Daniel Evans: “Creating a new musical is possibly the hardest thing to achieve in the theatre”

Daniel Evans began his theatrical career joining the Royal Shakespeare Company, performing in plays as ‘Henry V’ or ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. His first singing role was in CANDIDE, that he starred alongside Simon Russell Beale, earning his first Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical in 2000.

After CANDIDE, Evans starred in the Donmar Warehouse production of Stephen Sondheim’s MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2001. Then he returned to Shakespeare, starring plays as ‘The Tempest’ or ‘Measure for Measure’. And in 2005 he returned to musical theatre to star another Sondheim musical, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE at the Menier Chocolate Factory. This show was so successful that it was transferred to the West End, won five Olivier Awards, including Best Actor for Daniel Evans, and opened in Broadway in February 2008, being nominated for 9 Tony Awards, including Best Actor in a Musical.

In line with his acting career, Daniel Evans has developed a career as a director that began in 2005 with Peter Gill’s plays ‘Lovely Evening’ and ‘In the Blue’. On April 2009 Daniel Evans was named artistic director of Sheffield Theatres and took up his new role following the refurbishment of the Crucible Theatre, with his first season beginning last February 2010.

Daniel Evans tells us about his career in musical theatre and about his work as artistic director of the Sheffield Theatres.

LAST 31ST OCTOBER YOU STARRED IN THE CONCERT PERFORMANCE OF ‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’ PRODUCED BY THE DONMAR WAREHOUSE TO COMMEMORATE THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF STEPHEN SONDHEIM. HOW WAS THAT NIGHT? WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU PERFORMING AGAIN THIS SHOW WITH THE SAME CAST YOU DID IT TEN YEARS AGO?
It was a huge thrill. As you know, the show is about time (the story is told backwards) and friendship. So, to meet up again ten years later was a weird and wonderful experience. I met so many excellent colleagues on the show and they are now some of my closest friends, so it was a real honour to get together with them and have another go at it!

YOU HAVE STARRED TWO SONDHEIM SHOWS, ‘MERRILY’ AND ‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’. WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST OF STEPHEN SONDHEIM?
In fact, I’ve performed in three Sondheim shows. I also played Tobias in a semi-staged version of SWEENEY TODD at the Royal Festival Hall, where Maria Friedman played Mrs Lovett and Welsh opera star Bryn Terfel played the title role. For me, Sondheim is multi-faceted. The fact that he writes both music and lyrics means that the score is always holistic – both elements are moving in exactly the same direction dramatically. Then, there’s Stephen’s wit. His rhymes are often daring and sometimes hilarious. Then there’s the music, which, for me, emerges from how any character would sound in any given situation. It’s not about creating sweet melodies (though, some are indeed very pretty), but rather about expressing characters’ thoughts. This is why I believe actors love to play his work.

YOU WON TWO OLIVIER AWARDS FOR YOUR WORK IN THESE TWO PRODUCTIONS. WHAT DID THESE AWARDS MEAN TO YOU? HOW HAVE CHANGED YOUR CAREER WORKING ON THESE TWO SHOWS?
Well, winning an award for a part you’ve played is always nice. Actors on the whole like recognition, in whatever form. However, you have to keep everything in perspective. The Olivier Award is judged by a relatively small panel of people (around 8, I think), so what it means is that on any given year, that panel believes you were most deserving of the award. So, I try not to focus too much on the winning. However, there’s no denying that it does have a small effect on one’s career. Certainly, I would never have got to go to New York with SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE had I not won the Olivier award for playing George. So, it has definitely helped me and for that I’m grateful.

YOU ALSO MADE YOUR BROADWAY MUSICAL THEATRE DEBUT STARRING IN ‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’. HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS THIS BROADWAY RUNNING?
I first appeared on Broadway in 1996 with the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. I played Lysander and I had a ball. However, returning to the city with an American musical AND playing the lead was a very different experience. This was the first Broadway revival of the show, so comparisons with Mandy Patinkin (the actor who originated the role of George) were inevitable. The pressure was on. Then there was Tony season! For about a month and a half, leading up to the Tony awards, I don’t think we had a day off. Jenna Russell (who played Dot) and I were always singing at some gala on our night off, so we were really exhausted by the end. It’s also hard to keep a part fresh over a long run. By the end of New York, I had played George for over 400 performances – over three years – and it’s hard to live with certain characters in your head for a long time. Having said all that, it was a privilege to get to go to New York, to take the show home, as it were. There is nowhere like New York. Its energy and atmosphere is electric.

ANOTHER SONDHEIM WILL BE YOUR NEXT THEATRICAL PROJECT, AS YOU’RE GOING TO STAR IN A NEW PRODUCTION OF ‘COMPANY’ AT THE CRUCIBLE THEATRE. WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN THIS SHOW?
In fact, I’m going to act in a play in the Studio at the Crucible Theatre before I get to play Bobby. The play will be directed by Richard Wilson, who I worked with on Christopher Shinn’s play ‘Where Do We Live’ Upstairs at the Royal Court. I loved working with Richard, so I can’t wait to collaborate again with him. After that, yes we’ll do COMPANY next Christmas. Bobby is a part I’ve wanted to play for a long time and I LOVE the score. It’s sassy and sexy and typifies the post-60s period with its jazzy, smoky numbers. As you know, the show is about a single, thirty-something man who is afraid to commit to a relationship, while all his married friends around him are trying to convince him to tie the knot! So, it’s a show about the joy and difficultly of relationships and marriage, told in a very witty, poignant way. I can’t wait.

HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS THIS YEAR AS THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE SHEFFIELD THEATRES? WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST OF THIS WORK?
The Crucible Theatre reopened in February 2010 after being closed for two years, in order to facilitate a £15m redevelopment. So, the building is now looking wonderful and I’m grateful the work was completed before the new government began to impose cuts to arts funding. I directed the first play, which was a revival of Ibsen’s ‘An Enemy of the People’ with Sir Antony Sher in the leading role. It went very well indeed. After that, I’m proud to say we’ve presented a rich and diverse programme of work, on and off our stages, which has been wonderfully received by audiences and critics. A particular highlight was John Simm playing ‘Hamlet’ on the main stage, which was seen by over 30,000 people from all over the world. Of course, there is a lot of work to do and I’m looking forward to this next period (despite government cuts) where we can develop our work further and continue to produce thrilling theatre to the region. So, I’m proud to say that the work we’ve produced has been to a very high quality and that audiences came and enjoyed. I can’t ask for more than that at this early stage!

WHICH DO YOU THINK THAT HAS BEEN YOUR MAIN CONTRIBUTION TO SHEFFIELD THEATRES?
Maybe you should ask someone else this question! I know the job requires huge amounts of energy and I hope that I’ve been able to (and will continue to) give the organization my all. I have to say that I work with an excellent team at the theatres and they are really responsible for realizing all my ideas. We have a brilliant workshop and wardrobe department, who work tirelessly to ensure the production values are high. I hope people feel that the programme is a mixture of diverse, surprising and balanced work. At least, that’s my aim.

WHAT WILL MUSICAL THEATRE LOVERS FIND IN THE 2011 SEASON OF SHEFFIELD THEATRES?
There’s so much to enjoy. We are about to open the biggest musical Sheffield Theatres has ever produced, ME AND MY GIRL, starring Miriam Margolyes, Jemima Rooper and Daniel Crossley. It’s one of the few great British musicals and it’s being choreographed by Stephen Mear, one of the best musical theatre choreographers of our time. That will play throughout the Christmas period. In the Lyceum, the musical theatre begins with our pantomime of PETER PAN, and then continues in the new year with the touring productions of BLOOD BROTHERS, JECKYLL AND HYDE, AVENUE Q and SWEENEY TODD. So, there’s a lot to enjoy this season!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE SITUATION OF MUSICAL THEATRE IN THE WEST END NOWADAYS? DO YOU THINK THAT NEW CREATORS SHOULD NEED MORE SUPPORT IN ANY ASPECT?
Creating a new musical is possibly the hardest thing to achieve in the theatre. There are so many elements that have to come together – and it’s rare that they all do so simultaneously. However, there are people striving to push the boundaries of the form. We’ll see a new musical by Styles and Drewe in the new year, which will begin in the West End immediately and there’ll be revivals of classic shows alongside it. As for supporting new writers, there are now a few schemes that support the process and, while their work is yet to provide a mainstream, popular hit yet, they are offering opportunities for young writers to explore the form and craft. That can only be a good thing.

IS THERE ANY ACTOR, ACTRESS OR DIRECTOR WHO YOU HAVE WORKED WITH THESE YEARS THAT HAS BEEN SPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR YOU?
Richard Wilson, as I mentioned above, was a particular favourite because of the way he directs. I had never felt so relaxed onstage as I did working with him. So, I’m looking forward to doing it again. As for actors I admire, Ian McKellen holds a particularly important place in my heart because he was my idol when I was a teenager, then years later, I got to play Peter Pan and he was Captain Hook at the National Theatre. Ian is still a role model for me, not only because he is still working and still developing as an actor, but also because of his courage in life. He is a fervent supporter of gay rights and human rights and regularly tours England’s schools to talk to pupils about homophobic bullying in schools. I hope I have half his energy when I’m his age!

COULD YOU COMMENT ON YOUR PROJECTS?
The next play I direct is called ‘Racing Demon’ by David Hare. It’s a wonderful, funny and poignant play about internal fighting within the Church of England. I have a brilliant cast and creative team and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the Crucible stage again, which is the best stage in the country!

Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE