BWW Interviews: Cynthia Erivo Talks I CAN'T SING! And Future Plans!

It's a week on from the announcement of I Can't Sing!'s closure, and leading lady Cynthia Erivo is philosophical.

"We've had the best time," she says. "The whole run has been wonderful and we've had brilliant responses. We'll finish with a sparkle and we won't be forgotten easily.

"I think that it's nice that things have the chance to get to the West End, for six weeks or six months. There are lots of pieces that started off, didn't work, and have come back. That's the nature of things."

It's been an intense process over the last 18 months, as the show grew from an initial concept through workshops and then taking up residency in the famous London Palladium. She has nothing but praise for her colleagues and the creatives, including writer Harry Hill.

"It's been pretty full-on getting to this point. When you're working with such incredible people, you don't take it for granted. I think myself very lucky to be part of it.

"We all just clicked really quickly, we dug in, got through it, worked together - everything you see on stage is a collaborative effort. That's what comes across to people."

What did she think when she was first approached with the concept of an "X Factor musical"?

"I figured it wouldn't be reverential - I thought it'd be fun to be part of it if it wasn't mean! This character is so different to anything I've played before. I've never done broad comedy before - it's like a new toy I got my hands on! That really appealed to me - doing something completely different."

As anyone who's seen the show will know, Erivo has a showcase for her immense vocal ability. She started singing as a child - "My mum says I used to hum when I was eating my food" - and began training classically as a teenager.

That means she now has a strict regime she sticks to in order to take care of her voice, including a personalised warm-up, plus guzzling litres of water. "I'm a geek when it comes to my voice. I know if it hurts, something's wrong. You shouldn't feel it! It's very important to look after your voice."

And although she's an X Factor viewer, she won't be entering the competition any time soon (much to the disappointment of some of her fans).

"I don't think now is a good time for me to do that! I've been lucky enough to have these opportunities - I don't want to be greedy - and I like the challenge of what I'm doing now," she explains.

So what next for her?

"It's a nice time to think about different things that I want to be doing. I'd love to do TV, film - if there was anything at the Donmar I'd love to be part of that! I'd love to do something gritty, dark, no make-up, messy. I'd like to do a concert or two. I'll be writing and recording as well."

And as she's shown, moving from playing Celie in the Chocolate Factory's The Color Purple to leading the cast in a big musical comedy spectacular, she's interested in taking on all sorts of different things. She grins.

"I love being able to change it up and surprise people with what I do!"

I Can't Sing! closes at the London Palladium on May 10.

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