In conversations with the cast and creatives of ‘We Aren’t Kids Anymore’

Drew Gasparini’s latest creation arrives to the West End scene, featuring a star-studded cast playing for one day only at the Savoy Theatre. Guillermo Nazara chats with the entire team, to learn more about the development of this new heart-warming, coming-of-age musical – and giving us an exclusive sneak peek at what’s happening in the rehearsal room.

This is no Peter Pan – but the concept stems from a similar core theme, only soaring beyond and higher. Growing up is a conflictive matter. We can’t wait for it to happen when we are children. But when we’ve really done it, we long to go back to those times when we really enjoyed the freedom we though we’d have as adults.

This is still an inspiring piece – from its compelling writing to its stunning execution. You can feel the excitement floating in the rehearsal room’s air when those involved know they have something special in their hands – this time, it was more than a gentle breeze. Drew Gasparini’s latest musical is finally landing on the West End stage. Two performances, one day only – and a star-studded cast one could only dream of, and will probably do after coming to see them.

It’s Day Two in preparations. The cast has been given roughly over 24 hours to get ready for a horde of critics and journalists eager to see what they have. To everyone’s amazement, it’s actually four numbers that they are regaling us with – and all of them, done with astonishing ease and confidence. Each character introduces themselves as the opening song plays along. Surprisingly, everybody’s name is Drew.

“It’s such an amazing concept”, says lead actress Aimie Atkinson. “All the Drews are one aspect of the same person. The idea is to represent what we are as human beings. Even as adults, regardless of how old we are, we end up realizing that we haven’t fully grown up. But we all are doing our best – and all of us are going on a different journey. The great thing about it, though, is that the audience can take what they want from each character.”

Its touching philosophy is matched by its alluring score – blending elements of modern pop-rock music with harmonies deeply rooted in theatrical grounds. The agreement on what drew every member of the cast to take part in the show is unanimous: Gasparini’s music.

“It’s such a great privilege to do it”, comments Melanie La Barrie. “I didn’t know anything about this project until the director approached me, and it’s such a pleasure! But it’s a great challenge too! We only have two weeks to learn A LOT of music. It’s going to be such a big process, but we’ve already been able to prepare 8 songs in just two days. I don’t usually sing this type of music either, so I’m trying to find my way through it with my voice. But I love that!”.

It’s a subject that resonates with everybody in the company: how we observe and think of things now, and how we’ll do it when time has taken us onto another place in our paths.

“We are all finding ourselves in Drew”, says Jenna Lee-James. “We all have our own interpretation behind every single line. It’s going to be something really unique, because it will be presented through five different perspectives. The one bit that I connected with was the idea of just being myself. I left home, in Scotland, to pursue my dream (which is exactly what the show is all about. I had my parents’ support, but I remember how, at the beginning, I didn’t want to tell them so I didn’t upset them. We all do that, but as you get older, you realize the importance of just being yourself, instead of being obsessed with being better.”

“When you’re in your 20s, there is this great need to exceed people’s expectations”, adds Dylan Mulvaney. “You fight to be taken seriously, and I feel like Drew’s music reflects that exceptionally well – always needing to be at the top of your game, which is what’s really got into to me.”

The appeal of the piece also goes beyond its story and repertoire. Creatives are keen to make every actor swap roles across the performances when a full-scaled production is brought on. A daunting task that doesn’t seem to intimidate the troupe, but actually excite them even more. “When you do the same character 8 times a week, it can get a bit repetitive”, explains Atkinson. “If we ever do this, it will feel like being a swing – waking up every morning knowing the role you’ll be playing is completely different to the night before!”.

“The beauty of Drew’s material, and his lyricism, allows to give a different approach to it quite easily,” explains director Jake Smith. “The core narrative arc of the songs is the same. You can twist and bend it. Everyone is making a choice or a change through each number, and they learn something from it. The whole ethos of the show is that everyone in the room is working with the entire material, and everyone is personalizing with it through their own perspectives as they learn it – it will allow us to unpack some of the stuff related to growing up we don’t talk about very often.”

With so many aces up their sleeve to entice audiences to come see this one-of-a-kind rendition, the consensus among the entire company is fairly simple – it’s the cast. “Just take a look around”, states La Barrie. “I feel like I’m at my very own private concert, and I just get to sit back and enjoy all of these amazing singers. Everyone will be bringing their own joy and specialties.”

Picture and video credit to Guillermo Nazara for First Night Magazine.

We Aren’t Kids Anymore will play at London’s Savoy Theatre for one day only on 28 April. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara