Peter Karrie
was once voted 'the world's most popular
Phantom'. So why is he now playing in a local
production of Annie? Here, the Bridgend-born
star explains why he's ditched the West End in
favour of Aberystwyth
I don't like
all this kind of snobbishness you get from
actors who think, 'We are in the West End.' So
what? It's just a venue. You still entertain
people. We do exactly the same at Aberystwyth
and do it just as well but on a smaller scale.
And the tickets are at prices that people can
afford. Who can afford to go to the West End
these days?
But this role,
as Daddy Warbucks, really came out of the blue
for me. I had a 31-day concert tour organised
and one of the venues was Aber Arts Centre. I
was asked by the people there if I was working
throughout the summer and I said I would be
writing and recording. They'd been let down and
needed a Warbucks for Annie, which was opening
in a month's time, so it was a real last-minute
thing. They wanted to know if I could step in
and help. I had other commitments, including
concerts in Canada, but we managed to work a way
around the problems and here I am.
It's great
fun. There is a small cast of about 13 or 14.
These people are striving to make a living out
of this crazy business and they are doing it,
albeit on a different level to the West End.
Working in
smaller theatres is wonderful. It's not so much
about the venue but the people you deal with.
Instead of
having 28 musicians in front of you, you have
five.
It's really
back to basics. You are going from performing in
a 3,000-seater theatre to a place with 300
seats.
I am now also
dealing with kids and dogs - everything people
tell you not to work with. But I love it and the
kids I am working with are great.
Daddy Warbucks
in Annie is a different type of role to those
I've played before. This is more of an acting
role with an occasional song, but everything
I've done before has been mainly singing/acting
roles like the Phantom and Jean Valjean.
When Annie
comes to an end I'll be travelling around the
country with my Peter Karrie and Friends tour.
And I'm really looking forward to it. The West
End doesn't fit into my lifestyle as much as it
did 10 years ago. Theatre work is mostly at
night and after you've finished a show there's
nothing nicer than going to have a nice meal
with friends before struggling home in the early
hours and then sleeping until lunchtime the next
day before getting up and going to work again.
But now my youngest kids are growing up - Alex
is 15 and Adam is 13 - and they are into horses,
cross country, eventing, rugby and football so
you get drawn into what they are doing.
Do I see
myself returning to the West End in the future?
I still love the West End and would certainly do
it on a short-term basis but I don't see it as a
full-time career like it once was.
I am now more
into writing and producing and doing short,
sharp jaunts like Annie. Spending three months
in Aberystwyth is wonderful.
And the tour
should be great. I'm going to be joined on stage
by local community choirs and a famous face from
each area - we've got Brian Blessed in
Folkestone and Charlotte Church in Swansea.
When we arrive
in the towns we will also be holding auditions
for local acts to join us. One guy in Torquay is
bringing six talking parrots along with him and
we have a 30-piece string ensemble performing in
another show.
So it's
certainly different to the West End. I was last
there as the Phantom around seven years ago.
I was playing
Jean Valjean in Les Miserables when I was first
asked to an audition in Vienna to play the
Phantom.
I didn't hear
anything for months but then I was asked to go
to New York to audition for the part. I got the
job.
I started
Phantom at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1990. It's a
wonderful role and is still really coveted
because it carries such a high profile. With
roles like Jean Valjean, you go in, perform and
then leave and no one knows your name.
I have been
very lucky. Phantom was a very good role for me
- I just kind of fitted the bill. And it earned
me a bit of publicity.
I didn't play
the Phantom for very long the first time round
as there was a clause in my contract and I had
to go to Broadway to do Shogun, which wasn't a
successful show. I came back and was twiddling
my thumbs at home for a couple of weeks when the
phone rang and I was asked to play Phantom in
Canada.
I did Phantom
there for a year before coming back to London. I
have also played the role in many other
countries, including Hong Kong and Singapore. It
felt wonderful when I received the title the
world's most popular Phantom but I was lucky as
I played it in so many places so I was seen by
more people than some of the other Phantoms. So
it's not a true reflection but it's still a
great accolade!
You can't
really say who's been the best Phantom - they
have all been good. If you can sing and perform
that role you have to be half decent.
I never saw
Michael Crawford playing the part but I saw some
of the other actors who performed Phantom,
including Dave Willetts. They were all great and
very talented people. But I did realise I was
not like any of them - I knew I was singing and
acting it differently. Body language in that
role is a huge thing. It's like being a mime
artist because your face is covered in all that
glue. You have to use your body as you can't use
your face to express yourself and I seemed to
use my body differently to the others. It does
not mean I was any better.
I do love the
West End. It's a great place but nothing ever
stays the same and you never stay the same.
Who is
Peter Karrie?
Born: Bridgend, South Wales.
Most famous
for: Playing the Phantom, of course.
Lives: He now
has homes in London, Cowbridge and Somerset,
which is where his family is based.
Marital
status: Married to his second wife Jane.
Children: He
has four grown-up children from his previous
marriage and teenagers, Alex, 15, and Adam, 13,
with Jane.
Previous jobs:
Before becoming a musical star, Karrie had a
range of jobs, including working in the steel
works and even in The Western Mail's classified
section.
Musical break:
He started off working for a record company,
delivering records from a van. But it was his
obligatory stints playing workingmen's clubs
around Wales, which eventually led to a summer
season in Cornwall and other gigs around the UK
before he gave London a try.
West End CV:
As well as Phantom, he played Jean Valjean in
Les Miserables and Judas in Jesus Christ
Superstar.
Future: Karrie
says he would like to return to the West End
stage but he seems at home playing the smaller
theatres of his native Wales.
