Former Strictly Come Dancing favourite, Janette Manrara is making her musical theatre debut playing Roxie Hart in a UK tour of Chicago. The show comes to Blackpool Opera House next week and The Lowry, Salford, in the last week in August. Here the host of It Takes Two, answers a few questions about playing a murderous housewife and being apart from her husband Aljaž Škorjanec and daughter Lyra
You are well known for your time as a Strictly Come Dancing professional, but you trained in musical theatre at a young age before focusing on dance. Does this now feel like a bit of a full-circle moment, making your musical theatre debut?
It really does feel like a full circle moment for me. I remember being 12 years old and doing Cats and A Chorus Line, and then as I got into my teenage years, when I was 15/16, looking at Chicago and West Side Story.
I played Velma Kelly in the Cell Block Tango with my dance school, not in any kind of official way. I always loved the music of Chicago, so to now come back all these years later through my dancing career and be able to play Roxie and be in musicals again is just ‘wow’. It’s a pinch myself, full circle moment.
Was musical theatre always something you had in mind?
Yeah, I think it was the perfect time. I’m no longer dancing as much as I used to, obviously
Aljaž and I still do our shows together, but I’m not dancing on Strictly Come Dancing, which was literally 8-to-10-hour days. Now being a mother and presenting has taken over, it felt right to take on a new challenge.
I just wanted it to feel right, to be with the right character and the right musical. So, the timing for this was perfect.
What drew you to Chicago?
Chicago was always a dream. I remember signing with my agent, gosh, I don’t know how many years ago now, and saying three things that I really want to achieve in my life, and one of them was to be able to play Roxie or Velma in Chicago. To be here now and see it all coming to life is just so, so incredible.
I think Roxie is such a complex, beautiful character. You don’t get a lot of leading ladies like her. She’s not necessarily all rainbows and butterflies; there’s a lot more to her than that. I love that quality about her, and what she brings as a character to the show. I’m really looking forward to playing her.
Which aspects of Roxie’s character do you resonate with the most and what do you find most compelling about her?
I can resonate with Roxie’s fighter mentality – she’s a survivor, she likes to make it work and really puts her all into it (maybe not always necessarily in the best way), but she gets what needs to be done, done.
I also really like her vulnerability, I know it seems like she doesn’t have much, but there are a couple of moments throughout the show where you feel almost sorry for her. To have a woman who murders a man, and who lies and cheats, and yet you still feel some warmth towards her, makes her such an interesting character to play.
Touring a musical is no easy feat. How do you keep yourself on top form both physically and mentally?
I’ve been touring pretty much my whole dance career, since 2010 I was touring around the world with Burn the Floor, across the US and in the West End twice.
Once I started with Strictly Come Dancing, I toured with the Strictly Live tour every year, and then Aljaž and I would do our own tours, so I’m kind of used to the tour life.
The thing I’ll find difficult this time around, for the first time ever, is being away from my daughter Lyra and Aljaž. It’s the first time I’ll be without them by my side. This time it’s just me, so I think I’ll be running home on days off. Thank God for FaceTime and the ability to connect that way. I think that’ll be the biggest challenge for the next few months, but nothing I won’t be able to overcome.
This is my first ever musical theatre experience. At the moment I’m loving every second of the process and really enjoying the singing and the acting which I haven’t done since I was a kid, so it’s nice to tap into that again. I hope there’s more characters and experiences and roles to play in the future, but we’ll see.
I will definitely have a photo of Aljaž and Lyra that will come with me everywhere I go, along with maybe one of her little toys that smells like her and reminds me of her. I also like my makeup and my skincare, so I’ll have all of my favourite makeup and creams and moisturisers.
Is there a piece of advice you’ve received or that you would pass on to anyone hoping to go into the creative industry?
I guess the good old saying from Strictly really sits strong here, which is ‘keep dancing’. Keep going at it, keep singing, keep acting, keep auditioning, keep going to class, keep doing the things that excite you and will hopefully lead you.
Chicago the Musical is at Blackpool Opera House from Monday, July 21 to Saturday, July 26 (details from www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk) and The Lowry, Salford, from Monday, August 25 to Saturday, August 30 (details from www.thelowry.com)
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