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Stage set for intimate, cabaret-style night with West End star: In interview

Les Miserables star John Owen-Jones will be at Shanklin Theatre this weekend. <i>(Image: Catherine Ashmore and (inset) Pamela Parker.)</i>
Les Miserables star John Owen-Jones will be at Shanklin Theatre this weekend. (Image: Catherine Ashmore and (inset) Pamela Parker.)

Acclaimed West End performer John Owen-Jones may have seven studio albums and award-winning roles in hit musicals under his belt, but he isn't immune to arguably the Isle of Wight's favourite past-time - being worried about how the weather might thwart travel plans!

We chat on a sunny but blustery day and when I mention this he laughs and says: "Don't talk to me about the wind! Last year, I was stopped from coming to the Island because of a storm!

"It was for a gig with Collabro. It got pushed back, so I did eventually get there!"

Everything's crossed for his next trip across the Solent, on December 4, when he returns to Shanklin Theatre for a concert combining West End hits with Christmas classics - at what he hopes will be a "friendly, warm and entertaining evening."

John Owen-Jones is best known for his performances in Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera, in London's West End and on Broadway, in New York.

He is the youngest actor to have been Les Mis's Jean Valjean and has appeared more times as the iconic Phantom than any actor in the show’s entire West End run.

A hint of those classic roles will light-up the Isle of Wight stage on Sunday, at 7.30pm.

"I just did a tour of the UK, called Music of the Night," John explains.

"It was really well received. I had a brilliant time doing it.

"I am bringing more-or-less that same show, but with some Christmas magic added.

"It's an intimate, fun, cabaret-style evening, where the audience gets involved and there's lots of chat."

Isle of Wight County Press:
Isle of Wight County Press:

John's visit comes ahead of big plans for 2023.

If variety is the spice of life, a forthcoming musical version of a hit tv show means John Owen-Jones will have bags of it!

"The most fun I have ever had on stage was in The Great British Bake Off Musical," he says.

It had a sold-out summer run in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire earlier this year.

"It's funny, heart-warming, moving. It's a brilliant ensemble piece. It's got a huge heart and it's not what people expect."

When The Great British Bake Off Musical moves to London's West End, starting February and running for just 12 weeks, John will be there - and rehearsals start soon.

Before that, he's squeezing in some Christmas concerts and even a gig in Japan - with a show that's been rescheduled four times, due to Covid-19.

Alongside theatre friends and colleagues, he's excited to finally be able to make a return to what he describes as the 'most amazing' country.

In the meantime, his Shanklin Theatre date promises something altogether more intimate, which is just the way John likes it.

"When you do an appearance with an orchestra and 10,000 people, you walk on and perform, then walk off.

"It's nowhere near as satisfying as talking to the audience, getting to know them and then singing.

"It makes the room whole, rather than an 'us and them'."

He'll perform alongside musical director, John Quirk, on piano.