Daddy Warbucks: "Moving to Brighton reignited my passion for life!"

SussexWorld

Moving to Brighton a couple of years ago has been truly life-transforming for Andy Clawson who plays Daddy Warbucks in PTC Arts Academy (Phoenix Theatre Company)’s production of Annie which comes to The Old Market in Hove from April 11-13.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers.

00:06Really lovely this afternoon to speak to Andy Clawson. Now, Andy, on the verge of a big

00:10theatrical adventure, you are about to be Daddy Warbucks in Phoenix Theatre Company's production

00:17of Annie at the Old Market in Hove from April the 13th, sorry, April the 11th to the 13th,

00:25and this is such a big moment for you, isn't it? Because you'd loved the theatre in the States,

00:30but moved away from the stage, etc. But moving to Brighton, something happened, and because of that,

00:36you're doing this now, aren't you? Yeah, absolutely. When I got to Brighton about two

00:41and a half years ago, just my heart started bursting open with creativity and reigniting

00:47my love for theatre and performing and wanting to get back into it. And, you know, I think one

00:52of the things that I love so much about Brighton and England as a whole is that, you know, amateur

00:58drama and community theatre is so accessible everywhere you go. So there were just so many

01:04opportunities and I just started grabbing them where I could. Were you moving to Brighton in

01:08search and hope that this would happen or did it take you by surprise? It actually kind of took me

01:14by surprise. You know, we just wanted to move to England and we thought we were just going to

01:18have a good time learning how to make a good cup of tea. And, you know, and just really, you know,

01:28kind of falling in love with the culture and everything. But then after being here for a

01:32couple of months, my partner and I were walking down St. James Street and I saw this flyer for

01:38a little two-week theatre course. And I was like, you know what? I haven't done that in years. It's

01:43what I wanted to do when I was younger. Let me just go ahead and sign up for it. And after I did

01:49that, it was done with. And I was like, OK, this is actually what I need to do with my life.

01:54When did you last do theatre before this then?

01:58I think the last show that I did was probably about 10 years ago, 10 to 15 years ago.

02:07So it has been a while. Of course, you know, you'll always find me at karaoke.

02:11You know, getting my performance love out in that aspect. But yeah, actually now being in

02:19such an amazing production and being back on stage and in rehearsals has just, you know,

02:26it's what I love doing. It's what I want to do. And I'm excited that I now finally have the

02:32opportunity to get back in.

02:33You're fired up now to the extent that you could upend your entire life and let the theatre reclaim you.

02:39I mean, I would love that. That would be the ultimate goal in life,

02:44that I can now actually make this the career that I've always wanted to. So,

02:48yeah, there's a there's a large part of me that's hoping that, you know,

02:51this will be that step forward to a full career change to live out my dream.

02:59Yeah, just a little bit. But then also, too, I'm very pragmatic in the fact that I know that,

03:04you know, this production, while I'm so in love with it and I love this character and being in it,

03:10it's also great because it's really about the kids and giving the chance to show these

03:15amazingly talented children off in multiple roles. So I just I think there's so many positives about

03:23it that sometimes I don't even want to think about myself because there's so many other people

03:28involved that are going to be getting so much out of it.

03:29Positives is in the character you're playing because, as you were saying,

03:33he has such an important journey, such an important message, doesn't he,

03:36that everyone would do well to take note of, wouldn't they?

03:40Yeah, I mean, you know, it's kind of funny. We're talking about, you know,

03:42me having a professional career outside of theatre and then wanting to get into it. And like,

03:46that's kind of Daddy Warbucks's journey. You know, he's this billionaire Republican businessman who

03:53has factories during the Great Depression that are shutting down. And that's all he's concerned

03:57about. But the next thing you know, there's this amazing plucky little red haired girl who comes

04:03into his life and he finally, for the first time in his life, understands love and understands

04:09what love truly is and that you can have billions of dollars, but if you have nobody to share it

04:14with, then really at that, what's the point then? So that arc of him understanding the human

04:20connection and love and building that family and how it changes him throughout the show

04:25is an incredible thing to play.

04:29It sounds a lovely prospect for you personally and for the whole company.

04:32So it's The Old Market, it's PTC, Phoenix Theatre Company, The Old Market, April the 11th to 13th.

04:39Andy, lovely to speak to you. Good luck with the whole thing. Thank you.

04:44Thank you so much.

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