She stars in Wicked, the prequel to The Wizard of Oz, eight times a week on the London stage but Sophie-Louise Dann can't wait to get back to her Sussex house in Bexhill
Photos: Jim Holden
Eight times a week, Bexhill actress Sophie-Louise Dann levers on a huge gravity-defying blonde wig and artfully applies her own over-the-top make-up before squeezing herself into a flamboyant full-length red frock.
Every layer of make-up and costume transforms her into 'Head Shiztress' Madame Morrible, the role Sophie-Louise took over in the long-running musical Wicked at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre in February.
'I love preparing for my role,' she says. 'It’s the best dress-up game ever. The costumes are wonderful and through the show, you can see very subtle changes to Madame Morrible’s appearance. At the beginning, her hair is soft, then it becomes more severe, then by the end it’s a different wig altogether. Her lips get smaller and more pursed as the show goes on.'
Wicked, the prequel to L Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz, made famous by the 1939 Hollywood movie starring Judy Garland, imagines a beguiling back story to the lives of the Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda The Good, and it’s the costume that imbues Madame Morrible with all her power as the “Head Shiztress” of the Shiz Academy, where all witches go to study.
'As the wig and the make-up and the costume go on, I inhabit the character,' says Sophie-Louise. 'The great actress Beryl Reid once said that a character starts from the feet up - whatever shoe you’re wearing, you can feel the character through it because it affects your walk, your gait, your demeanour, everything. That’s so true. Madame Morrible is quite the grande dame.
'It's a great role to get your teeth into because on the surface she is loud and bubbly, but underneath she is a bit of a villain and a manipulator.'
Sophie-Louise has free time between the Sunday matinee and the next performance on Tuesday evening to spend time with her husband Nic Colicos, an American actor who appeared in the 2017 film Kingsman: The Golden Circle.
'For me, coming home is heaven. I love the hustle and bustle of theatre but there’s no place like home!' she says. 'I’m Sussex born and bred and I can’t express enough how much Sussex is a part of me. When I’m away from it, I’m so grumpy.'
Apart from two short stints away, Sophie-Louise has lived in Bexhill all of her life, growing up in a house with her parents Michael, who died this year aged 89, her mother Audrey and her brother and sisters, Jayne, now 64, Sara, 63, Adrian, 60, and Anneliese, 59. At 53, Sophie-Louise is the youngest. 'The other four were born in a clutch and there’s eight years between me and Anneliese,' she says. 'I was a fizzy child, full of energy.
'I was not precocious but I had confidence because I had such a happy upbringing. My mother, who is now in her 80s, was a very, very gifted soprano, but wasn’t able to pursue it professionally, and had a love of opera and ballet so the house was always filled with music, either on the radio or on vinyl. When I was eight, she took me to the London Coliseum to see Rudolf Nureyev in Romeo and Juliet - the most amazing experience.
“It was my father who fuelled my passion for literature. We’d go to Stratford and have beautiful boating trips on the Avon and I saw Shakespeare plays that were unsuitable for a child - A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Henrys and Richard lll. I loved it. It inflamed my passion for it.”
From the age of six, Sophie-Louise’s formative training in acting, singing and dancing took place at the Hastings Stage Studio under its founder Anne Slacke. 'I think Mummy thought it was the outlet for my energy that my parents had been looking for.
She credits her 'incredible' singing teacher Maeliosa Goodale, a private tutor who was affiliated to Hastings Stage Studio, for nurturing her voice from the age of seven to her teenage years.
'She gave me the solid techniques and honed my voice. She is no longer here but she is in spirit. Whenever I was going into a project, be it opera or contemporary, I would think, ‘what would Maeliosa tell me to do?”'
Her role in Wicked as Madame Morrible completes a clutch of madame roles for Sophie-Louise. They include Diana DiVane in Lend Me a Tenor The Musical in the West End in 2011 which earned her a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical.
There have also been the roles of Madame Thenardier in the 2018 UK tour Les Misérables and Madame Dubonnet in The Boy Friend, a production that was halted by the Covid-19 pandemic. For her role in Calendar Girls The Musical she earned an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, and her big screen appearances include the films My Summer With Des in 1998 and The Phantom of the Opera in 2004.
'The last decade has served me very well,' Sophie-Louise said. 'There has been a lot of discussion about parts for women and particularly for women of a certain age. I have been incredibly privileged in the last decade to have played roles such as Diana DiVane, and Barbara Castle MP in Made in Dagenham and Celia in Calendar Girls The Musical - shows that tell the story of a group of ordinary woman who do something extraordinary.”
Back home, Sophie-Louise and Nic love exploring the county. 'We have a Goldwing motorbike. It’s not speedy, it’s a touring bike. Our favourite destinations include Cuckmere and High and Over.'
They can see the sea from their Bexhill home and close by is the De La Warr Pavilion, which Sophie-Louise describes as her spiritual home. 'I first performed there when I was six. It's such a vibrant venue - you only have to look at the big names who come there. I would love to do my own concert there.'
In 2020, Sophie-Louise became a patron of the 1066 Festival of the Performing Arts, which is held twice a year. Competitors can qualify for the Miss Dance and Master Dance in Blackpool.
'Festivals like this are the lifeblood of talent - it’s where they start off and then go into the industry,' she said. 'I’m very proud to be a patron - and it’s my way of giving something back to Sussex. I can’t express how much Sussex is a part of me.'
* Visit wickedthemusical.co.uk
Sophie-Louise's favourite places in Sussex
Eating
For the perfect brunch:
• The Pelican Diner
20 East Parade, Hastings TN34 3AL
01424 421555
'You can get no better American pancakes than here!' enthuses Sophie-Louise. 'It’s the best brunch in Sussex - and a weekly date in my diary.'
For afternoon tea:
• Middle Farm
West Firle, Lewes BN8 6LJ
https://middlefarm.com/our-restaurant/
'Perfect for afternoon tea and it’s worth the trip to go to their plant shop.'
Beauty spots/walking
• The Firehills
Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve, Martineau Lane, Hastings TN35 5DR
https://www.hastings.gov.uk
'It’s the perfect place to walk off that brunch! The Firehills are high up so there are extraordinary views. You can see out to the ocean across to Dungeness and you can see almost as far as Beachy Head. Breathtaking.'
• Bexhill Promenade
Bexhill seafront
https://www.discoverbexhill.com/attractions/britishseaside.php
'In Edwardian times, the promenade used to be the runway for motor cars, a bit like the Goodwood Festival of Speed. I imagine myself walking along here with an ice cream and in Edwardian garb, going into the water…'
Shopping
• Scatterbox
Gift shop
41A Devonshire Road, Bexhill TN40 1BD
https://bexhill-on-sea.cylex-uk.co.uk/company/scatterbox-12935331.html
'This is a gifts and interiors shop where you can find the most wonderful things. I will always find the most perfect and unusual gifts for family and friends here.'
• Merchant 57
Antique store and vintage retailer with artisan wares
57 High Street, Hastings TN34 3JA
https://hastings.cylex-uk.co.uk/company/merchant-57-27428653.html
'This shop marries vintage with new. I always find a beloved treasure of old or a new piece that will become an antique.'
• Henry Paddon Contemporary Art Gallery
113 South Street, Eastbourne BN21 4LU
https://www.henrypaddon.com/
'Whenever Nic or I finish a contract, we always mark it by coming to the gallery and buying something. It might be a ceramic or a painting or anything. We have lots of pieces of art and we go to the gallery to add to our collection in some way.'
