Five minutes with... Brian Conley & Les Dennis - 30/06/2010

WEB EXCLUSIVE!
- only available at groupleisure.com

Hairspray stars, Brian Conley and Les Dennis, speak to Rebekah Tailor about the current UK tour of this smash-hit musical.

What’s it like working with alternating co-stars at each venue?
Les: Well for the first nine weeks of Hairspray I was married to Michael Ball, then we got divorced and I married Brian Conley. When I was rehearsing with Brian it was like I was having an affair! It’s great because it keeps the play alive for you. Working with them has been a joy – it’s different but it’s always an interesting dynamic because they’re great actors.

Brian: The only time I really change is at Leeds with Nigel Planer, and I worked with him when I joined the West End show. I’ve enjoyed working with Micky Dolenz from The Monkees (that was a great honour because I was a huge fan), and me and Les have worked briefly together in the past, doing a summer season many moons ago. It’s nice doing it alongside different people because it keeps it fresh.

Do you feel more or less pressure sharing the role with two other actors?
Les: I share my role with Nigel Planer and Micky Dolenz but I haven’t seen either of them in the role and I think it’s best to do that because otherwise you might be influenced by what they do. You always try to invest what you do in a role, and bring something new to it. I’d seen Hairspray, the movie, with Christopher Walker once before I knew I’d be playing Wilbur and I decided then not to look at it again because I didn’t want to think, “it’s got to be played that way.”

Brian: Well obviously I’m sharing the role with Michael Ball and Michael Starke, and it’s great for us. There’s not really any pressure, you enjoy it more dipping in and out. Having a couple of weeks on, a couple off has worked out really well for me as I’ve got two young girls and I’ve virtually got the summer off so we can go away and enjoy that.