School of Rock heads to Eastbourne
Latest dates include Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre from April 12-16.
“It really is completely exhausting,” says Jake, “and I know I’m bound to say that because everyone wants to show how hard they are working but it is just so physical.”
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Hide AdJake is playing the role made so famous on the big screen by Jack Black in the film: “And you’ve just got to be a big kid. You have got to have that charisma that really resonates and you’ve got to have that incredibly high energy. And also the vocal side is so demanding. I can’t imagine a more challenging role than this one. And I’m on the stage most of the time. The only time I go off stage is to change out of sweaty clothes!
“And most of the time I’m on the stage with young actors and they are next level brilliant but they are still young children and you have to remember that. If anything goes wrong they’re looking to me so you are concentrating so much all the time. So when you get to the end of it you are just completely on your knees but that is actually really beautiful because it shows just how much you have given to it and how much you’ve had to commit to it.”
And that’s a huge part of why Jake loves doing it: “I have been with it for four or five years and it feels even longer because of the pandemic. I joined the West End cast in their second year and I have been with it ever since. I started as a cover for Dewey and then alternate and now I am the main man. You can’t possibly do all eight performances a week. You can’t just go from one show to another back to back. It would just be impossible to replace the fluids so what we do is five and three (between him and the alternate).
“The challenge is his energy and his demeanour, the fact that he is just a big kid and it’s about him and his relationship with the children. The ten, 11 and 12 and they are so energised and you’ve got to be even more energised than they are!”
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Hide AdIn the show, wannabe rock star Dewey Finn is cast out by his bandmates and finds himself in desperate need of cash. Posing as a substitute music teacher at an elite prep school, he exposes his students to the rock gods he idolises, transforming them into a rock band.
“Because of the film and because of Jack Black there is a certain appearance that you need to have, but personally I don’t set out to be a version of Jack Black. The film is so iconic and people love it so much that you have got to have Jack Black-isms in it and you’ve got to look the part but actually trying to be him is not something that the creative people have ever talked about. Obviously there is such an iconic look to the show but I think what we’re trying to do is to bring something more. The show is longer than the movie which means that we can get to explore more of the heart around him. You get to see more of these young characters and you get to understand the pressures on them and you get to see a little bit more of what Dewey is all about. It is about the expectations that he puts on himself but I feel that it’s also about a lot of the expectations that society puts on everyone. Lawrence the keyboard player is saying he is not cool and he doesn’t belong but Dewey says to him that he absolutely does belong. And that’s the great thing about Dewey. I think there should be more people like Dewey. He’s got such unbelievable passion for something, for live music. He doesn’t see that the rest of the world thinks he’s a bit of a loser. All he wants is to be in a band and you could think he is quite a dislikeable character. He is going all out for what he wants and he is lying and sneaking into the school but he is also so likeable and he gets his young kids to buy into that energy and buy into the ideology of being in this creative beautiful safe environment. It’s the only time anyone ever listens to them and he gives them this wonderful experience that no one else can.”
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