Arts & Culture
I
t is hard to believe that it has been two decades since the Oscar-nominated fi lm T e Bodyguard was released, especially considering that its powerful soundtrack seems as popular as ever. With this is mind, we were overjoyed to hear that producers Michael Harrison and David Ian have decided to breathe new life into the romantic thriller with a stage production at the Adelphi T eatre. And after catching up with one of its star, Lloyd Owen, it appears that we weren’t the only ones to feel this way. ‘It’s exciting times,’ says Owen. ‘T e Adelphi
T eatre is the perfect venue for us. T e rehearsal room - or should I say rooms - have been rocking!’ Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Warner Bros.
fi lm and the book by Alex Dinelaris, the West End’s newest resident will open its doors on 5 December – shortly after the fi lm’s 20th anniversary. Following on from stage performances as the
leads in Loyalty at the Hampstead T eatre and Blood and Gifts at the National T eatre, Owen will be staring alongside Tony and Grammy award-winner Heather Headley to tackle the iconic role of Frank Farmer. A former Secret Service agent-turned-bodyguard, Farmer is hired to protect Headley’s Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. As you’d expect, a love story also develops against this thrilling backdrop. Owen says, ‘It is a story about love in all its
complexity, a universal experience, unique to every one of us. ‘It’s a taught, gripping thriller with some of the
greatest Whitney Houston songs ever written. It’s a terrifi c combination.’ With “Queen of the Night”, “So Emotional”, “One Moment in Time”, “Saving All My Love”, “I’m Your Baby Tonight”, “Run to You”, “I Have Nothing”, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and the unforgettable “I Will Always Love You” just some of the classic hits included within the score, this is an understatement to say the least. With such an iconic soundtrack however,
Interrupting rehearsals for the West End’s newest show, we asked T e Bodyguard’s leading man Lloyd Owen what audiences can expect this winter
comparisons between Headley and the late Whitney Houston’s performance will be inevitable. Although this is Headley’s West End debut, she has an impressive resume herself, with performances in T e Lion King and Aida on Broadway, the latter of which she won a Tony Award for, as well as a Grammy award-winning studio album. Owen says, ‘I grew up to [Whitney’s] sound, it was a background to my misspent youth. Heather will take any comparisons in her stride though. She is what’s known as a “triple threat” - she can sing, dance and act. She can do it all – and to an exceptional standard.’ Taking on the role of Farmer, made famous
by Kevin Costner, Owen will also have some big shoes to fi ll in his fi rst musical performance. He says, ‘I met Lawrence Kasdan when I was in Los Angeles and he originally wrote the role
for Steve McQueen in 1974, so Frank Farmer is close to his heart. T e inspiration comes from Lawrence’s continued passion for the character. ‘He’s taller than me, cooler than me, tougher than me and better looking than me.’ Joining Owen and Headley on stage will also be Debbie Kurup as Nicki Marron, Mark Letheren as the chilling stalker, Ray Shell as Bill Devaney and Nicolas Colicos as Tony. T e role of Fletcher, Rachel Marron’s young son, will be shared by Luis Buddy, Caius Duncombe, Jayden Fowora Knight, Kwame Kandekore, Taylor Lockhart and Malakai Paul. Respected theatre director T ea Sharrock, who is best known for her work at the National T eatre, has also been enlisted to join the production, as well as choreographer Arthur Pita, and Chris Egan and Mike Dixon, who will be leading the orchestrations and musical supervision. Owen concludes, ‘It will be challenging
honouring the original movie whilst making it unashamedly theatrical. T ere will be plenty of surprises, but nothing that will take away from the original.’
Previews of T e Bodyguard begin on 6 November 2012 and the opening night is on 5 December at 7pm. For more information and tickets call 0844579 0094 or visit
thebodyguardmusical.com.
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