Funny How Life Changes So Quickly
It was a night that would change her life. Natasha J Barnes was in her dressing room preparing for another night with the company of Funny Girl, when she got the news that she would be going on, to lead the cast, as Fanny Brice in just 50 minutes. Plaudits rained down on Natasha and as understudy to Sheridan Smith, Natasha went on to play the role over 130 times in London due to Sheridan’s absence.
“I was incredibly lucky to get such a long run as an understudy – that’s really rare. There came a point where I had to honour the piece that we’d created but step away from what Sheridan had done and try and bring a little bit of myself to the role. I was absolutely thrilled that Sheridan came back and came back bigger, better, stronger and even more talented if that’s even possible.”
Natasha will take the role on tour across the UK to venues including Woking, Nottingham and Glasgow, portraying a lady who she describes as a “trailblazer for women everywhere in the theatre business.” However, how does Natasha relate to Fanny?
“I know very much what it’s like to not quite fit in. I spent years and years auditioning for jobs and being not quite tall enough, or not quite skinny enough or having a bit of a funny face! I got many, many no’s and many times I was turned down but in my head and in my heart I love what I do and I believe that if any one loves what they do then they should do it. This is very much a story of that. It’s very much an ugly duckling to swan moment for that character (Fanny) and it’s funny that we were playing it out on stage but I was kind of living it in my life last year.”
“I was in a long term relationship and I broke up with my boyfriend during this show. I moved house during this show. My career changed during this show. My whole life really did turn upside down and the way I dealt with it was by playing it out every night and giving it to the people who were coming to see the show. I think that left me in a good place from a personal point of view because I felt like I told a story and been honest and done something good with the situation.”
Sheridan Smith continues to star in Funny Girl, alongside Chris Peluso, at certain tour dates, with the other legs featuring Natasha opposite Darius Campbell. It was Darius who shared the stage with Natasha on the night where she made herself a household name in theatre land.
The former Chicago and From Here to Eternity star said, “It was unbelievable. The story of Natasha coming through and being able to really earn the accolade of that front page on the Daily Mail, ‘A Star Is Born’, was extraordinary. She hadn’t rehearsed from beginning to end at any point and the first time she did so was in front of a live audience at the Savoy. It was amazing and she’s a trouper and she has a voice like Judy Garland and I can’t wait to take this on tour with her. “
With the knockbacks she has battled back from, you just know that there is one song in particular that will be performed from the heart when Natasha takes to the stage every night.
“People said “This is amazing! How do you do it under so much pressure?” You give any 26 year old girl the opportunity to stand in front of the theatre fraternity and sing ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’, having had people be disappointed that you’re not the person that they turned up to see, then you’re going to take it by the horns.”
What was she saying about trailblazers?
Listen to the full interview here