Soap favourite Ian Kelsey has added another string to his bow this month by entering the unpredictable world of immersive theatre for the first time.
The actor has landed the role of Nikos in Mamma Mia! The Party – a unique theatrical dining experience which mixes Greek food, a romantic storyline and some of ABBA's best-loved anthems.
Guests at the show enjoy a four-course meal at Nikos' taverna while an exciting show unfolds around them. Following the performance, diners are encouraged to get involved by singing and dancing at an unforgettable ABBA disco.
Ian – best known to soap fans for his roles in Emmerdale, Doctors, Casualty and Coronation Street – recently caught up with Inside Soap for a chat about his new project. He also reflected on some of his soap memories and his real-life partner Beth Cordingly's current success in Emmerdale as Ruby Fox-Miligan.
What can you tell us about Mamma Mia! The Party?
"It's a totally different storyline from the film. My character is called Nikos and the audience comes into his massive three-tier Greek taverna, which is all decorated out with waiting staff and everything. We perform alongside the meal so we're weaving in and out of the tables, singing ABBA songs.
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"The storyline is that Nikos' taverna is where they filmed the Mamma Mia! movie. Nikos fell in love with a member of the crew! He's got a daughter from a previous marriage, and his wife has got a nephew. Those two characters fall in love, and that's where the fun and games start!"
How are you feeling about taking on an immersive project that involves the audience like this?
"I've seen it myself three times now and it's been different every time I've seen it, which is quite exciting. When you're doing normal theatre, somebody could come and see the show three times in a row but they probably wouldn't notice the different nuances. We'd say 'oh this is quite good' or 'we need to work on that tomorrow' but nobody would know.
"With this you definitely know, because people are up and about and they're dancing. There are three different acts, and two of the times that I've been to see it myself, people are already up on their tables and dancing in the first act. They're having a right laugh and singing along with you.
"So you've got that to contend with, whether they're singing the right lyrics or not! But people do get up and go to the toilet in the middle of a scene, so you've just got to have little one-liners to get you through those bits. It's really, really exciting."
Were you a big ABBA fan before this?
"Well, I was born in '66 so they were always at the forefront of what was on the radio. I used to fancy one of the girls as well!
"One funny thing is that, because you've been singing these songs all your life, you think you know them but then you realise that you don't! It's like: 'Oh, is that what the lyrics are?'
"There's quite a few songs that I didn't recognise, actually. They're really good songs. There's a great variety of very well-known songs and also great album tracks as well."
You've done lots of stage projects, so are you used to all of the singing and dancing that's involved?
"Yes, I am used to that, but I'm not used to this format. It's a theatrical dining experience – it's not a show or a musical as such. When you buy your ticket, you're in the show. So it's this crazy immersive experience which the audience are part of, which I've never done before. Nothing can prepare you for it!"
Is it nice to get a project that's so different to your previous jobs?
"Yeah, it is. I've always fancied doing a project with a studio audience. I've never done that before, but this is a bit like working on television in front of an audience. I think that's dying out now, to be honest, so I'll probably never get to do that – so getting to do this instead is great."
What else have you been up to recently?
"I've been abroad doing Chicago the musical. We were out in Abu Dhabi and Taiwan and two different stints in China."
It was really sad to see Doctors come to an end last year. How did you feel about that?
"It's a real shame, because Doctors was originally set up as a training ground for writers and for everybody working behind the scenes. It would constantly win its daily audience share. It had a million viewers and it would always be the most watched show at that time of day.
"I don't know why they've got rid of it, I really don't. It was great for college leavers. As an actor, one of the things you would aim to get on would be an episode of Doctors. It was great fun. I was only ever supposed to do it for six months and ended up doing it for three years.
"It was totally different every day. You had fantastic actors coming through the doors. You had a constant stream of different experienced people that you were working with."
How do you feel about your real-life partner Beth Cordingly now being in Emmerdale?
"It's almost like I'm reliving a past life with Beth! It's fantastic. I've been up to the set a couple of times and I've seen my old house. I can't remember who lives in it now, but it's the house next to the Dingles'. There are a lot of memories.
"When I was on the show, I never filmed on the fake village – I filmed in the real village at Esholt and Beth's never seen that. So we're going to do an Instagram film of me taking her on the back of my motorbike. I'm going to take her around all of the original Emmerdale locations and show her what the real Woolpack and Mill Cottage look like.
"Filming in the old village was also like doing live theatre! It was like a one street village and you had 13 coach loads of people taking pictures of you in the middle of a take!"
Have you watched much of Beth's big storyline recently?
"She's doing such good work at the moment. Oh my God, that storyline! She's bloody good. I'm so proud of what she's doing. Honestly, I watch it and everybody that's connected to that storyline is doing a fantastic job – Jeff [Hordley, who plays Cain], Will [Ash, who plays Caleb], Beth.
"It doesn't seem like it's a soap at the moment, because they've done such a good job with how they've tackled that horrendous storyline. When Beth first came on screen she was like a ball of fire, but then all of a sudden this storyline has emerged.
"Beth had to step up to the plate and the workload has been huge, but I help her with her stuff and it's great. She's just doing a brilliant job, I'm so proud of her."
Compared to your own time there, does Emmerdale seem very different when you watch it now?
"When I was in the show, it aired for two episodes a week. We were living in the caravan and I was doing most of my work with Stan Richards and Claire King. So the only time I'd do any studio stuff would be when we were in The Woolpack.
"That was back in the day when at four o'clock, they used to give you a real pint! You'd be on fake beer until four o'clock and then they'd give you a real one – I don't think that happens nowadays!
"I said to Beth when she first took the job that it was one of the happiest places I've ever worked at."
Claire King recently said that the love of Kim's life was always your character Dave Glover! Do you agree?
"Course I do! In fact, Dave Glover's twin brother should be making appearance pretty soon! (Laughs.)"
Jokes aside, would you go for that if it was offered?
"Well, I'm busy on Mamma Mia! The Party for a while, but I would absolutely consider going back up to the Dales in whatever guise, like if he was coming out of a shower with Bobby Ewing! Maybe it could be a dream sequence – the last 25 years was a dream!"
Would you like to work with Beth, or do you prefer to keep your home and work life separate?
"It'd be great fun, it'd be a right laugh. I was going to suggest that I've still got Dave Glover's leather jacket, which would probably fit Beth really well. So, we might do a little cheeky: 'Beth, see if you can get this into the show!' And take a screenshot of it and be like: 'That's Dave Glover's jacket!'
"I think Kim was in the graveyard a few episodes ago, but she didn't bother going to see my grave though, did she? She's got so many dead exes in that graveyard!"
Tickets to see the show at The O2 in London can be purchased via mammamiatheparty.com.
