Interview: 'We're A Part of Something Together': Samantha Barks on Audience Reaction and Cosy Vibes in THE CATHEDRAL TOUR

West End legend Samantha Barks will be embarking on The Cathedral Tour, in which she will travel to some of the UK’s spectacular cathedrals, performing whilst lit by candlelight. The show promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime evening, with Barks sharing personal stories through songs and conversations.

Recently, we had the chance to chat with Barks about her upcoming tour. We discussed what it has been like creating The Cathedral Tour, performing in a full stage production versus a solo concert and some of the songs she’s looking forward to performing.

How did you first get started in the world of theatre?

I always loved singing, dancing, acting . . . All of it! But I never thought that I had talent. I just did it because I loved it. It was the happiest that I could ever be. And then when I started doing amateur dramatics, I auditioned for a part which I thought there was no chance I would get, because I was fourteen and I was auditioning against lots of adults. I got this part! And through these amateur shows, I started getting parts. They believed in me before I knew I had anything to offer. And through that, it gave me the confidence to put myself out there. And once I got the bug, I was like, “This is what I want to do forever.” I never looked back. I only walked towards that goal and never thought of anything else. It just took over my whole life. And I just loved it - my great love, theatre.

What made you want to create The Cathedral Tour?

I did a show this year in the Palladium Theatre, which is huge in size. And it was interesting because I just had this urge to share with them all my news - I hadn't told anybody else that I was pregnant, so I decided to tell them. I saw reviews or people writing in comments, and what I found really beautiful was no one was sharing my news. They were just saying, “Congratulations on your news!” And I thought, “They’re like friends who are - out of respect - not going to share that. Wow, we've shared this really beautiful moment here, and we are connected.” The audience, they're protective of my news and wanted to respect it. And I got feedback from the show. My favourite was, “I actually felt like I was in your living room.” And that is the biggest compliment that I could ever get in the Palladium, which is so huge!

So I got asked if I wanted to do The Cathedral Tour, and I really want to recreate that feeling. Even though cathedrals are so grand, there is something so cosy about them, and it's going to be by candlelight. I've done my setlist based on people's requests, and I'm going to do a Q&A throughout the show. I want people to feel like they are in my living room, albeit the grandest living rooms that there ever could be in these cathedrals! I want us to feel like we've shared something special that only was there in that moment live, and that we've got to know each other. That's what I'm really aiming for - cosy vibes.

What's the creative process like in putting together a concert like this?

Well, it's interesting, because I always like to sing songs that have stories or connect to moments in my life that I can talk about. And a lot of these songs, I've taken requests on things people have always wanted to hear me sing, or things I have sang in my past. So there's that element. But I also wanted to sing songs that really lent themselves to a cathedral, because there's beautiful acoustics. So I'll see a song and I think, “Oh, that would be lovely in a cathedral with that beautiful, natural reverb,” so it's a mixture. It's things that I know people want to hear from me, things that I know will fit in the venue, and then songs that connect together and have a flow so that we can go on a journey during the evening.

So that's quite a lot of elements going into putting a set list together. But I'm really excited because I've got some of the classics that people expect and want to hear from me, then I've got some things that people aren't going to expect, and some pop songs and some Disney. I'm really excited about this particular set list!

Do you have any particular favourites you're looking forward to performing?

I'm doing “Part of Your World!” Someone requested it, and I thought, “I've never actually sung that,” and I can't think of anything more beautiful than getting to sing that in a cathedral, in those acoustics. It just lends itself to that song. But that's one example. Someone requested it, and I thought, “Yeah, absolutely, I will. That's perfect!”

It's cool that you accepted requests, and that they've became a part of a set list!

And I'm looking forward to that! Obviously I'll do songs like “Let It Go,” the things that people expect me, but it would be nice to do them in a slightly different way, because it's going to be stripped back - piano, cello and those beautiful acoustics, candlelight. So it will allow me to rediscover the songs in a totally different setting, in a different way, which will create a different feeling.

What is it like performing songs like “Let It Go” in a concert setting versus the full stage production?

Well, it's interesting, because songs can take on a new meaning when you're singing them personally, rather than through the character. When you're singing it as Elsa, it's about the powers and when she discovers who she really is and explores that. She's like, “Oh, actually, I don't need to be ashamed. I'm actually pretty cool!” And so it's interesting singing that without the wig, the costume, the everything, because we all can relate to “Let It Go.” We've all had so many “Let It Go” moments in our life where you go, “You know what? I'm just gonna go for it. I'm not gonna hold myself back.” And it still hits the same! Obviously, she's singing about magical powers as well as her true self, but it just makes me, Samantha, feel empowered, rather than me as Elsa feeling empowered. It makes me feel like I can do anything! I can take on anything after singing that, because it's just such an anthem.

What do you hope audiences take away from The Cathedral Tour?

I hope that we share a really cosy night surrounded by candles. I hope they get to know me. I hope they feel like we've shared something and that it's not just them watching something. I want us to feel like we, together, create that night. They've already created my set list, they've already sent in questions that I'm going to answer on the night. The show’s gonna be different every night, and I want us to go away feeling like we did that together. We are a part of something together.

And finally, how would you describe the show in one word?

Cosy!