Speed Dating with the Barrow Gang

Jordan Luke Gage and Frances Mayli McCann (Darren Bell)

As Bonnie and Clyde begins its limited run at the Garrick Theatre, what better way to get to know these legendary outlaws than through some stagey speed dating?!

I spoke to Dom Hartley-Harris and Cleve September (Preacher and Ted Hinton), George Maguire and Jodie Steele (Buck and Blanche Barrow) and Frances Mayli McCann and Jordan Luke Gage (Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow), as well as Lauren Jones and Barney Wilkinson who are the alternates for Bonnie and Clyde.

What was very clear is that this hugely talented cast is loving every minute of working together to bring the show to the stage. They are full of praise for each other, describing the atmosphere in the room as electric, fresh, collaborative and basically having a good time with your mates! They’re excited about the changes that are being made to the show which mean that even those Bonnie and Clyde fans who saw it 30 times last summer (believe me they’re out there!) will be seeing a completely new production.

I asked the cast a few questions about rehearsals and the show in a quickfire Q&A:

Dom and Cleve (Preacher and Ted)

This is a very full-on show for everybody involved … how do you unwind when you get home?

Cleve: With the show being so energetic, it can be hard to wind down but I do feel like that with most shows I do.

Dom: Yes, the adrenaline is going for hours afterwards.

Cleve: I find I tend to end up sleeping in a lot later than I should do.

Dom: You go to sleep later, get up later …

Cleve: Our schedule becomes that, once we start the show and we’re not rehearsing or doing previews we’re usually not called until around 6pm, so you can get away with falling asleep later and then waking up a little bit later … until you realise you have to stop doing this now and do something with your life!

Dom: I am going to be really stereotypical and say I’ll have a bath or the longest shower in the world, have a drink and maybe have some guilty pleasure food that’ll send me to sleep. Then I get up really late and we start all over again!

What’s your favourite song that you DON’T get to sing?

Dom: Dying Ain’t so bad, for sure. It’s just a massive culmination of what the show’s all about and been leading up to. It’s tragic but beautiful and it’s a really honest moment for one of the main characters. 

Cleve: I think one of my favourite moment’s music wise is the reprise of God’s Arms ... I can’t say more now, you’ll have to see the show!

Jodie and George (Blanche and Buck)

What’s it been like for Jodie, joining a fairly established cast?

Jodie: Easy is the wrong word but …

George: It has been easy!

Jodie: It has because the three people I mainly work with are this one (George), Jordan and Frankie, it’s just like being at rehearsal with your mates and having a good time. They’ve not just stuck to their old ways of working together, they’ve allowed me to bring what I can bring and it’s been amazing. I feel very, very lucky. It’s a bit of a dream come true to be honest.

George: It’s been great for us as well to have a fresh take on it so it gives the show a new lease of life. We’ve got different people in the show now – there’s Jodie, Dom and new members of the ensemble - so there’s no point reproducing what we did before, it’s good for it to have that freshness.

Jodie: There’s new bits of material as well that these guys haven’t done before.

George: There’s a new bit of music that’s a Reprise …

Jodie: And we *might* be involved in it!

George: And then there’s lots of script tweaks. Ivan (Menchell) who wrote the book has gone away and made lots of what he felt were improvements. The flow of the story is slightly different in places, so if you saw it and loved it before, you’ll notice something different and you’ll hopefully love it even more.

What’s your favourite song that you DON’T get to sing?

Jodie: (Sings) “Dying ain’t so bad …”

George: I like the duet between Blanche and Bonnie (You Love Who You Love), I always have done, and I love the way you guys are singing it. The melodies and the harmonies are great and I love the message and the lyric of “You love who you love”, that’s one of my favourites.

Frances and Jordan (Bonnie and Clyde)

Has it felt different coming back to the show?

Frances: It is different and actually it’s very exciting as we get to discover new things about the characters and their relationships. There’s also new people coming into the show, with some people coming back, it’s in a bigger space, so it’s actually all changed which makes it really exciting to come back to as it feels like a new piece.

Jordan: It’s also comforting like putting on an old pair of shoes and stepping back into it. But we are still discovering new things. Having a new cast is great because it pumps a different energy into it. The energy before was wonderful but we’re discovering things that weren’t there before. It’s also a really collaborative process and we’re always able to suggest ideas, so there might be things from the run before where we think “Oh I wish that happened” or “What if we did this instead?”. It’s really nice to have this time to tweak things.

This is a very full-on show for you, a huge sing and lots of fans at stage door … how do you unwind when you get home?

Jordan: Eating a lot of food firstly to get sugar levels up, and then I normally watch something completely unrelated, normally some really trashy reality TV to numb the brain, or maybe I’ll read. I find it hard to switch off until around 1am.

Frances: It’s impossible to just go home and go to bed. However tired you may be your brain is still ticking and buzzing as it’s so exciting. So I go home and watch TV, have something to eat and wind down. It’s not exciting, not very rock and roll or Bonnie and Clyde is it?

Jordan: No, it’s not one of those shows where you can go out to a bar or a club …

If you were recruiting for the Barrow gang, which character from a different musical would you want to sign up?

Jordan: I think you’d probably want JD from Heathers, he’s ruthless, all my parts! And you’d need someone who’d be really innocent and people wouldn’t believe it, she’s the decoy …

Frances: Matilda!

J: Yes, Matilda!

Frances: She’s cunning right?

Jordan: Well she’s a little bit naughty!

Lauren and Barney (Alternate Bonnie and Clyde)

What’s it been like coming back with new cast members?

Lauren: It’s been electric! It’s so exciting seeing new faces and new interpretations of characters, You can’t imagine a character going that different way before but then you watch it and you’re like “that’s amazing!” It’s been fantastic.

Barney: It brings a new energy. A lot of it is similar to last time there’s new bits as well so it’s not like “Oh I’m doing this again” which makes it fun and exciting.

Lauren: Everyone’s so lovely which really makes a difference.

If you were recruiting for the Barrow gang, which character from a different musical would you want to sign up?

Barney: I’d have Gavroche from Les Mis! I feel like a sweet little kid would be great as they can go and charm everyone…

L: I’d probably choose Dimitri from Anastasia. I was going to say JD from Heathers but he’s too chaotic and he’d probably kill us!

(See how well matched this cast is? Exactly the same way of thinking as Jordan and Frances!)

Can you remind me when you’re performing?

Barney: I’m on Wednesday evenings and Saturday nights.

Lauren: And I’m on Wednesday matinees.

Safe to say that after my “dates” with this lovely and talented cast, I’m ready to sign up to be a fully-fledged member of the Barrow Gang!

Bonnie and Clyde runs at the Garrick Theatre from 4th March to 20th May. Book your tickets now.

IF YOU LOVED THIS POST, READ ONE OF THESE..