Stowmarket-born Kerry Ellis may be the Queen of the West End, one of Wicked’s longest running Elphabas, she may have performed on Broadway, toured Europe with long-standing professional partner Brian May and dazzled audiences in Shanghai, but a homecoming concert in Suffolk still maintains a special place in her heart.
In October, the mum-of-two with a sensational voice returns to The Apex in Bury St Edmunds with a new album, Kings and Queens, and to take stock of her career so far.
‘I always say, ‘keep moving forwards’, that has always been my mantra, but sometimes in order to move forwards, you need to take stock of where you have been, and this is what this tour is all about,’ Kerry explains.
As well as showcasing songs from her new album, she will also be revisiting some iconic musical moments from her career and revealing, in a series of quirky anecdotes, how she came to play some of the leading roles in the biggest West End productions.
Kerry first performed at The Apex in 2010 to raise funds for the John Peel Centre in Stowmarket, and she has been back on half-a-dozen occasions since, either with solo shows, with her pal Brian May for an acoustic concert, which was recorded and issued on CD, or more recently with Essex X Factor star Matt Cardle.
She says that it’s the immersive atmosphere that makes it special. ‘It’s big enough to get a good crowd in and give the show a bit of buzz, but it’s small enough to still make a personal connection with everyone – and the acoustics are amazing.’
She laughs that no matter how many times she visits the theatre, she can’t get over how the area has changed from her childhood. ‘Although I was born in Haughley, which is a village just outside Stowmarket, I always regarded Bury as my closest “big town”. That’s where I learnt to drive and went out for the night. The area where The Apex is now used to be Lacey Scott’s animal auction pens, pretty much a farmyard in town, and now it’s this classy shopping centre and theatre district. I really have to remind myself that, of course, the town has changed, that 30 years have passed, but you tend to remember things how they were.’
Despite having what she describes as a sporty, hyperactive childhood, there was never any doubt that she was going to make a life on the stage. Kerry left Stowmarket High School, aged 16, to attend drama school Laine Theatre Arts, hot on the heels of fellow Suffolk performer Ruthie Henshall.
Prior to Laine, she had appeared at the Wolsey Theatre in a production of The Wizard of Oz. Also, while training, she gained experience and earned money performing at Potter’s Holiday Resort in Kessingland.
‘I was touring with Marti and Dave Willets in a show called The Magic of the Musicals. The show was booked at The Regent in Ipswich, and on the day of the show Marti came down with a sickness bug.’ Kerry smiles remembering her nerves at the time. ‘Because it was in Ipswich, I had all my home crowd there to support me: Mum, Dad, family and friends. They were all urging me on, which was great.
‘It felt strange because it was Marti Webb’s show, but that’s been the story of my life really, going on for names. I did the whole performance in Ipswich.’
History repeated itself when, a couple of years later, she made her West End debut as Martine McCutcheon’s understudy in Sir Trevor Nunn’s revival of My Fair Lady. Playing opposite Jonathan Pryce as Professor Higgins, Kerry made several appearances as Eliza Doolittle and became an overnight sensation.
‘My Fair Lady was incredible. It was a great step up for me. It was important not just in the type of show it was but also in getting my face known.’
Kerry is renowned for the power of her voice, and it was this that first attracted the attention of Queen guitarist Brian May who was in the audience one night and suggested she audition for the new Queen musical We Will Rock You.
Then came the first of her two runs in Wicked. She played Elphaba, the green-faced witch, from January 2007 until May 2009 giving 116 performances. She also became the first West End actress to fly to New York and take over the role on Broadway where she stayed for five months.
After Wicked, Kerry teamed up with Brian May again and recorded her debut album, Anthems, and the pair sold out The Royal Albert Hall for two performances before taking the album on the road.
More theatre followed, with Kerry starring as Nancy in Cameron Mackintosh’s revival of Oliver at The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opposite Griff Rhys Jones as Fagin. She followed that with a solo tour and then an acoustic tour with Brian May, which saw her return to The Apex. Songs from that evening then found themselves on Kerry and Brian’s second album together, Acoustic by Candlelight.
Back in the West End, she co-starred with Les Misérables’ leading man Ramin Karimloo in a new musical drama, Murder Ballad, which saw Kerry return to creating a role from scratch.
She followed her six months in Murder Ballad with stints in a touring production of Rent, then an arena tour of Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds with Jason Donovan, before being reteamed with Sir Trevor Nunn, her My Fair Lady director, playing Grizabella in a new production of Cats at The London Palladium.
These milestones will be featured in her Apex show, along with her post-lockdown hit Anything Goes, in which she played Reno Sweeney opposite Simon Callow, Bonnie Langford and Denis Lawson at The Barbican.
Despite being a veteran of a highly unstable industry, Kerry is proud of the fact that from her West End debut in 2001 until Covid in 2020, when all theatres shut down, she has never been unemployed.
Although lockdown was frustrating for her, Kerry had a productive time trapped indoors schooling her two boys, launching a new podcast and then writing songs and recording demos for her first self-penned album, which would become Kings and Queens.
This latest album features a new production team and is also the first to feature self-penned songs.
It is produced by Mike Stevens, who has previously worked with Annie Lennox, ELO, James Morrison and Take That, and it sees Kerry collaborate with renowned singer-songwriters Newton Faulkner and Jamie Lawson.
The sound of the new album is also something different for Kerry. It has a more Americana feel than her previous releases, which were a mix of pop, theatre and rock. ‘This album is a more grown-up album. It’s a reflection of me as I am now. Where I am in my life and the sort of album I would listen to when I am driving in the car.
‘I feel the songs have a lived-in quality, they are weighty and have something to say about our world and how we live our lives.’
The album kicks off with the title track, which celebrates both the coronation of King Charles III and her two-decade friendship with Queen guitarist Sir Brian May.
Kerry credits producer Mike Stevens with giving her the confidence to explore different sides of her musical personality. ‘He was great. We clicked straight away. He really got what I was trying to achieve with this album. He had such a positive can-do attitude, and it was great to be around. He wasn’t afraid to push me to enable me to get to that place where I said I wanted to be.’
What of the future? Kerry will not be drawn. She is currently doing a two-month tour and is then open to offers. She says she is looking for something that ‘speaks to her’.
So, after all these years in the spotlight, who inspires Kerry Ellis? Who are the people she listens to or aspires to be like? Her answer comes with no hesitation. Four names are rattled out – two classic divas and two contemporary giants. ‘I love Liza Minnelli and Barbra Streisand, two musical-theatre icons, and Pink and Lady Gaga, both icons in the making. They are all inspirational to me.’
Kerry Ellis – Queen of the West End is at The Apex, Bury St Edmunds, on Thursday October 24, 2024.
