A Northwich family couldn’t have been prouder to see their brother step in for tenor Alfie Boe at the last minute during his lead role in the hit West End musical Carousel.
Theatre-goers had paid hundreds of pounds to see Alfie and Katherine Jenkins star in the popular show at London’s Coliseum, but when Alfie was taken ill mid-way through his performance, it was left to his understudy Will Barratt to save the day - and he stole the show with a ‘superb’ performance that earned him rave reviews.
In the audience were his proud brother and sister-in-law Philip and Sarah, who had travelled down from their home in Northwich for the show last Friday night.
Will, who is from Stoke-on-Trent, told The Chronicle it was a ‘nerve-wracking’ experience, but nevertheless, ‘amazing’.
“Alfie was half way through his performance on Friday when he came off stage feeling dizzy - something which turned out to be an inner ear infection,” he said. “Stage management came to me and said I should get ready to go on which was quite a nerve-wracking thing to hear as it’s the first time I’d ever been a walk on cover. Usually I have a role in the ensemble or something so this was very different.
“I had had rehearsals with Alfie and Katherine and worked alongside them, even having some input so we were always prepared for it, but I was still quite nervous, especially on that first night as it was halfway through and at a very emotional part of the story. If anything, that was a bit more nerve-wracking than doing two shows from the start the night after,” explained Will, 33.
Although Alfie went on to make a full recovery, Will’s performance made a great impression on audience members, who described him as ‘exceptional’ and ‘brilliant’, with a ‘real star quality’.
“It’s a huge, lavish production and to get on stage and sing such stunning music was amazing,” said Will, who has starred in other West End shows The Producers, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd and Jersey Boys.
“It’s really nice that a lot of Alfie’s fans have now become my fans. Both he and Katherine are absolutely lovely people - Alfie is a proper gentleman, a real Northern lad, and Katherine is gracious, kind and very generous with her time. It is her first stage role so I think in some ways she was more nervous than me!”
Will's album Confessions of a Justified Sinner is out on Spotify, iTunes and Amazon now.
