West End star Sam Buttery talks The Voice, Boy George and being Taboo in Brixton

Sam Buttery; West End actor and star of recent BBC hit show The Voice  talks to me about all things Tom Jones, success following his apperance on The Voice and going crazy each night in Boy George’s smash musical Taboo.

Originally from London, 21 year-old Sam Buttery’s has become one of the countries most recognisable vocalists having been selected to appear on music icon Tom Jones’ team on the new BBC talent show, The Voice.

Earlier this year, 20-year-old Sam chose Adele’s hit-song ‘Set Fire To The Rain’ and amazed judges with his voice. Music icon Sir Tom saw potential, pressed his button and added the Tom Jones superfan to his team.

W: Sam, thank you for talking to me.

S: You’re very welcome.

W: So, The Voice! Not exactly a bad way to launch yourself into the public eye. How did all that come about?

S: I saw it advertised on BBC One and it just felt right to go for it.

W: What was it like when Tom Jones turned around for you?

S: It was such a surreal amazing thing, I loved it.

W: You mentioned at your audition that you are a big fan of Tom’s?

S: I am and always have been a very big fan of Tom’s, along with my Dad. I always sang his songs when I was little! Even at school! (laughs)

W: Would you go back on The Voice if you could do it all again?

S: It was stressful and surreal; almost indescribable.

W: Following your appearance on The Voice, how did your life change? Was it as overnight as people are lead to believe?

S: In all honesty, it was a long hard slog to try and forge a career after leaving the show. It is not quite overnight as it is sometimes perceived.

W: What was it like performing on prime-time BBC1 week-after-week?

S: I don’t know if I would go back and do it ALL again. I would go back and work with Tom again without any doubt! I don’t regret anything however.

Sam’s first audition on The Voice.

W: What was your audition process like for Taboo? I imagine rather different to The Voice? S: The audition process was all very surreal. I attended a function at the Tate Modern hosted by George. My friend Daniel Lismore, whose guest I was, introduced me to George who asked me to audition for Taboo. Anne Vosser, the lovely casting director, contacted me and I did one audition and landed the role!

W: And you follow in some rather large footsteps with Leigh Bowery? Matt Lucas and Boy George himself to name but a few.

S: Very large footsteps! But, what an honour and a challenge.

W: And now you’re in Taboo at the Brixton Club House?

S: Yes I am in Taboo! Which is such amazing fun! Even before the voice I have always wanted to pursue a career in musical theatre!

W: I actually came to see the show back in late 2012 but due to illness was cancelled. The show really is a gruelling evening for the cast then?

S: It’s extremely hard work as it was a new venue and such a strange space. It was such a tiny building so once one person was sick, everyone was.

W: Earlier this year there was your first cast change. What’s it like remaining with a cast but have new faces to work with each night?

S: Its great to change cast as it keeps the show fresh.

W: You worked alongside some West End regulars and some fresh-faced recent graduates. How did you find that? 

S: I have always been a musical theatre fan girl/geek so to work alongside west end performers was amazing for me. I have loved theatre from the age of about 10! No, I have never had any formal training, apart from about four singing lessons.

W: Did Boy George ever give you feedback on your version of Leigh? I imagine getting his blessing would be the biggest of compliments? 

S: He said he loved it; dream. (laughs)

Sam’s appearance with Boy George on ITV’s This Morning from September 2012 

W: Had you seen previous productions of Taboo before you were cast? 

S: I had never seen any other productions actually.

W: ‘Pretty Lies’ and ‘Petrified’ are actually two of my favourite musical theatre songs and both are from Taboo. Do you have any favourites? 

S: My favourite songs from the show are stranger in this world and Il adore. My favourite musical theatre songs changed every day, at the moment anything from A Chorus Line/ People… My Man…. Anything Barbra!

W: And finally, do you have any plans once you leave Taboo?

S: I am auditioning like a goodun’ at the moment and recording various stuff! Watch this space. (laughs)

W: Sam, thank you very much and the best of luck with your final weeks in Taboo!

Tickets for Taboo and available online at www.taboothemusical.co.uk

Header and all photographs copyright to TabooinBrixton and @samuelbuttery. 

My journey with Acorn Antiques

It’s been 2 weeks since Acorn Antiques finished so I thought now would be the right time to reflect back on my time as a cast member but most importantly as Publicity Manager.

This was the first job that i’ve ever done in leading publicity at such a large scale venue as the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre so I knew that I needed to use all the experience i’d developed from previous roles in publicity from productions back home.

My biggest concern when I was first approached about the role was being able to balance between my publicity role and my role as Minchin’s Lad within the production itself, but they both seemed to fit perfectly alongside each other as the weeks went by. When I wasn’t focused on one role, I was the other, thus making my time at rehearsals rather busy but just the way I like it!

Alongside leading publicity for Acorn Antiques, I was able to work with Fiona Hannon who was Croft House‘s other marketing manager and playing the role of Miss Bonnie in the production. Both of us have had experience in publicity and knew a lot about Croft so ensuring that we kept our eye on the production and fully knew the story and what was going on at rehearsals, marketing the show should be easy… we hoped!

Problems arose when either myself or Fiona were away from rehearsals or involved in a certain scene that we had identified as a piece of potential publicity material that we weren’t able to capture. Often we had to throw a camera or camera-phone at another cast member and ask them to snap away. One of the main points I learnt during my time with Acorn Antiques was that team work is vital in the world of publicity!

Weeks before our move to the Lyceum, I decided that we needed just that extra bit of material online and the only thing that we hadn’t done as a cast would be a video so I took a camera from Uni and began filming. In addition, I was wanting to test myself at University and video was a part of my blog that I hadn’t explored yet so it seemed like the perfect match.

My trailer is still the single piece of work that I am most proud of.

Having my friend Dave available to film half of the rehearsal and me taking over when not rehearsing allowed me to get the shots I wanted. Although it took hours of extra work to put together, i’m so proud of the final piece and will be showing it to many people with projects to come!

https://vimeo.com/61291652

The trailer shows the very best of the show without giving anything away or spoiling the show for those attending weeks later at the Lyceum. It also gave a great morale boost for the cast to see how really amazing the show we have been rehearsing is. Its very easy to become wrapped up in your part and not appreciate the performances others are giving around you so getting to watch others performances, for myself certainly, was a great reward, and I know was for many other cast members too.

Another piece that worked very well for our publicity drive was my interview with the director of Acorn Antiques, Mark Harris. Giving people that extra little look inside the production before either visiting us in March or even deciding on buying a ticket worked really well. People’s curiosity into what the show is even about or what goes on in getting a production to the Lyceum was matched by my interview and gave them that extra bit of inside knowledge they may have been craving.

Moving to the theatre is always difficult when working in publicity as you get caught up so easily in the huge transition the entire production has just made and it tends to slip into second place alongside being a performer within the show. With Acorn Antiques, I wanted to ensure this didn’t happen. This wasn’t helped that I had started a new job on the Monday that we had out dress rehearsal and all our performance week so I needed to make use of any free time I had before I started my new job to complete any outstanding tasks. These included arranging publicity at the theatre; posters and flyers etc, prevent any potential problems with reviews from opening night by contacting all newspaper or online theatre reviewers and letting them know event details and when they can expect production photographs and generally covering anything that could cause time delays or harm the publicity Fiona and I had worked so hard on for months.

I was fortunate to be able to manage the shows online presence by using the Facebook Pages app on my iPhone. Having this gave me access to the Croft House page and ability to publish all photographs to our following from wherever I might be. These were often published during breaks and intervals during my new working day. Although small things, they attracted a vast response from friends and family of Croft and cast members as can be seen from the photographs below.

Connecting with the cast’s friends online allowed for a real buzz to develop around the show and gave everyone that final boost they needed!

Posts throughout the week included….

By adding photographs from band call, technical rehearsal or post-show presentations from honoured guests allowed those that are attending the show later on in the week to have a quick look at how we transition from rehearsal room to stage and beyond. Although a small part of my job, it received a great response online.

And then Fiona and I faced our biggest challenge… VICTORIA WOOD!

Trying to keep our cast from telling the world that she was attending, included through out own excitement, was often difficult but but was all worth it come our Friday evening performance. I know the entire production team, backstage crew and cast were beyond excited and a little scared that the writer and creator of our show was attending that night but it turned out to be a truly mesmerising night for us all and was helped by the swamp of cameras that captured us all meeting Victoria backstage after the show. Finally, a moment where a publicity manager didn’t have to take control with a camera!

My favourite moment from Friday evening wasn’t meeting Victoria Wood but that in some photos, i’m stood almost immediately by her side and surprisingly without a camera, even thought i took over 20 photographs that evening of our guest. Often throughout the show, whenever a photograph was taken, i’m seen taking one of someone else. Sometimes the little things make those that dedicated extra time to a production really happy!

A few other great pieces of publcity between Fiona and myself included a video capture from reharsals of one of our leading ladies recieving a letter of good luck from original television and West End star Celia Imrie…

Or even competitions in magazines, video teasers, press releases online or even in local papers. Together it all added up for us working together and spreading a bit of the Acorn Antiques love across Sheffield and beyond!

When Saturday night’s performance ended and Acorn Antiques had reached its final point, alongside a great deal of relief, I was immensely proud of all that the show had achieved. I was very proud of my fellow cast members for their performances that week, myself included, but mostly for what Fiona and I had achieved along our journey to March 23rd at 9:45pm. I was then able to join my friends, family and cast members for a well-earned drink and celebration of a fantastic week in Manchesterford.

Acorn Antiques is a truly hilarious show and was brought together by a brilliantly talented cast and the perfect production team.

Its a show and journey I know I will never forget and hopefully be a show I can look back at, remember where my time as Publicity Manager at the Lyceum started, and look back without question and the fondest of memories.

Acorn Antiques … its been a COMPLETE pleasure!

Croft House’s next production at the Lyceum Theatre is the cult-classic Grease!

All being well I will be able to join back with Croft and lead their publicity with Grease! Keeping all crossed.

Until then… make me the one that you want 😉

William J.

Victoria Wood at Acorn Antiques – The Musical (Sheffield Lyceum)

So, Victoria Wood…

We first heard rumour that Victoria may be attending the show way back in the early stages of rehearsals.

It was at a rehearsal in October and our Director Mark Harris burst into the rehearsal room whilst we were setting ‘Oh, Oh, Mrs O.’ and blurted out in pure excitement that we may have a special guest visiting us during our performance week. Naturally, everyone gasped and got rather excited even at the prospect of Victoria potentially seeing the show. The excitement quickly turned into nerves

Months of rehearsals went by and we occasionally mentioned in rehearsals that we may have a visitor when we move to the Lyceum but with it never confirmed we always treated with a slight bit of caution.

Rehearsals ended and we were over half way through our performance week at the Lyceum and our Friday performance began fast approaching.

Everyone arrived early at the theatre that evening, us all being very unsure as to what tonights performance will entail and if the rumours would turn into reality.

We all began getting ready for the show and then the whispers began circulating; she was here! Cast members that had family members watching the Friday performance noticed Victoria arriving at the theatre and our management committee that would oversee her visit to the show greeted Victoria and took her into her own pre-show room for privacy.

It was official, tonight I would be performing in Acorn Antiques – The Musical, a show written by Victoria Wood, for Victoria Wood. Very quickly, the nerves kicked-in.

So we started. The show began at 7:15pm and as big as tonights performance was, the show moved as normal as it did all previous nights; we almost forgot that it’s writer and creator was watching.

Act one finished and cast members began reading text messages from friends in the audience asking if Victoria Wood was watching as they’ve seen her.

Now the secret was out, all the shows social media sites went a little crazy commenting and tweeting about our special guest.

We continued on with the show and 5 minutes before our curtain call we received from our stage manager that we were to all stay on stage as someone wanted to meet the entire cast!

The show ended, the curtain fell and all our dreams for Acorn Antiques came true… Victoria Wood was here!

Arriving from stage left, she chucked her coat to a member of her team and walked on to a huge applause from the cast and crew and with hands clasped, opened up to the entire cast on how much she enjoyed the show and that she was a proud writer following tonights show.

Victoria apologised for other original production team members being unable to attend due to the bad weather and let the cast know she will be taking back extracts from the show.

Complimenting us all on the high quality of the show, Victoria said: “I took photos throughout to take back to the original production team. I loved it.”

She then laughed with the cast and continued to speak for a further 10 minutes.

Victoria then agreed to have photographs with the entire cast, said her goodbyes and left but not without a quick chat with a few cast members. Her most noticeable was with Helen Kempton who lead the show as Mrs Overall. Victoria pointed at Helen and said in a gust of excitement: “And you, I love you!” What a compliment for our talented leading lady.

Our Director Mark Harris sat behind Victoria throughout the entire show and told us after she had left that she laughed continually from start-to-finish. I think it would have been very easy, having devised, wrote and followed the show since its original creation in London, to be bored or unsure about a new interpretation of the show however to know she enjoyed the show and even managed to laugh throughout was the biggest honour and a point I know many cast members were very proud of.

Photos of the show began spreading on our social media platforms, one gaining over 140 likes and comments which was the highest Croft House had ever received.

We all began getting changed from our costumes and left the theatre before our final two performances on Saturday and saying goodbye to Acorn Antiques.

I’ve met many theatre stars and celebrities throughout my life but to perform for Victoria Wood in her original musical and to receive such touching comments on the production is a dream come true. A very proud night to be a member of Croft House Theatre Company.

What a complete honour and a memory I know i’ll never forget!

William J.

Victoria Wood!!

Victoria Wood backstage at Acorn Antiques – The Musical following our show on Friday 22nd performance.

Production stills: Acorn Antiques – The Musical

Acorn Antiques Trailer

https://vimeo.com/61291652