The next interview in our stagey chat series is with Jules Brown. Jules is currently playing Willie Lopez in the UK tour of GHOST the Musical, which is currently playing at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking.

Get yourself comfy and join us for the next segment of Stagey Chat!

Hi, how are you doing today? Thanks so much for chatting to Stage to Page! Would you mind introducing yourself to our readers and telling us how you first got into acting?

I’m Jules and I first got into acting at school, we were really lucky and had a great drama department. I had a short attention span and struggled in subjects like Maths and Science but when I discovered theatre studies it gave me an outlet for all that energy and I fell in love with it. From there my drama teacher (who was an ex-professional actor himself) encouraged me to go to drama school. Having graduated it took me a few years before I made the leap and moved to London to pursue it professionally.

You're currently in the UK touring production of GHOST The Musical. Can you tell us about the story and the character you play?

The story is very well known and for good reason, it’s a classic and it holds up in a modern context. Apart from being a love story it’s very profound in that it deals with the difficult subject of death and letting go. I think for that reason everyone can relate to it and it’s universal themes are what makes audiences love it. I play Willie Lopez who is a drug dealer, gun for hire type who prowls the more nefarious streets of Brooklyn.

How do you make your character unique while staying true to the original film?

As with any role you have to try and put your own stamp on it and not just copy what’s been done before. I worked with a Puerto Rican friend to help me find the right accent and dialect as well as authentic language. Additionally, you create your own backstory and research the time and place to try and understand how your character has arrived at this point in their life and how that fits in with the story.

My blog is called Stage to Page. But if you could turn any book, from page to stage, what would it be and why?

Well, I always find these kinds of questions really hard to answer because I’m generally an incredibly indecisive person! so I always think what have I read recently? I just finished Flea’s autobiography (he’s the Bassist from the Red-Hot Chili Peppers) and it’s an incredible, poetic, honest and moving book about his childhood and adolescence leading up to the formation of the famous band. I think it would make a great musical or certainly a great starting point for a musical about LA in the 80’s.

And finally, why should people book tickets to the UK tour of GHOST?

Firstly, it’s a great story and worth watching if you’ve never seen the film and worth watching if you have, so you can see how it’s been brought to life on stage. We have a fantastic set with some great illusions and the pop-rock score will have you tapping along. It’s full of pathos and jeopardy but also includes some amazingly comedic moments. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, it has a really strong cast and the performances are worth coming to see by themselves. (myself not included haha)

You can book tickets to the UK tour of GHOST the Musical, here.