdin is a great story, isn't it? What kind of
00:16 Aladdin are you going to be? What do you have to do to be a good Aladdin?
00:21 I think it's really about encompassing everyone. So getting the audience involved, getting
00:28 all the cast involved. We've got a kids' chorus as well. I feel like Aladdin brings everyone
00:32 together. He has his own story, but at the same time, he shares that with everyone and
00:37 he makes sure everyone is just as happy as he is throughout the whole thing. So I think
00:42 it's about having that energy, having that kindness, having that friendly vibe about
00:47 him that kind of brings everyone together and enjoys the story with him.
00:51 That sounds terrific. And you've graduated in 2019, but already you've got quite considerable
00:56 Panto experience. You've done Dick Whittington. Did you say you've done Snow White as well?
01:01 Yes.
01:02 Tell me about those ones.
01:05 So Snow White was my professional debut straight out of drama school. Absolutely loved it.
01:13 Met the love of my life there. Met some friends that I'm still in contact with now. It was
01:18 just great getting into the Panto zone and having so much fun on stage and off stage,
01:23 both for the cast, the crew and also the audience. And that's kind of why I fell in love with
01:27 it. And then last year I played Dick Whittington at Potter's Bar with Jordan Productions as
01:32 well. And again, I've made friends for life doing that. And then them asking me to come
01:36 back this year was kind of ticked straight away. Yeah, I'll be there. Don't worry at
01:40 all because Jordan Productions as a whole is such a great company to work for. And when
01:44 I found out it was in such a beautiful theatre in such a great city, I couldn't say no, really.
01:49 Fantastic. And you've managed to get your career completely back on track after graduating
01:53 the year before the pandemic. And the pandemic was obviously very bad timing for everyone,
01:58 but tough for you, wasn't it? Yeah, definitely. I graduated in 2019 and
02:04 then had six months of work where I was lucky enough to get to know White and do the Panto
02:08 and then Covid hit straight away. And then unfortunately, as I was no longer a graduate
02:12 and also as obviously I didn't put my name out there because I had just graduated and
02:16 Covid hit, it was very hard to get back into the industry. But I feel like Panto is the
02:20 one thing that I can, I feel like I fit well into. So every year I have Panto and that
02:27 kind of keeps me going as a performer and then hopefully get something bigger in the
02:31 future. Absolutely. And first impressions of Portsmouth
02:34 New Theatre Royal? It's a great theatre, isn't it?
02:37 It's so beautiful. I went walking in, I had the tummy tingles because when you stand on
02:44 that stage and look out into the auditorium, the old fashioned, beautiful auditorium, it
02:49 just hits differently, as some people would say.
02:53 And from the audience point of view, it really is a lovely place to watch Panto.
02:56 Yeah, definitely. You can already tell how the atmosphere of the theatre will combine
03:01 with the show as well. Fantastic. We're really lovely to see you.
03:05 Looking forward to seeing Aladdin this Christmas at the Theatre Royal Portsmouth. Thanks for
03:09 your time. Thank you.