Dazzle them

Nobody could accuse the musical Chicago of only being available to London audiences. The show is now on its third tour round the country - a mammoth journey that began in Birmingham last September and ends in Blackpool, 24 theatres and almost a year later.

In charge of keeping the show up to scratch as it travels round is director Charles Shirvell. Charles and I met in a coffee bar just behind the Adelphi Theatre in the Strand.

It was appropriate, for it was at the Adelphi that Chicago first opened in Britain, almost ten years ago in November 1997. Charles was involved from the start, not as a director, but on stage, playing a supporting part.

He also stepped up the pecking order from time to time to take on the major role of Billy Flynn, a smartass and pricey lawyer who is used to getting his clients acquitted by fair means or foul. Flynn was originally played in London by Henry Goodman, an actor with a very distinctive style, so I wondered how difficult it was to literally step into another performer's shoes, sometimes at very short notice.

"I can give you a better example than Henry Goodman," Charles replied. "I covered Clive Rowe when he played Mr Snow in the National Theatre production of Carousel, back in 1992. Clive is a large, black man, and I'm an average-sized white man. But what generally happens with an understudy is that they will be allowed to give their own interpretation of the role, although obviously within the confines of the production. They will try and liken you to the character you're understudying, but not to the actor concerned."

Unless you are a huge star name, the usual way into a major musical like Chicago is via a grinding round of auditions. Was it like that for Charles?

"It was a very rushed process, actually. A friend of mine had already got a job in Chicago as one of the dancers, and she was invited to a press presentation when they brought the Broadway cast over. She invited me to go with her.

"I didn't know anything about the show at the time, it hadn't even started rehearsals in London. Afterwards I chatted to the producers at a drinks party and they said they were still looking to fill various parts, so they were auditioning while they were in London. I duly auditioned, and the following day I went on holiday.

"My agent called me the evening before I left and said: 'They are going to recall you, so you might have to fly back.' So a two-week holiday turned into a nail-biting first week, then I returned briefly to be auditioned by the show's composer, John Kander. It's a very show-biz story, but I was finally called in the South of France to say that I'd got the job."

Charles was originally trained in the US.

"I was based over there, working for a cruise ship company as a singer. At 23, it was my first job. Our land base was in Los Angeles and, as I'd had no formal training in England, I decided to work with a voice coach there."

Compared with land-based theatre work, Charles added, singing on a cruise ship has advantages and disadvantages. Accommodation, for instance, may be better than some depressing theatrical digs you might meet on shore.

"We didn't have to sleep in bunk beds, we had proper passenger cabins. But there are some areas of the ship you are not allowed to visit: the casino, for instance. But perhaps that's a good thing really."

Now Charles is resident director of the UK tour of Chicago.

"The job involves the general upkeep of the show from an audience point of view. So I watch the show. I make sure it's telling the story, that you can see everything, hear everything, and make sense of everything - and that it's all of a standard you would expect in the West End.

"The show on the tour is no different from the London production, but a bit better, I might say - of course it is, because it's mine. Sometimes I have gone to see shows that have been in the West End and then gone on tour and, in rare cases, the quality of the product isn't what you'd expect it to be. I think that's insulting to non-London audiences. Why should they be any different to people who have access to the West End?"

Chicago, I suggest to Charles, is a show that has got to be really slick and sharp if it's to work.

"Absolutely. It's paired to the bone. There are no gimmicks, no helicopters, no chandeliers. We have a very minimal set, so the focus is drawn to the story, the choreography, and the music - also the lighting, which is very specific to the show. But the audience do have to work a little bit, it's not just a case of letting the thing wash over you. But that makes the show more interesting."

Unusually for a big musical, the band is placed in the centre of the stage and is as much on display as the performers.

"The band in Chicago is one of the most sought-after gigs," Charles revealed. "It's an enjoyable score and the musicians aren't just hidden in the pit - they get to interact with the cast and the audience. They get their chance to shine and they absolutely can't sit there reading a book when they're not playing. I'm not sure whether this is true or not, but I think a lot of band members are handpicked because of their characters.

"Especially on tour, the cast and the band often socialise together. In a lot of the shows I've done over the last 15 or 20 years, you rarely even get to know the band's first names - they're in an orchestra pit, they come in and go home again, and you don't see them. But in Chicago we go to the pub together after a show, and that's good."

It was time for Charles to set off for Plymouth, where Chicago was playing. But as he departed, Charles revealed a blacklist of theatres where it was quite unsafe to leave anything edible in a dressing room overnight. Mice would ensure that the last crumb had disappeared by morning. I'm so glad we had finished our coffee before we got to that particular revelation.

Chicago plays at the New Theatre, Oxford, from Monday until Saturday, and at Milton Keynes Theatre from June 4-16.