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[0:00] Charlie Stemp: My name is Charlie Stemp, and you're listening to Eleven, the official theatre podcast.

[0:16] William J Connolly: Hello and welcome to Eleven, the official theatre podcast that brings the biggest stars and creatives together in one place to discuss life in the arts. He's the West End leading man and double Olivier nominee that is currently in the closing weeks of his star turn as Bobby in Susan Stroman's extraordinary take on Crazy for You. No stranger to a moment in the spotlight, he has three actual credits to his name including playing Bert in Mary Poppins, Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, Wicked, Mama Mia, and for three consecutive Christmas seasons starred in the Palladium pantomime. He also took a trip across the pond to make his Broadway debut as Barnaby Tucker in Hello Dolly opposite none other than Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters.

But perhaps he's best known to us all for playing Arthur Kipps in Cameron Mackintosh's new production of Half a Sixpence, both originally at the Chichester Festival Theatre and later during its West End transfer to the Noel Coward Theatre. So here in an exclusive conversation direct from his hammock in his garden, it'll make sense in a minute, we talk dancing the hardest work of his life in Susan Stroman's rather extraordinary production of Crazy for You, getting to celebrate his love of dance and why he is an all-or-nothing sort of guy. Plus we talk the unexpected challenges of Broadway, backstage chats with Sarah Jessica Parker herself and why the support of his family and friends means everything.

It's the very, very charming Charlie Stemp here now on this, the next episode of Eleven, the official theatre podcast. To ensure the safety of all involved in this episode of Eleven, Charlie and I connected with this conversation digitally, so please forgive any brief moments while we wait for the internet to catch up. Enjoy. Please help me welcome to this the next episode of Eleven. He's the West End leading man that's dancing his way to roaring success. So I say a very big hello from kind of the shiniest hammock. What is going on? Hello Charlie Stemp, how are you?

[2:17] Charlie Stemp: I'm good, thanks mate. How are you?

[2:18] William J Connolly: I'm doing very well, thank you so much for agreeing to do this. I have massive, massive FOMO about the fact you're in a hammock. I mean, life is good, right?

[2:24] Charlie Stemp: Yeah, I'm really, really lucky at the moment. It's really great. I mean, doing the show is really kind of great and wonderful. It's also very hard, so any chance I get to kind of try and relax, I'm always kind of either in my hammock or in my bed.

[2:36] William J Connolly: Is hammock time a relaxing time for you? Is that the time to escape from the madness?

[2:40] Charlie Stemp: 100%. Yeah, yeah. I bought it. Funnily enough, I bought it when I was in America. I did a show out in America for a little bit and I was there for about nine months. New York is amazing, but it's just so fast paced. So after the first three months, I remember thinking, I was like, oh, why does my jaw hurt? And I realized that I'd been so stressed just from the cars and the hustle and bustle of everything that I realized I didn't actually have much time to relax. So I invested in a hammock that went on my tiny little balcony and it took up my entire balcony. But it was just the perfect thing. I got some noise cancelling headphones and it was just like I was on a beach. It was wonderful.

[3:16] William J Connolly: That seems like a very clever idea and actually kind of genius. I think they famously said, like, hammer time, but it should be hammock time. Should be the new vibe.

[3:23] Charlie Stemp: Absolutely. We'll re-record that one.

[3:25] William J Connolly: Has it ever made its way into the dressing room here in London, or is this something that's exclusive for you at home?

[3:29] Charlie Stemp: No, it has not made it into the dressing room. To be fair, when I'm at work, I try and kind of keep myself as switched on as possible until it's, unless it's in between shows and then always try and have a little sleep. So definitely I'm trying to not relax when I'm at work. I'm trying to kind of keep that energy going and trying to socialize as much as possible. It's definitely my time to kind of chat to people and socialize as much as possible, really.

[3:53] William J Connolly: And it's high energy for you in this show. I mean, Crazy For You is like this amazing, amazing show. But I can imagine for you, like, you've got to dig deep. You've got to find some energy and you've got to find, you know, everything from inside of you, I guess. Firstly, and most importantly, are you having the best time? Because what getting, I guess, the pleasure, and it is a real pleasure of getting to watch you on stage, you just think they're really enjoying this and it's actually very infectious. So the good energy is a good vibe.

[4:17] Charlie Stemp: A good one. I'm glad it's coming across that way because that's definitely how we feel. Yes, the show is such a wonderful journey to go on every night. It's kind of, yes, exhausting. It really is exhausting, but it's also so enjoyable for me to have such an opportunity to try so many different parts of theatre, you know, whether that be the singing or the dancing or the acting or the tap as well. I know tap is dancing, but it kind of feels different. And to kind of have such tricky and complicated challenges every night because it is, you know, everything I do in the show is some of the hardest dancing I've ever done. So like every night, something will go wrong. And, you know, if I have a bad show, quite a few things go wrong.

But as much as that can be quite stressful, it's also really enjoyable because every night you kind of have this risk element that is so kind of, I'm so proud of, because every night it's not that I can reign it in or I can like be like, oh, I can give an 80% show today. By trying to give an 80% show, it shows so, so, so clearly. So yes, it is very tiring, but I'm supported so well by the cast. Everyone in my cast is just so great. And anytime I'm tired, I kind of look at them and see how hard they're working. I'm like, okay, I can do it. They can. So, you know, we push together.

[5:35] William J Connolly: And there's no such thing as a half-assed performance from Charlie Stemp. I've seen you in so many varying different shows now, and it always feels like you just give a hundred percent. Is that, I guess, is excellence a minimum for you? Is that the sort of vibe you go for?

[5:45] Charlie Stemp: Oh, well, I have learned in my few years of doing theatre that perfection and excellence are a slippery slope to try and see them as that. As much as you want to, you know, there is definitely this side of me that tries to push for it being the best it's ever been. But I think for me, it's more that when that adrenaline hits me and when I have 2000 people staring at me, you can't help but kind of just give a hundred percent of whatever you have. And I will challenge anybody to not do that when, you know, there is so much pressure on your shoulders to do so. So it's always been something that I've always had far too much energy. If I wasn't doing this show, I'd be doing something else silly, like climbing a mountain or doing something like that. You know, standing still is not something that I do well.

[6:33] William J Connolly: So when the idea was brought to you about this show, you know, it's such a synonymous role and it's such an extraordinary, extraordinary show. Were you like, yeah, of course I want to do it? Or were you like, I think most people, which would be like, oh my gosh, you really have to be a triple threat to do this. Were you like, this is like a big challenge to me, I guess. How did you react initially? And has that changed now that you're so deep into it?

[6:49] Charlie Stemp: My immediate instinct was, yeah, let's do it. There's no question, let's do it. I hadn't seen the show, but I knew most of the songs. I knew of Susan Stroman, having watched the producers very recently for the first time and also having watched quite a few of her shows. The Hugh Jackman version of Oklahoma, I'd seen as well. So I knew who she was when my agent said, listen, they want to do this in Chichester. And especially because it was Chichester, which is kind of like my home away from home. There was just no question for me that this was going to be something that I wanted to do. So we kind of had to chat with Cameron Mackintosh at the time, because from like a contract point of view, we were doing Mary Poppins.

And that means that contractually I have to do every show if, and I can't do any other work. So we had to kind of just call Cameron and just say, listen, I know we're doing Mary Poppins, but this would be really special. And I think it's such a testament to Cameron. And it's also such a testament to his love of theatre that he knew that this was something that I needed to do and that he wanted me to do as well. And I think that shows the love he has for me and also for theatre and just of being like, yeah, you have to try something else. You have to do something else. So I'm very grateful for him, to him, for letting me take on this opportunity in this role. And we're still finding little moments that are really enjoyable and really special.

[8:12] William J Connolly: What about when you have people like Cameron in your life that, you know, make those sacrifices in the industry to make sure that you're always moving forward, but also to then have a colleague like Susan, who is literally one of the best in the business ever. Is that the moment where you sit there going, obviously, yeah, cool, the pressure's on and I want to deliver and I absolutely will. But this is the moments that I'll remember when I'm older. This is the cool bit, right?

[8:34] Charlie Stemp: Yeah, absolutely. There's a lot of... I feel a lot of pride. I feel a lot of pride with it. And it is really cool to be like, yeah, I'm just going to text Stro today and just say, I hope you're doing OK. I know you've got a busy week this week. And same with Cameron as well. But I think what's so interesting about these people is they will be remembered by everybody for what they've done in theatre. But actually what I'll remember them for is their kindness and their compassion, their humanity. So I'm so proud to have these titans of theatre in my life. But also I'm very, very proud that I can call them my friends as well.

[9:07] William J Connolly: We reference about it being high energy in the show, but also there's a lot of joy that you take with you when you leave the theatre. I think leaving the show puts you in a better place than when you first go in. Have you had the opportunity to connect with people at the stage door, if it's been through social media, for them to tell you, perhaps it's even just a very polite, thank you for a great night at the theatre? Because it is a great night at the theatre, but also you do leave a little bit higher. It makes you feel good seeing the show.

[9:30] Charlie Stemp: Yeah, I do. I've had some really lovely conversations with people at stage door who've kind of expressed their love of the show and also their love of my performance, which is always really lovely when that happens. And yeah, it is. I'm very proud to be doing something that puts a smile on people's faces. That's always something that I've really enjoyed and comes very naturally for me to want to do is to put a smile on someone's face. So yeah, stage door is always, in some ways it can be very tricky because as an actor who's just done quite a big show, sometimes it can be quite daunting to then go out and meet people who've spent the last three hours kind of seeing you as a character and not as the person that you are.

So it can be quite daunting sometimes to go outside, but actually I've had nothing but wonderful experiences on the show of people who just want to express and people who say like, oh yeah, this is people's seventh, eighth time, you know, we're coming back next week. And you know, I think it's just so great, as I said, to be able to just be a part of something that just uplifts people.

[10:27] William J Connolly: Was it the same sort of vibe when you've done the Palladium Pantomime? Where you know that that's a family moment that they will remember for a long time about how it made them feel?

[10:31] Charlie Stemp: Yeah, absolutely. I think when you're part of such a magical show like the Pantos at the Palladium, like my mum used to go with my great-granddad, used to take my mum to the Palladium Pantos. So, you know, to be a part of that history and to be a part of the family they have there, and I'm gutted I can't be there this year. It's such a proud moment for me to be a part of that contract, actually, because growing up, Panto was what we watched. It was the only thing we could afford as a family. So we would go to the Orchard Theatre in Dartford and watch Pantos every year, and that was kind of my only theatre experience until I was a mid-teen, you know, guy. So I feel so proud that I was able to be a part of what's probably one of the greatest Pantos ever.

And also it was so nice to sit in a theatre with such a diverse group of people of every age and background. Just people being like, you know, I've sat next to a child in a theatre and you're like, oh gosh, they're going to talk, but they're so engrossed in what's going on that you almost live the show through them. Like, do you feel that energy?

[11:29] Charlie Stemp: Oh, 100%. Yeah, one of the proudest moments of my career is flying out in a double-decker bus over the audience at the London Palladium and just watching the face of kids be like, oh my god, what is happening? And then watching their, you know, mum or dad next to them have the exact same face is such an uplifting memory. I can imagine you have a similar response as well with families that perhaps came in touch with Crazy a few years ago and perhaps are then coming now back with their children or their grandchildren or perhaps even another generation down, like to see like, oh, I remember this or I remember seeing this or I loved this bit. Is that also an interesting conversation to see how you're a very important chapter now in the history of this show and that you're going to be part of future conversations as well? Because that's like a legacy bit, right?

[12:09] Charlie Stemp: Yeah, it is. I've never really thought of it that way and that's so true. Yes, I mean, the show holds so many memories for so many different generations, as you said, not just with the show but also just with the Gershwin songs. Like, we had a 95-year-old woman who came who remembers, you know, listening to Gershwin when she was younger, you know, as a kid and to have that for her daughter to come watch the show and then for their grandchildren to come watch the show and it's so wonderful to be a part of such a legacy and for us to kind of do it as much justice as I feel we've done, we feel very, very proud.

[12:47] William J Connolly: So I guess, how do you create that line between, I guess, the character and Charlie, if it's to do with like legacy of the show but, you know, taking Poppins, like that's obviously such a synonymous role. I guess, how do you bring you without going too far but making sure you honour the original, I guess, or is that, it's doing that actually the joy, is making that work, is that kind of part of the love of it?

[13:05] Charlie Stemp: Yeah, absolutely. It's more instinctive for me than something that I have to keep an eye on. I know some actors who do, I was speaking to my friend Pete the other day who's in Jersey Boys, he's playing Tommy in Jersey Boys and we're having a really interesting conversation where he was kind of talking about, he was like, oh playing this, the role of this person who's really kind of like not a nice guy and he was like, I feel it pulling into my life sometimes of me kind of just naturally wanting to lean into just being, you know, grumpy and being physical and, you know, just being not a nice guy and he was like, I have to remind myself and just calm myself down and it works for him because, you know, him in the show is just wonderful.

So for me it feels very different where actually I try and add a little bit of myself to every kind of character that I do. I really like to enjoy that feeling of embracing a mix between a character and yourself and living kind of vicariously through this character as it were. So that's always been something that I've really enjoyed and I don't actually have to think about too much and I think because of that when I finish the show I can feel like I've held on to a part of myself.

[14:08] William J Connolly: So when you go back into a show like Poppins, is that then the joy where you get to remind yourself, oh I did it, I loved it, I stopped doing it obviously for something rather wonderful. When you then go back, do you almost enjoy it more the second time because you almost lost it in a way and then you're like, oh I'm so nice to be back?

[15:24] William J Connolly: Talk to me about what the experience was like for you as a creative getting to go from being a star here in the West End to New York and you know is that the sort of experience that you almost appreciate a little bit more after it's happened because you get to look at it from an outsider's perspective because that's the stuff of dreams right that's the stuff where you sit there going I cannot actually believe this is happening.

[15:57] Charlie Stemp: Yeah absolutely it was very kind of like I was just a deer in headlights like I didn't really know I couldn't fully comprehend how special the adventure was and what I was doing and I think that's probably for the best as much as you know I would have now it would have done it of course done it differently but I learned so much I learned so much about myself I learned so much about the industry over there which is just so different and it's and it's not at all that you know the actors are better or anyone's better it's not the the standard is just as high on the West End as it is on Broadway but the difference is is there are 10 times more people in America so for every one person we have that's extraordinarily special they have 10 so that affects the cast so differently where everybody's a little bit older because they're paid better so you have people who are in the ensemble who have kids and have family whereas here that doesn't happen as much but that's starting to change so that's a good thing one thing that I found wonderful was that everyone was just so kind of older and mature so how they dealt with everything day to day was just that this show is such a wonderful part of my life but it also isn't the be-all and end-all and that actually can be really really great to have because if if the energy in the building is that this needs to be the most perfect thing we've ever done actually that's not possible and all that does sometimes is actually negatively impacts other people but actually when you kind of walk into a building and you just say we're going to give it everything we have today we're going to try our best and we're going to have fun at the same time that just brings out such a wonderful energy so the shows that I did I just remember being so happy when I was doing the show and around these people who were just so kind of special and I learned a lot from them I learned a lot from my friend Gavin, Gavin Creel who was my co-star and was just so incredible and so wise and I was lonely at points I was very homesick I kind of found it tricky that when I finished the show I was like oh let's go for a beer and obviously because everyone have kids they were like oh I'm sorry I've got to go home so I would kind of walk around I used to walk around Central Park at like 12 o'clock at night which is probably not the safest thing to do in the world but and then because of the time difference all my friends and family at home it would be like five o'clock in the morning so at first I found that really daunting and then I kind of found this inner kind of part of myself where it was just like oh you know I can this is my time I can do whatever I want with this so I started to read more I started to dance in my like spare time just in like a space I had in the gym at my building and and I used to go to the gym at like 12 o'clock at night which I've never done before and yeah I became like a I'm like a night owl it was really great and I celebrate that kind of part of myself now that is able to just be like okay I've got this time my own that's wonderful instead of being like oh I need to fill it with other people you know and also it's something that you were able to share I saw that wonderful photograph that you posted on your social media outside the theatre with your mum which was just so exciting there that I guess they're the extra bits right they're the bits that you go actually sometimes when I do feel a bit lonely or I do feel a bit down these are the moments that cancel those out.

[18:54] Charlie Stemp: Yeah absolutely absolutely and and you know um I think I think one of the differences that I always needed to remind myself is that this loneliness won't last it's this isn't my life forever I'm not a lonely person I'm just I've just been put in a situation where at this this moment for the next couple of months I need to celebrate being on my own and that's such a difference and and having my mum come out was so wonderful I mean she came out like how many times she's come out four times five times she's just you know such a fan um and sell numerous tickets for every one of my shows I think she sold 250 tickets for crazy for you so far and counting yeah she should get commissioned she really should uh and she loves doing it because she she puts it all in her amit and then she gets all the points so she's a smart woman my mum so yeah I mean the the moments where I could have all my mates come out was just so special like I had as much as I say I was lonely at points I also had moments where I would have friends come and stay and it was so special I could take my friends to go watch shows any person that came to stay with me I was like I'm I'm getting you a discount I'm paying for you to go watch Dear Evan Hansen because you need to go watch Dear Evan Hansen that was like my rule so I think I think I paid for like seven people to go watch Dear Evan Hansen but it was just so worth it because it was one of the most you know because obviously everyone came to watch me and Hello Dolly but then I wanted them to see something different something really kind of original and special and my mum loved it she thought it was one of the best things she's ever seen I was living slightly more than Dolly I was livid like my show my show please come on it's got it's got to be on brand I am your son but was that was there also like a slightly I always think this is a slightly weird thing when you're in a cast or have a colleagues like of the stature of yours who are like so famous was there a moment where your friends were like oh is is is Bernadette around like I'd love to see you but like is there a moment where you're like excuse me I'm the star like with your mum or is it like okay I'm in it with a legend I get it it's fine.

[20:50] Charlie Stemp: Oh to be fair I mean there was there was one really special moment that happened before I tell that story I think most of my friends and my family actually are really wonderful where actually they just they prize kind people and they prize people who are just just really really kind so um not that anyone in the show wasn't kind but until that's kind of proven to them the thing they value is just kindness so however that being said my mum loves Sex and the City more than anything in the world so Sarah Jessica Parker was sat next to her on the uh press night for the show and I flown my mum over for the press night unbeknownst to me my mum was sat next to Sarah Jessica Parker and at the interval of the show um she turns to her Sarah Sarah turned to her friend and said oh that boy who plays Barnaby is really good I can't stop watching him and my mum immediately was like that's my son like straight away in straight away and chatting to her for ages and then after the show Sarah was coming back to see Bernadette and she was going to meet Bernadette and I passed her on the stairs and she just said oh by the way thought you were really good congratulations well done a great show and I was like oh thank you so much and she said oh by the way say hello to your sister Katie for me and I had no idea of the conversation my mum had just had with Sarah Jessica Parker so I was just the most confused I've ever been in my entire life and Sarah Jessica Parker kind of like chuckled to herself as she walked away and then it wasn't until I saw my mum later and I was like mum how does Katie know Sarah Jessica Parker uh and she fell about laughing so yeah it's a funny moment.

[22:31] William J Connolly: Just bringing it back to um Crazy For You for a second one thing that I think is extraordinary about the show is the opportunity to see dance celebrate in a way that I think so often we don't see in a West End show and yes dancing in the West End is extraordinary but in this show in particular it really is the best of the best I mean just to get lost in this world you sort of feel a little bit spoiled as an audience member getting to watch it for you obviously you're an incredible actor an incredible singer but dance feels like home for Charlie Stemp for you is the opportunity you reference about you know it's hard every day you have to really put 100% in but to get to celebrate a craft that you love so dearly in such a public way in such a mainstream industry is that the extra bit for you?

[23:14] Charlie Stemp: There's there's such an element of pride for sure especially this being Susan Stroman's kind of choreography and for it to be kind of the one of the most iconic kind of dance shows ever and to be the kind of main driving force of that is very daunting but it's also very it's very very enjoyable and there are moments where I have to have a word with myself uh like we have a there's like a big solo at the end of the show nice work and I do like a big dance bit right at the end and it's so typical of Stro to be like okay yeah you worked you you know you really worked hard you worked your butt off uh and now we're going to give you the hardest dance solo you've ever done and like by this point my legs aren't working my my chest is just heaving I'm dripping with sweat I can't see I'm so tired and my response from when she told me that was yes boss okay let's do it so you know to to have someone like Susan like Stro say that I need more from you you don't say no you don't say no you just figure out a way and um I'm very very proud to to be telling the story that we do through dance and you know and as someone that as you said like I grew up dancing and it's what definitely it's one of my passions and something I'm so proud of so to be able to to be a part of this story and and tell it I'm so proud to do it and I and I'll look back in five ten years time and I'll be very proud and be like I did that I couldn't believe I did that.

[24:33] William J Connolly: Yeah great I felt like a similar thing happened in Half of Sixpence as well where it was like oh we've seen Charlie absolutely go full out and here's another moment for Charlie's go for like I feel like the only person that's kicking your butt each night is yourself I feel like you're to blame for this.

[24:44] Charlie Stemp: Yeah I probably am to blame in rehearsals I I have a rule where I just don't say no so never say no just always always just find a find a way around it I think is is the best way I would look at things so as I've gotten older that's maybe changed slightly whereas now I will say to myself okay can I sustainably do this eight times a week my first job was wicked and I was tumbler I like to do a tumble track and I lied in the audition and said I could tumble tumble tumble at all but did a backflip in the audition having never done one before and I did it and I was like oh great I can do this fine whatever and then um I couldn't in the costumes and I broke my nose broke my wrist I've fell on my knees numerous amounts of times the fact that they didn't fire me is just unbelievable I learned on that job that actually there's some things that you should probably learn to do properly before you go in also that tumbling eight times a week is just not something that's sustainable I love this idea of being like yes I can no I can't no I'm so sorry I've got the job now so you can't find me so let's see what happens whoops.

[25:54] William J Connolly: Thinking back to you know when you were growing up when you were like you know what I want to perform I want to dance in whatever capacity but I know that this is something that means something to me and therefore I want to explore it when you look at some of these amazing chapters in your life what would the Charlie back then have thought of any of these chapters right now and perhaps what would he have thought of the Charlie sat here swinging in his hammock rather happily talking to me now?

[26:20] Charlie Stemp: Oh that's such a wonderful question um I think I think in all honesty it never even I never even considered that any of the things that I've done were a possibility really I remember finding out that I had got a job on the west end they're screaming at my uh agent at the time just being like there's no way this is true like there's just it could hadn't even crossed my mind that this was a possibility so I think every time something special happens I'm always just so surprised um you know I haven't gotten used to this life at all it's still I still feel so um humbled by it and so so confused in many ways but um I think if the younger Charlie was looking at me right now I think he would be I think he'd probably be saying you know you can probably work a bit harder um get up off your hammock and do some work uh no I think I think he'd be really proud I think he'd be really proud I certainly feel very proud of of what I've done I think I think that the job that we do is always based on a passion and a passion and and a love of theater like anytime I go in and I have a chat with students which I love doing I love going in and teaching and having conversations with people who are just starting out in the industry nine times out of ten the jobs that you do you will not be paid very well for but the reason we do that is because we love it and what I feel very proud about is that I feel so fortunate to have passed that bracket now and to be paid well for the jobs that I do but also the passion and the love that I have I don't work any harder because of the money I work as hard as I did when I was in Wicked in the Ensemble I work as hard as I did when I was doing Panto at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford like this this job is just about the passion and about the love and I just feel so fortunate to still be telling stories and to still be a part of wonderful companies of people and and and to be doing the job that I love.

[28:09] William J Connolly: You should be proud and always live with the motto of yes boss I can do that.

[28:17] Charlie Stemp: Yes boss.

[28:20] William J Connolly: However much chaos that causes in your life. Charlie this has been such a pleasure thank you so much for your time and most importantly congratulations on the extraordinary work in Crazy For You it really is very special so thank you for that performance and most importantly for your time now thank you.

[28:27] Charlie Stemp: Thank you mate have a lovely day.

[28:31] William J Connolly: You've been listening to Eleven the official theatre podcast find out more about Eleven at elevenpodcast.com or via the Broadway Podcast Network.