Evita: Interview with Seamus Cullen

Barbara Hodgson, The Journal

SOMETIMES life can throw you a wild card – and new possibilities suddenly open up. That’s what happened to Seamus Cullen, whose chance visit to a London blues bar proved a turning point.

Until then, Cullen’s whole working career had been in sales and marketing and singing was very much in the background.

Now the opposite is true: Evita fans will see the 37-year-old playing Che Guevara alongside Rachael Wooding’s Eva Perón in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s hit musical which opens its two-week run at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle, tonight.

Cullen, recalling that turning point – about 10 years ago now – explains how he was working nine to five at the time in an events company in the capital.

He says: "I’d gone into the office on a Sunday to do some work and a university friend of mine called to say he was in a blues bar around the corner and to come for a drink.

"I ended up going and we were there until the wee hours and got very drunk!

"The next day I went back to say thank you to the owner who’d bought us loads of drinks – we’d had a wonderful time. He wasn’t there but I saw a sign saying they had jamming sessions on a Monday night."

So along he went. He ended up joining in – "I sang a few songs" – and loved the reaction. It was then he questioned his career.

Seamus says: "I just thought, what am I doing?"

And once that answer came to Cullen, who was born in the US to Irish parents, his career move finally brought him to the attention of the viewing nation when he appeared on BBC talent-seeking show Any Dream Will Do. There he reached the final 10 in Lloyd Webber’s hunt for the next musical star of Joseph.

Much mention was made of the fact that, at 35, he was the oldest contestant in the competition, which was finally won by Lee Mead.

That was two years ago now. He says of his experience: "Like a rat or a dog in a corner, if you back me into a corner, I’ll bite back. It seems he did not respond well to the authority and regime of the show.

"I did feel a bit oppressed. I’d say, why do I have to get up early, go to bed late, when I have to perform in front of six million people on Saturday?

"And why keep asking me what I really think of Lee, when he’s a fantastic performer." He sums up: "Well, they want a bit of drama."

Nevertheless, the show opened doors for him, of course, and Cullen landed a role in Thriller Live!

His growing CV takes in some TV, film and stage performances alongside Westlife, Rod Stewart and Dionne Warwick. He’s also in choir rock band Mosquito which has released a debut EP, The Crying Girl.

But he also slipped back into his nine-to-five job before getting his current role in Evita in which he’s now been touring for nearly a year.

The musical, about the rags to riches life of Eva Perón – and featuring the number one hit Don’t Cry For Me Argentina – has proved a three-year success story.

The cast of this touring production will have a summer break but, with still more months to run, its gruelling schedule demands a huge commitment.

It’s meant Cullen’s other plans – he’s now trained as a singing teacher -– have been put on hold. Having to maintain the level of singing involved as a teacher, on top of nightly shows and matinees, would just not be healthy, he says.

Che is occupying him full-time and, as he discusses the Latin American revolutionary, it’s clear he’s done his homework.

He admits he loves history, a subject he studied at A level.

But this role, he says, is not a realistic account, "although there are biographical references".

"The person on the page is not him: Che didn’t say these things, so I don’t have the duty to be close to the truth that Benicio Del Toro (who played Che on film) had.

"He’s portrayed as a peasant. Che was not a peasant – he was very much middle class – but it captures the spirit of a revolutionary who questions the moral integrity and political integrity of the political classes."

In the musical, Che is about 26 and Cullen says: "He admires Eva, possibly even fancies her.

"There’s an attraction and a meeting of minds, but he does get impatient with it."

Through her marriage to Argentine dictator Juan Perón and rise to power, Eva becomes the establishment, he says, and it isn’t the kind Che wants to be a part of.

He has no problem finding the energy night after night to capture the spirit of the man who, he says, "took no prisoners; he didn’t compromise".

"That’s the responsibility of an actor when he takes on a job like this. And with the music, the lyrics, the direction we get, it’s so easy to find the passion. In some ways it’s easier than a nine-to-five job."

Work is something "I’m very, very passionate about" and he’s equally eager to inspire others.

He’s been working with a cancer charity, saying if people devoted an hour of their time it could help make a difference to those less fortunate. "I’m very clear I want to contribute".

And why shouldn’t people be able to make transitions in their careers without questions?

He cites the success of singers such as American Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson, who went on to win an Oscar, and Pop Idol winner Will Young, who acted alongside Judi Dench in the film Mrs Henderson Presents.

Can you imagine, he asks, Robbie Williams visiting schools to inspire children, like with David Beckham and his football academy?

"They say ‘those who can do, and those who can’t teach’, but wouldn’t those who can do AND teach make brilliant teachers?" After all, the right inspiration could help people find the right route in life – one he might have missed.

Cullen says he never stops learning. And he intends picking up a few things about Newcastle during this, his first, visit.

:: Evita is at Theatre Royal, Newcastle, until July 4. Visit www.theatreroyal.co.uk 08448 112 121.