Helena Blackman stars in Journey to the Past in Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent

Feb 2 2012 Flintshire Chronicle

Helena Blackman, West End star and finalist of the BBC’s How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, is on a UK tour with her new solo show.

The production, Journey To The Past, is a celebration of music from the world of classic animated movies.

Ahead of her appearances in Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester, Helena talks about her career so far and her new show.

You’ve come a long way since How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? ended. What have your favourite moments been since leaving the show?

Working and performing with writers such as Tim Rice and Stiles & Drewe, and performers including Alison Jiear, Joanna Riding, Claire Moore and Ian McKellen, as well as performing as a soloist at the Royal Albert Hall.

How did Journey to the Past come about?

I did a Disney medley at a cabaret I performed at The Pheasantry in Chelsea and everyone went wild about it. It really appealed to people and they started singing.

I did the same medley at my album launch and it went down a treat again and Speckulation approached me about touring an entire show with the theme of animated movies.

Can you tell us a little more about the show?

We realised that a lot of animated movies that had songs featured a lot in my childhood, particularly during the 1990s when blockbusters like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty And The Beast were released.

This was an amazing period for that kind of film and nothing like it has quite compared. It was an amazing era and those films as well as others from before my time like Snow White, Cinderella and Dumbo have stood the test of time.

They remind me of different periods of my life.

There are so many wonderful songs from animated films. How did you manage to whittle them down into a set list of 20?

This was actually easier than I thought it would be. My knowledge of the repertoire was already extensive.

The difficulty was deciding whether to include songs after my childhood, ie from my late teens and early 20s, and if so what relevance would they have to ‘my journey’. You’ll have to come and watch to see what decision we came to!

If you had a favourite animated movie, what would it be and why?

It has to be Beauty And The Beast. I begged my parents to take me to the cinema to see it and I remember the day we went. I always wanted to be Belle.

When was the last time you were moved by a show – musical or play, etc?

The show that particularly stays with me is Billy Elliot. I laughed and cried, and it takes a lot for a theatre show to push me to emotional places. I think it is an absolutely wonderful show.

Les Miserables and Phantom Of The Opera also pull at my heart strings, but more because they musically overwhelm me.

What’s your hidden talent?

If it’s hidden, how are you meant to know what it is? If it’s hidden from other people, I can hit an A above top C. I’ve never had to do this for a show, though.

What does the future hold for you? Where do you see yourself in five years time?

Emotionally: to have moved house, be married and own a little dog. Professionally: I’d love to have done or been in a West End show.

Work chops and changes for me a lot and I love the idea of sitting still for a bit and commuting to work.

Helena Blackman brings Journey To The Past to the Regent Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent on Thursday, February 9. Call 0844 871 7649 or visit www.atgtickets.com. The show then moves to Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester on Friday, February 9. Call 0161 838 7244.