A loved-up young couple, plenty of laughs and a magical piano that makes people dance - award-winning musical Salad Days is coming to the Midlands... What’s On caught up with star of the show Wendi Peters to talk about the hit production and her extensive stage and screen career...
What’s Salad Days about, Wendi?
Salad Days holds lots of great memories for me, and I was thrilled when this opportunity came along to do it. I first saw a production of it when I was about 10. It was an amateur production in Accrington in Lancashire and my godmother, Lorna, was in it. I became obsessed with the music and, soon after, there was a TV version of the show. My sister and I videoed it and watched it over and over again. It’s really become a family joke/ memory, and it’s still quoted today! Of course, I’m now feeling very old, as I’m playing one of the parents in the show. The show revolves around Jane and Timothy, who’ve just graduated from university. Not knowing what to do next, they decide to get married and get a job looking after a piano, which happens to be magic and makes people dance! Tim’s parents are desperate for him to get a good job and send him out to visit all his uncles for career advice. Jane’s mother wants to find her a wonderfully rich and influential husband - not knowing that she’s already married. It’s a wonderfully upbeat, fun show with great numbers that a lot of people will know and can tap and hum along to. It’s a great ‘leave your troubles outside the theatre’ show, and I guarantee you’ll leave with a big smile on your face.
Lots of audience members will know you from Coronation Street. How does this character differ from Cilla?
They differ inasmuch as Lady Raeburn in Salad Days is the quintessential aristocrat who’s very relaxed and laid back until it comes to her daughter and finding the right husband for her. I suppose she really just has Jane’s best interests at heart. Cilla in Corrie couldn’t give two hoots for her children, Fiz and Chesney, and comes from a very northern working-class background, so has had to fight for all she has. The only similarity is the fact that both have a roving eye for the opposite sex…
What else can you tell us about your character?
Lady Raeburn likes to look after herself and spends plenty of time in the beauty salon. There’s a wonderful scene in Salad Days where she’s having her hair and nails done... it’s going to be fun!
How do you feel about embarking on this tour?
Most of my career has been on stage, and if someone asked me to pick between TV and theatre, the stage would always win. It’s where I first fell in love with acting and singing. My mum would take us to see all the musicals that came to Manchester, and I adored going to the theatre. A lot of my theatre work has been on tour and I love it. It’s very exciting to be back on the road again, bringing such a fun show to some wonderful places. I’ve played all of the theatres on this tour apart from two, so I’m looking forward to new towns and stages. We’re mostly doing a week in places, which is the perfect length. By the time you’ve settled the show in, you have a couple of days to explore and then you move on. It’s also great being on tour and catching up with friends and family in various towns.
What would you say to encourage people to come and watch Salad Days?
Salad Days is a fun, feelgood show that will have you humming and tapping all the way out of theatre. It’s complete escapism for two-and-a-half hours - and in today’s world, that’s sometimes needed.
What do you hope the audience will take away from the show?
I’m hoping they’ll leave with big smiles on their faces after a glorious evening of uplifting singing and dancing. They may be a little confused as to why everyone’s looking for a piano, and why one of Tim’s uncles appears from a space ship shaped like a saucer. It’s such wonderful, crazy nonsense but very funny!
What’s coming up for you once the tour finishes?
I have a week off and then it’s straight into panto season. I’m back at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield, playing Mrs Darling, Myrtle the Mermaid and Big Chief Squatting Cow. I love Sheffield. I did my very first panto there in 1987 at the Crucible Theatre and have been back a few times since. There are great audiences and it’s a lovely city.
Any advice for budding actors?
My advice would be that you really must have the drive and determination to want to succeed. Not in terms of being famous and a ‘star’, but in having a long and varied career and a love for your art. Take the time to train properly, be it privately or at a drama school. Watch and learn from other actors around you. You never stop learning. If you’re still at school, get involved in as many school or local amateur productions as you can and enjoy it! That’s really important.
Salad Days The Musical runs at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, from Wednesday 19 to Saturday 22 September, and then at Malvern Theatre, Worcestershire, from Tuesday 2 to Saturday 6 October.
A loved-up young couple, plenty of laughs and a magical piano that makes people dance - award-winning musical Salad Days is coming to the Midlands... What’s On caught up with star of the show Wendi Peters to talk about the hit production and her extensive stage and screen career...
What’s Salad Days about, Wendi?
Salad Days holds lots of great memories for me, and I was thrilled when this opportunity came along to do it. I first saw a production of it when I was about 10. It was an amateur production in Accrington in Lancashire and my godmother, Lorna, was in it. I became obsessed with the music and, soon after, there was a TV version of the show. My sister and I videoed it and watched it over and over again. It’s really become a family joke/ memory, and it’s still quoted today! Of course, I’m now feeling very old, as I’m playing one of the parents in the show. The show revolves around Jane and Timothy, who’ve just graduated from university. Not knowing what to do next, they decide to get married and get a job looking after a piano, which happens to be magic and makes people dance! Tim’s parents are desperate for him to get a good job and send him out to visit all his uncles for career advice. Jane’s mother wants to find her a wonderfully rich and influential husband - not knowing that she’s already married. It’s a wonderfully upbeat, fun show with great numbers that a lot of people will know and can tap and hum along to. It’s a great ‘leave your troubles outside the theatre’ show, and I guarantee you’ll leave with a big smile on your face.
Lots of audience members will know you from Coronation Street. How does this character differ from Cilla?
They differ inasmuch as Lady Raeburn in Salad Days is the quintessential aristocrat who’s very relaxed and laid back until it comes to her daughter and finding the right husband for her. I suppose she really just has Jane’s best interests at heart. Cilla in Corrie couldn’t give two hoots for her children, Fiz and Chesney, and comes from a very northern working-class background, so has had to fight for all she has. The only similarity is the fact that both have a roving eye for the opposite sex…
What else can you tell us about your character?
Lady Raeburn likes to look after herself and spends plenty of time in the beauty salon. There’s a wonderful scene in Salad Days where she’s having her hair and nails done... it’s going to be fun!
How do you feel about embarking on this tour?
Most of my career has been on stage, and if someone asked me to pick between TV and theatre, the stage would always win. It’s where I first fell in love with acting and singing. My mum would take us to see all the musicals that came to Manchester, and I adored going to the theatre. A lot of my theatre work has been on tour and I love it. It’s very exciting to be back on the road again, bringing such a fun show to some wonderful places. I’ve played all of the theatres on this tour apart from two, so I’m looking forward to new towns and stages. We’re mostly doing a week in places, which is the perfect length. By the time you’ve settled the show in, you have a couple of days to explore and then you move on. It’s also great being on tour and catching up with friends and family in various towns.
What would you say to encourage people to come and watch Salad Days?
Salad Days is a fun, feelgood show that will have you humming and tapping all the way out of theatre. It’s complete escapism for two-and-a-half hours - and in today’s world, that’s sometimes needed.
What do you hope the audience will take away from the show?
I’m hoping they’ll leave with big smiles on their faces after a glorious evening of uplifting singing and dancing. They may be a little confused as to why everyone’s looking for a piano, and why one of Tim’s uncles appears from a space ship shaped like a saucer. It’s such wonderful, crazy nonsense but very funny!
What’s coming up for you once the tour finishes?
I have a week off and then it’s straight into panto season. I’m back at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield, playing Mrs Darling, Myrtle the Mermaid and Big Chief Squatting Cow. I love Sheffield. I did my very first panto there in 1987 at the Crucible Theatre and have been back a few times since. There are great audiences and it’s a lovely city.
Any advice for budding actors?
My advice would be that you really must have the drive and determination to want to succeed. Not in terms of being famous and a ‘star’, but in having a long and varied career and a love for your art. Take the time to train properly, be it privately or at a drama school. Watch and learn from other actors around you. You never stop learning. If you’re still at school, get involved in as many school or local amateur productions as you can and enjoy it! That’s really important.
Salad Days The Musical runs at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, from Wednesday 19 to Saturday 22 September, and then at Malvern Theatre, Worcestershire, from Tuesday 2 to Saturday 6 October.