BWW Interviews: SISTER ACT's Simon Webbe

Hi Simon, and welcome to BWW:UK and the West End. So I understand you weren't really a theatre person before you took this role?

No, I wasn't! Do you know what it was? I feel like everything in my life, someone plants a seed and then it grows very, very slowly! It all started when I went to see Antony [Antony Costa] in Blood Brothers, and how amazing he was - he had to act like he was eight years old, and then grow up! And then I saw Duncan [Duncan James] in Chicago, which was a bigger show - that was fantastic. And then I saw him in Legally Blonde. But I never thought it was an arena I'd be able to step into. Then I did the jungle [I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!], and all people did was sing songs from musicals! I've always promised myself I'll go and watch Hair, and Jersey Boys, and I've been to see Wicked with my little girl - but getting the opportunity to do something, well, that's completely different. My first reaction was "no".

Really?

Yep. My agent said, "Do you want to do Sister Act?" and I said, "No." I've got my album, I'll concentrate on that. Then my agent said, well, go and see the show; you said the same thing about the jungle, you said you'd never do it. And I said, well, OK, you've got me there. So I went and saw the show. I couldn't believe it - the way it sounded, with the orchestra. I'm susceptible to sound, but it was emotional for me. It made me well up a little bit - the whole story, the characters, and I felt that it was something I had to be involved in.

Had you seen the film?

Yes, I'd seen both films. I could vaguely remember them, but after doing the show, it's come back to me a bit more. For me, it's completely different - the music's different, though the concept is the same.

So now you've started in a field you've not been in before...

And what a place to start, the Palladium! And yes, "start" is the right word, I feel like I could move into other things as well.

So you're enjoying it then!

Yes! I'm loving it.

It must be a huge learning curve.

It's like a crash-course in acting and singing. It's an amazing achievement, to have four weeks of rehearsals and then go into a show. I'm not saying I'm totally comfortable yet but the character's coming. My voice is getting a lot better. And I love being part of a team where we all want the same goals and there are no egos. Patina [Patina Miller] is going to be a name to reckon with.

You mentioned your characterisation - without a background in acting, how did you go about doing that?

I think secretly every guy wants to be a bad guy! I'm the opposite, I'm a big softy. But people reckon it's the calm ones you have to look out for. From the background I'm from, I've seen bad things happen and people have chosen their own paths in life. I've used that - put a bit of my own experiences into the character. My song is so menacing, but it's also happy - like I want to kill someone, but with a smile on my face. And it's in this whole soulful, maybe Al Green, style. I've realised doing this show what it means to be in showbusiness! Yeah, I've had the privilege of travelling the world and everything, but I've never had to work this hard, and I love watching the rest of the company on stage. Every night, we're live, and if someone can't do it then someone else comes in and they're just as good.

It's interesting that you say that about your big song - it was one of the things I found quite sinister about the show when I first saw it! I didn't know what to make of the song or the character!

Yeah! The show's set in the same year that I was born, 1978, so I've had to do a bit of research, and watch Superfly, and try and make it proper menacing. I'm watching how they used to walk, with a bit of a swagger, and also my dad had this presence about him, and I saw the way women would react to him - that's what my character's like. He has a swagger about him that women love. That's totally the opposite of Simon Webbe. Just so you know.

Noted. So what else is happening at the moment - is it all totally Sister Act?

Yes, eight shows a week, with Sundays my day off, which I usually spend with my daughter. Musicals are something I can actually see myself writing at some point. I think Coming To America would be a really good one.

Ah, you've got your eye on that?

[does Eddie Murphy impression] Indeed I have, baby - indeed I have!

It must be nice for you to bring your own following to the West End.

It is, but the West End has its own followers too. I'm hoping that a younger crowd will come in and be pleasantly surprised as well.

There's often a kind of theatrical snobbery about pop stars coming into the West End...

...which I totally understand. Completely understand that. People at the show, if you ask them, they'll tell you I don't feel like I deserve to be here. I haven't trained. There are people like Abs from 5ive who went to Italia Conti and then went into a boyband - and if he did theatre now people would say, "What's he doing theatre for?" And actually he did train. I wasn't. So I can see why people would look at me and say I'm only there because I was in Blue, which is a fair comment. But at the end of the day, the haters are my motivators. I like a challenge. The people who are casting it believe I can do it. They're not going to risk their show just because someone's face fits.

It's funny you should say about 5ive - I was saying to a friend yesterday that it's weird that three-quarters of Blue have gone into musical theatre and none of the other boybands of the same era have done so, really.

I think that's what makes us different. The only ones we were like were Damage and Another Level, but we outsold them - our music crossed over. Until Take That made a comeback, we'd outsold them too. We have a certain following. We're blessed. We're great mates, and though we follow in each other's footsteps in some ways it's not intentional, it's not to compete.

Anything else in the pipeline?

I've been writing my album, and I'll be announcing a secret gig over the next couple of months, so people can follow me on Twitter (@simonwebbe1) to find out about that.

Simon Webbe stars in Sister Act until 28th August 2010.