#1
Sheila Hancock has criticised her actors and critics for their 'snooty' attitude
to musicals openly in the national press.
* * * * *
Hancock, 77, who is a judge on BBC1's new talent show search for an
unknown actress to play Dorothy in a new production of 'The Wizard Of Oz', said:
'There is an incredibly grand attitude towards musicals. I don't understand
why my profession is so snooty about it.
Its not just my profession, it's theatre critics too. They say there are too many musicals in the West End. But the big houses have got to do musicals to fill them', she told the Radio Times.
'You're never going to get 2,400 people in a night for a play. I'm sorry, you
really aren't. We should be so grateful for musicals, and the amount of work
that goes into these shows is easily comparable to things I've been in at
the National and the RSC. Why do we think it is less important?' added
Hancock, who stars in the current West End musical adaptation of the Hollywood film, 'Sister Act'.
Hancock, who was married to Inspector Morse star John Thaw until his death
from cancer in 2002, will appear alongside Lloyd Webber, Charlotte Church
and John Partridge in 'Over the Rainbow', which launches on BBC1 later this
month.
It follows similar Lloyd Webber BBC1 shows to find leads for West End productions of 'The Sound Of Music', 'Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' and 'Oliver!'.
Hancock defended the show against accusations that it is exploitative. 'It
isn't making fun of people. On The X Factor, they deliberately have people
on that are awful just to laugh at them. That certainly doesn't happen here.
The judging is very intense. We fight like mad,' she said.
She also defended the reputed £1,500 a week earned by Connie Fisher to star
in the hit production of 'The Sound Of Music' after she won the first of Lloyd
Webber's TV talent searches, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?
'£1,500 is reasonably good for a newcomer. The most important thing in our
business is not the money you earn at that stage; it's getting the break.'
Hancock, who left Rada at 18 and initially struggled to get parts, added
that TV talent shows give people an opportunity she never had.
'I was from a London background and I had a bit of an accent. In those days
you really had to be middle-class and beautiful and conventional and I just
didn't fit that catergory' she recalled. 'The parts were like that until
Joan Littlewood and the Royal Court happened. Now these kids have auditioned
all round the country'!
* * * *
Posted: 3/16/10 at 5:30pm
Sheila Hancock has criticised her actors and critics for their 'snooty' attitude
to musicals openly in the national press.
* * * * *
Hancock, 77, who is a judge on BBC1's new talent show search for an
unknown actress to play Dorothy in a new production of 'The Wizard Of Oz', said:
'There is an incredibly grand attitude towards musicals. I don't understand
why my profession is so snooty about it.
Its not just my profession, it's theatre critics too. They say there are too many musicals in the West End. But the big houses have got to do musicals to fill them', she told the Radio Times.
'You're never going to get 2,400 people in a night for a play. I'm sorry, you
really aren't. We should be so grateful for musicals, and the amount of work
that goes into these shows is easily comparable to things I've been in at
the National and the RSC. Why do we think it is less important?' added
Hancock, who stars in the current West End musical adaptation of the Hollywood film, 'Sister Act'.
Hancock, who was married to Inspector Morse star John Thaw until his death
from cancer in 2002, will appear alongside Lloyd Webber, Charlotte Church
and John Partridge in 'Over the Rainbow', which launches on BBC1 later this
month.
It follows similar Lloyd Webber BBC1 shows to find leads for West End productions of 'The Sound Of Music', 'Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' and 'Oliver!'.
Hancock defended the show against accusations that it is exploitative. 'It
isn't making fun of people. On The X Factor, they deliberately have people
on that are awful just to laugh at them. That certainly doesn't happen here.
The judging is very intense. We fight like mad,' she said.
She also defended the reputed £1,500 a week earned by Connie Fisher to star
in the hit production of 'The Sound Of Music' after she won the first of Lloyd
Webber's TV talent searches, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?
'£1,500 is reasonably good for a newcomer. The most important thing in our
business is not the money you earn at that stage; it's getting the break.'
Hancock, who left Rada at 18 and initially struggled to get parts, added
that TV talent shows give people an opportunity she never had.
'I was from a London background and I had a bit of an accent. In those days
you really had to be middle-class and beautiful and conventional and I just
didn't fit that catergory' she recalled. 'The parts were like that until
Joan Littlewood and the Royal Court happened. Now these kids have auditioned
all round the country'!
* * * *
Updated On: 3/16/10 at 05:30 PM
