Keeping the casting news of your dreams a secret can be one hell of a challenge even for the smallest of shows, but for Moulin Rouge! The Musical’s leading lady, Verity Thompson had to sit on her exciting news for a whole year!
Verity is playing the lead role of Satine in the stage adaptation of the hit movie musical and has been routing the world for the last seven months.
While the role of the courtesan was made famous by Nicole Kidman, the stage production gives Verity the chance to leave her own mark on the character, telling Extra.ie she had originally auditioned for the West End cast change.
She explained: ‘I initially auditioned for the West End cast change, and the World Tour wasn’t even rumoured. I didn’t hear for a while and then I got a phone call saying we would like to offer you Satine for the World Tour.
‘So I sat on that for more than a year until rehearsal started. It was hard to keep the secret, but I feel like I did let it slip some of my family and friends, because they were making plans.
‘I said, “I can’t do that. I’m going to be away.” “Why are you going to be away?” Also, it’s the best news I’ve ever received, so all you want to do is just tell everybody.
‘When the announcement day finally came earlier this year, oh, it was so lovely just to not lie anymore.’
Not only did she have to wait a year for the news to be announced, but she also hadn’t seen the show before being cast, as it was still so new on Broadway and in the West End.
As a result, she set about giving Satine her own winks and nods and may have taken a few tricks from Nicole Kidman’s performance too.
She shared: ‘I’d never seen the stage show before getting the offer, so I think it helped my process with finding my feet with Satine.
‘But obviously, the iconic Nicole Kidman was just fantastic as Satine and that kind of playful energy she had when she was being courtesan in her very extravagant dressing room, that kind of playful energy, I feel like I may have taken a couple of tools from her toolbox and put them in mine.’
