Guest Blog: 'Two Lolas Are So Much Better Than One': Actor Tosh Wanogho-Maud on Alternating An Iconic Role in KINKY BOOTS

Firstly, I guess I should start off by introducing myself.

My name is Tosh Wanogho-Maud, and I’m playing Lola on a Monday and perhaps a few other times that circumstances might allow in the brand-new production of the Olivier, Tony and Grammy Award-winning Kinky Boots The Musical.

Such is the life of an alternate in the West End, something I’ve actually never tried my hand at before. The beginning of my career was filled with much first covering to lead roles, whilst performing my own ensemble track every night, until I started playing leads in the West End, and since then, that has been what I’ve been spending the majority of my career doing.

“So why the need for an alternate?” I hear some of you ask. Well, the answer is quite simple. Longevity. Both for the show and the performer!

Contemporary musicals are written in such a way that more and more is required from performers vocally, emotionally and physically. Eight shows a week. Sometimes twice a day.

I won't bore you with the science of it, but the human vocal folds are no bigger than the cuticle of your fingernail, and to hit some of the notes that many of the roles require, those poor little things have to beat faster than a singer’s heart does.

In short, sustaining a show is hard, and some roles are harder to sustain than others. Lola is one of those roles. She’s a BEAST. Full out dancing in high heels, soaring vocals, and doesn’t leave the stage unless it’s to change into a different frock. It’s A LOT for one person.

And thus, enters the alternate. The alternate takes some pressure off the individual playing the role for the lion’s share of the week, giving them the chance to recover. And that’s the keyword: recovery.

Performing a show every night is like doing a marathon…every day…for two hours. Can you imagine? That is so much stress to put the body through and spreading that between two performers not only makes logistical sense, but in terms of the performer’s well-being, it’s just a no-brainer!

Also, I should mention, two performers can appeal to two different audiences. Maybe one is a TV star and the other a Musical Theatre star… (wink wink). Suddenly, from a producer's point of view, by utilising TWO performers, you’re pulling in a larger fan base, and with more pressure being put on box offices to pull in the kind of numbers we were seeing pre-Covid, this is something that productions would be remiss not to take advantage of.

As more is required of performers both on the stage and off it, I think we are going to see more job sharing and I for one am totally here for it. 

Let’s be honest…

Two Lolas are so much better than one!

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