PREVIEW: Guys and Dolls

‘Guys and Dolls’, this year’s Gala Show, is an explosion of 1950s New York, complete with gangsters, sexy hotbox dancers and even a love story or two. Ahead of the biggest show of the year, the Tab gets the low-down from Michael Forde and Soph McQuillan, playing two of the leads, Sky Masterson and Adelaide respectively.


The Tab: So guys firstly, the question that’s on everyone’s lips, does this show have raw sex appeal?

Michael Forde: The show is sex appeal.

Soph McQuillan: I mean, Michael Forde is the main part. If you haven’t heard of him, he’s kind of a big deal.

MF: We have the hotbox girls, I mean, the clues in the name, ‘hot’. We’ve also got the sexy ‘Havana’ scene which has a saucy latino vibe, and there’s something a bit sexy in the ‘danger’ of the gangsters too.

‘Hot’ box girls

Tab: I’ll take your word for it. In the show, some characters change a lot for love. How far would you guys change for the person you loved?

SM: For Michael Forde, I’d do anything.

MF: I would change my sex to be with you, but only if you’d change your sex to be with me.

SM: Would that make me the big deal Michael Forde?

MF: We would literally change gender and switch identities for each other.

SM: I’d have to learn his Northern Irish accent!

Saucy

Tab: That’s commitment. What’s the best number in the show?

MF: I think ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat’.

SM: And neither of us are in it!

MF: Simon Lynch kills the riff.

SM: He makes it really gangster.

MF: No, put ‘soulful’.

Soulful Simon, in action last year

Tab: Who’s the hottest girl in the cast?

SM: Well, we all know you were going to say me, Michael.

MF: They are all are beautiful in their own way.

SM: The hotbox girls are super limber and sexy, but then the missionaries have a something…motherly.

Tab: A maternal appeal?

SM: Exactly.

MF: Sometimes you see someone on the dance floor and think, that’s sexy. But sometimes you see someone spill a drink and clean it up and you think, she’s a keeper.

Tab: And hottest guy in the cast?

SM: Big CK. (Callum Kenny, playing Nathan Detroit)

MF: You sure?

SM: I’m just saying, if you get the opportunity, give his bum a good squeeze.

MF: Good bum?

SM: They’re all a bit bad boy though, there aren’t really any sweet guys unless you go for the sweet old guy, Arvide (played by Dan Gosselin).

Callum ‘good bum’ Kenny

Tab: Bad guys and old men, got it. Now, there’s a lot of gambling in the show, do you guys have any advice on gambling?

SM: Don’t do it, I don’t like it. Crucial words from my mother

MF: Quit while you’re ahead.

SM: All on red.

MF: Don’t talk crap while you’re playing craps.

Tab: What have you learnt from being in ‘Guys and Dolls’?

SM: What a big deal Michael Forde is. When you’re in the presence of something that great, it really teaches you the humility to learn.

MF: I’ve learnt how to lip-sync for the promo video, ‘Happy’.

SM: Vital skill, there.

MF: I’ve also learnt some songs from the actual show.

SM: And some lines, occasionally.

MF: I have learnt three things: a few songs, a few routines and lines. For me, in a nutshell, that is a show. If you can put those 3 things together, you’re going to be okay.

The female leads doing some acting

Tab: Okay, quick fire to finish. Guys or dolls?

MF: Guys

SM: Dolls

Tab: Hotbox dancer or mission girl?

MF: Hotbox.

SM: But there’s something a bit mangey about them. They’ve probably had a lot of sex.

Tab: Luck or Lady?

SM: Lady!

MF: Luck, because if you get lucky you get the lady anyway.

‘Guys and Dolls’ will be performed at the Gala Theatre from January 21st to 25th. For more information, visit www.galadurham.co.uk/theatre/.

Photos courtesy of  Rose Innes