Royal Male (From Oxford Mail)

Royal Male

6:00pm Thursday 2nd February 2012 in Theatre By Katherine MacAlister

As majestic musical The King and I sweeps into Oxford, KATHERINE MACALISTER spends time getting to know the two lead actors and finds out what it takes to tackle such iconic roles.

Is there anything you haven’t been in?” I ask Josefina Gabrielle, as she prepares to make her entrance in The King and I, and she laughs, understanding my point immediately.

You name it and the double Olivier Award-nominated stage and screen actress, whose career spans the West End and Broadway, has been in it.

From starring alongside Hugh Jackman in Oklahoma!, to leads in Sweet Charity, The 39 Steps, Chicago, The Witches of Eastwick, Fame, Hello Dolly, Me and My Girl and Singin’ in the Rain, Josefina has sung and danced her way through them all.

But then as she left school to star in Carousel at the National Theatre it’s hardly surprising that she’s managed to pack so much in, and as a result it’s the only life she knows.

And yet Josefina speaks about The King And I with such enthusiasm, that it’s easy forget what a veteran performer she is.

“I’m really enjoying it because Anna is quite a meaty role,” she says. “And while The King and I is about the meeting of two stubborn minds, it’s also an incredibly moving storyline and a real sweeping epic.

“Plus, the music is just beautiful, it’s so rich and full and jumps right out at you, the choreography is storming, and the show has a lovely striking set, so it’s quite a feast.”

And yet, isn’t it all in a day’s work for Josefina? “No, it’s a big challenge because The King and I is quite pure singing, so I’m making sure I sleep well and am stroking my vocal cords” the gorgeous red-head laughs. “And I had to learn to walk in my crinoline dress,” she adds. “But getting through the day is the hard bit because I can’t relax when I’m performing that night.”

Josefina’s dedication is presumably one of the many attributes which led to her Olivier nominations? “If someone singles you out for something it’s such a compliment so you want to do your best and the Oliviers I saw as affirmation.

“But the more you work, the more people think of you, and when the role of Anna came up the director thought of me. But I don’t have a ground plan, you know ‘when I grow up I want to be...,” she smiles.

And yet Josefina always knew what she wanted to be when she was little. “Yes, even when I was at school I was very ambitious, always looking for an audience and applying to be in the panto,” she laughs.

“But I think it gave me a lot of confidence because of that, so when my mum was looking for the right secondary school she decided to send me to a specialist theatre school instead.”

And Josefina is still determined to make the most of it: “You have to make it all about the show because in six months time you might have all the time in the world to do everything else and please yourself as much as you want,” she says.

“But because I’ve been in theatre ever since, if I ever have time off I love staying home and never want to go out after 7pm, so there’s a wrench when you go back to work, but it demands it and it’s the nature of the job.”

But surely someone as employable as Josefina doesn’t need to worry about where her next job is coming from?

“Actresses always think this is their last job and every time you get chosen for a part you can think of 10 people who could have done it, so you have to think ‘I deserve it’ and then be a pleasure to work with, because you have to be super-talented to be difficult.”

Ramon Tikaram has had a wonderfully diverse acting career. Starting off as a singer/songwriter touring Europe with his band, he came to the public eye in cult TV show This Life and EastEnders, before nabbing some of the big leads in musicals Joseph and Bombay Nights, which brings us neatly round to The King and I. Never a dull moment then?

“Generally I don’t charge with alacrity at musicals because I wanted to be a straight actor doing ‘interesting’ roles and musicals don’t always offer that. But The King and I is a really phenomenal role without too many songs,” he laughs. “Which is great because I normally play baddies, or at least difficult characters with authority and muscle, or anyone who is morally vacuous,” he laughs again, unperturbed by being typecast.

And to demonstrate the point, most recently Ramon has just finished playing Mr C, a Taliban commander in BBC4’s Hotel Taliban.

“Yes another angry man who is nasty but charming. He’s a sociopath though, no doubt about that.” So is it hard to play baddies? “No, it’s like a button I can switch on and off now,” he smiles. And yet here Ramon is playing the noble King of Siam, so is that an even bigger challenge?

“I try to make sure the audience have some sympathy with the relationship and to make the role real, and that takes up a lot of energy. But once I get past my solo in the second scene I relax a bit more,” he laughs. “But for me, the journey is about making the audience like the King. And as I started out as a singer before I became an actor it’s a skill that I’ve always had.”

Ramon’s career in musicals was in fact launched off the back of This Life.

“I first played Judas in Joseph and his Technicoloured Dreamcoat. Initially I wasn’t that enamoured with the part because it was a six-month commitment and I wanted to follow up the TV show’s success with film and TV work. But Lloyd Webber obviously wanted me and wouldn’t take no for an answer, so that’s how I first got to the West End. And then there was Bombay Dreams which was really interesting.”

Ramon makes it sound easy, but with Tinita Tikarma as a sister, you’ll begin to realise how hugely talented his gene pool is. In fact, Oxford University was on his radar for a while before he chose the acting path. “I did try to get into St Anne’s College because the male/female ratio was so good, 50:1 I seem to remember, but I didn’t do well at the interview.”

Which in hindsight is the best thing that could have happened. But what of his future aspirations? “I’d love to be in a comedy, or play someone who is confused or perplexed. But nice? No, I don’t think I’m sufficiently qualified,” he chuckles.

“But I’m still here but for the grace of God.”

* The King And I runs from Tuesday, February 14, until Saturday, February 18, at Oxford’s New Theatre. Call the box office on 0844 8713020.