Interview with Jason Donovan

TSOTA was lucky enough to get access to an interview with Jason Donovan ahead of his performance in Million Dollar Quartet at Leeds Grand Theatre on 7th-12th November.

Q: What are you most looking forward to about being in Million Dollar Quartet?
JD: I’m looking forward to the music. I’m looking forward to the character, playing Sam Phillips. It’s quite dialogue-heavy and story-driven, so it’s quite a challenge for my memory. But I’m looking forward to telling a story and playing something different than what I’ve done in the past.

Q: What’s your favourite thing about performing on stage?
JD: The audience, always the audience. And the fact that you never quite know how a performance is going to go and each performance is different – it’s the chemistry between the actors. It’s exciting. It gets your adrenaline going.

Q: What do you think the biggest challenge will be?
JD: Well definitely being on top of the words and the dialogue and the character each night, because it’s meaty in its dialogue and I’m really the driving force of the story. That requires a lot of concentration!

Q: What have you/will you be doing to get into character?
JD: Spending many hours on my own, wandering around the streets of London, learning lines. And, you know, looking up clips of Sam Phillips and just getting a sense of the person, working on the American accent, and just finding within the dialogue the character.

Q: What 3 words would you use to describe Sam Phillips?
JD: Smart, passionate, and he’s someone who’s willing to accept and look at the bigger picture.

Q: The show is all about four rock n roll icons – what’s your favourite song in the show?
JD: I Walk The Line – Johnny Cash’s classic.

Q: What else can audiences look forward to about the show?
JD: I just think it’s going to be a great piece of entertainment. I think for those people who don’t know that era in music, it’s very uplifting. The 50’s were a massive change in America and throughout the world, and I think I’m just looking forward to the interaction with the songs and the story.

Catch Jason Donovan onstage this November at Leeds Grand Theatre.