Jonny Jones is relishing his first chance to play the leading man – Arthur Kipps in Kipps: The New Half a Sixpence Musical.
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00:00 Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Now lovely
00:06 to speak to Johnny Jones, who is just about to embark on his first lead role. Now a momentous
00:12 moment with Hales coming up at the Capitol in Horsham in the new version of Half a Sixpence,
00:18 which goes simply under the name Kips. Now Johnny, first leading role, that's quite a
00:23 thought, isn't it? Are you ready?
00:25 Yes, I hope so. I've done theatre for about eight years and I've had some very good parts
00:34 in the past, but this is the first time I get to take the final bow, as it were, and
00:38 be the last person and have the name on the door, which is a miracle.
00:42 And as you were saying, it's a huge learn, isn't it?
00:45 Oh, it's massive. You know, there's a lot of scripts, there's a lot of harmonies, a
00:50 lot of dancing, and then you throw on having to learn the band.
00:53 And the band, yeah.
00:54 Well, yeah. So there's plenty to be getting on with and keep me busy, but it's been great
01:01 so far. I'm really looking forward to getting it on stage and hearing what people think
01:05 of it.
01:06 In terms of leading roles, why is this a good one to start, do you think? Why start him?
01:10 Oh, wow. Throw yourself in at the deep end, I guess. I mean, he doesn't come off stage,
01:17 he changes on stage at certain points. He is a fantastic character to get your teeth
01:23 into. And the show itself has a lot of levels. There's lots of different things going on
01:29 all the time, lots of different subplots that I think just make this not only a great show,
01:34 but a fantastic part. And anyone that knows the Charlie Stent version knows just how sweaty
01:40 and how all-encompassing it is.
01:43 It's going to be a good workout, isn't it?
01:45 Oh, 100%. I've been trying to lose weight and I think show weight...
01:48 This will do it for you. He's an interesting character too, of course, Gibbs, isn't he?
01:53 What do you think you have to really nail about him as a personality?
01:58 I think the trickiest thing is he has to be likeable. And given the dynamics that he has
02:04 with both Helen and Anne, the two female protagonists in the show, it's very easy for him to come
02:11 across as a bit of a pompous person. And so to keep him, the audience on his side, I think
02:18 is one of the main challenges. And the way I'm hoping to do that is to play him as a
02:23 bumbling but lovable person that you want to root for. He just seems to never quite
02:31 get anything right, which is a big lie.
02:34 I suppose the point is, is that he's got a lot on his plate and he's got decisions to make, hasn't he?
02:40 Yeah, so he starts out the show as working in a draper's and then comes into some money.
02:46 And it's about that sort of dichotomy of having his friends, his old friends from the draper's
02:51 and the people he knew back home in his family, whilst also trying to fit into a new social
02:57 society that doesn't really want him there. And he sort of gets sort of stuck between
03:02 a rock and a hard place, really.
03:04 Brilliant. Well, it sounds fantastic place to start. Good luck on your first main lead
03:09 role debut. Lovely to speak to you and I hope it goes brilliantly. Thank you.
03:13 Thank you very much. You too. Bye.
03:15 Bye.
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