A cuppa with the West End cast of Choir of Man

Photo by The Other Richard

Welcome to The Jungle, the on-stage pub that makes up the set for the Oliver-Award nominated show, The Choir of Man. It’s 90 minutes of music, mates and good times, as the cast of nine take on the personas of the kind of guys you’d meet down the pub, from the Joker to the Bore or the Poet to the Hardman, all with a bit of added theatrical flair. Classic pop songs get new arrangements, with fancy dance moves and plenty of banter with the audience thrown in. It’s a high energy, feel-good show with a lot of heart, and I defy anybody to leave the theatre without a massive grin on their face.

The Choir of Man has just welcomed some new cast members to the company and it’s also been announced that the show is now booking to the end of September 2024. So, to celebrate these “extended opening hours” I popped down to The Jungle to enjoy a cuppa with the cast. As it’s Mental Health Awareness Week, this was a great chance to find out more about the show’s commitment to raising awareness around mens’ mental health, positive self-care and the importance of friendship and community.

The theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is “movement”. It’s a perfect fit for this high-octane show that sees the cast on stage for its full 90 minutes, throwing themselves into energetic choreography and seemingly not pausing for breath before delivering perfect vocals and harmonies. 

The cast members talked about how keeping active is good for their mental health, sharing some of the ways they keep moving:

Robert Godrey (the Beast): I’ve been running every day for 560 days (supportive round of applause from the lads!), it keeps away the heebie jeebies and sorts me out. Getting that serotonin lift in the morning, getting outside, sets my base happiness level that bit higher.

Brad Walwyn (Swing): For me, it’s as simple as taking my dogs for a walk in the park. I’ve got two cocker spaniels so they need a lot of walking, that hour and a half is really good for my mental health, seeing those little pups run around does wonders!

Olugbenga Adelekan (the Bore): We do a physical warm-up before a show. I live in Brighton and have two young-ish kids who keep me on my toes, so some days I’m on the train feeling absolutely knackered and genuinely don’t know how I’m going to get through the show! Then the warm up starts to a cheesy piece of music and I find my mood lifts as the it goes on. It’s a very simple thing but makes a massive difference.

And talking about all that intensive choreography in the show:

Ben Goffe (the Handyman): I like it when we sit down, that’s my favourite part of the show! We are on our feet for 90 minutes plus, and I do a four minute tap routine where I’m jumping from bar to table and table to bar so I do like a sit down!

Sam Ebenezer (the Poet): The show takes lot of stamina and you really feel it if you’ve had a week’s holiday, that first show back can be horrendous. So it’s important to keep doing little things, whether that’s a quick walk or a gym session, those little things do improve your stamina to get through the show.

Olugbenga: My favourite bit is the cup dance, it’s the final song in show. I came into it having not done theatre before. In the final round of auditions we did a short version of the cup dance in a movement workshop and I genuinely have not done anything for a long time that’s so physically and mentally challenging. So now every time we finish the cup dance in the show I have an enormous sense of achievement. 

Ben: We also have our own physio team who come in twice a month and we see them for any niggles, aches or pains.

Sam: They do a lot of great prevention work with us as well, if there are weaknesses in our performances we can assess that when the team comes in.

Luke: It’s easier to prevent than treat an injury. It’s not always like that but it is on Choir of Man, which has been massive for me.

In the show, the cast tell their stories and talk about what “home” means to them. It’s an emotional and important section and can sometimes be quite tough to perform, depending on what’s going on in the “real world”. 

Sam: There’s a real responsibility to get people’s stories across so it has to have that weight, honesty and depth. Sometimes that can bring back a little something that’s happened in the day.  It makes you realise that it’s important to talk about home and anything that means a lot to you. I think my favourite part about this speech is that every person on this stage has gone through something completely different up to this point and now we’re all here sharing this moment and being so open and honest. Our words give something for 350 people in the audience to connect with, it’s really special. 

Alex James Ellison (Swing for Joker, Poet and Maestro): From the audience perspective, it’s really nice as the show preaches the importance of positive mental health, talking and communicating. They could look at us and think we’re just actors who are told to say this, but at that point in the show we’re real people and let them into our lives and so it might reach people in different ways. They could think that if we can do it in front of 350 people then they might feel more open to sharing.

There have been some fantastic and moving audience reactions that make it clear that the show is having a really positive impact on mental health:

Sam: I remember coming into the bar after the last show of the week and a gentleman came up to me, he was 6 foot 6 tall and 6 foot 6 wide, and he came up to me with a tear in his eye and said “Thank you. What I saw on stage tonight, you guys talking about what home means to you, that’s what we do in the army when we miss home”. Just to hear someone say they can relate to that moment, that was pretty special.

Luke: During Sam’s song, “Dance With My Father”, the amount of people I see in the audience who connect with it, they’re hugging each other and really experiencing the moment with Sam and all of us, that always strikes me. 

And talking about supporting anybody who might be struggling with their mental health:

Olugbenga: I’ll ask them to tell me about it, make the time so they feel like they can express something. As you go through your day it’s very easy to ask people how they’re doing, give someone an “in” if they do want to talk, nothing you say will make me think less of you, it’s a massive thing that you can give something like that.

Sam: If someone wants to talk, show you’re happy and ready to listen, do little things like put your phone upside down, as if the screen lights up they’ll think that you’ve got other important things going on, but no, they are important, so give that person the time.

I asked why people should come and see The Choir of Man:

Richard: There are only a few things you can guarantee in life; death, taxes and The Choir of Man will make you feel better!

Brad: To have the bestest bestest time you will ever have!

Robert: It’s that time in the pub when it’s the best night. You walk into the pub thinking it’s going to be fun and then you have the best night. Well it’s that every night!

Luke: It’s like nothing else in the West End and if you want to feel better, a little bit lighter, then just come along and you’ll feel better about whatever’s going on, promise!

Having enjoyed an hour in the company of this ridiculously talented and supportive group of men, I have to agree with everything they said – The Choir of Man will lift your mood, put a smile on your face and hopefully also encourage you to check in on the people you care about.

The Choir of Man is at London’s Arts Theatre, and booking until 29th September 2024.