He made his name singing and dancing in some of the biggest musicals in the world, but Charlie Stemp is now excited to be trying something different by taking on several roles in a comedy take on Dracula, he tells Fergus Morgan
They don’t make them like Charlie Stemp any more. Ever since the actor burst on to the scene in Half a Sixpence at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2016, he has enthralled audiences and critics alike with his all-singing, all-dancing, old-school charisma. With his broad smile, fast feet and boundless energy, he seems like a star of a bygone age….
What projects are you involved in at the moment?
I am in Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors at the Menier Chocolate Factory until early May. It is a quirky take on the classic story with some RuPaul and Monty Python thrown in. It is a five-hander, so we all play multiple roles. I play a bosun, Harker, Lord Cavendish and, at one point, I have two puppets and play three characters in one scene. It’s really funny. I’m known for singing and dancing in musicals, which I love, but it’s always nice to do something a little bit different. I love physical comedy. I grew up watching Norman Wisdom and Lee Evans and Jim Carrey; they were my comedy idols. So, it’s nice to start showing people another side of myself, because my legs are not going to work forever….