We've got people who come from around the world.

We've got people who come from around the world. 

We've got people who've been to see it once, we've got people who come to see it hundreds of times. And whenever we speak to people at the stage door, there is just so much love and desire to find out about not just how the magic is done, but about the characters and the relationships between those characters. And it's really special. Have you seen the show yourself, having been in it for so long? Yeah, I love it! I take any opportunity I can to go front of house and see how things look and how it works, with an audience in as well. And quite often, if there are understudy runs or performances that I'm not a part of. It refreshes me all the time, that I can see how those reactions play out in front of an audience. And it just makes the whole thing alive again. 

I also got to see one of the parts on Broadway in 2018. And to watch our show being done in America was even more special because an American audience reacts very differently to a British audience. Some of the reactions are so much bigger. They're already big here, but to hear those reactions on Broadway was incredibly exciting. How do you feel that you as an actor have grown during your time with the show? It's quite emotional, actually, for me, because so much has happened in the world since we opened in 2016. So many good things, but a lot of bad things, including a global pandemic, and that had a huge and traumatic effect. Post-COVID, it was all about getting a sense of normality back into the world, and to show the world that there was still joy and magic to be had for going to the theatre. And the importance of theatre, the importance of being together in an audience. We were so used to sitting in front of our laptops, doing Zoom calls, or watching theatre productions online or on Netflix. But actually, it's the joy of being together - Having that experience in the theatre is everything. So coming back to the show in 2021, after such a long break, was incredibly emotional. And that did affect the way that I felt about the show. 

I felt that those moments in this show of darkness were that much more powerful. And the light that was incredibly important to the story, but also to bringing that light and joy back to theare as well, was so crucial. And ever since then, I don't think there's a single actor in the world who will ever take for granted again that ability to stand on stage and perform in front of 1,400 people on a nightly basis. So we've been through a lot in the seven years that I've been here, but the constant has been the joy of the show, and magic of the audience reactions.