J'AIME January 2018

Palladium, and when The Bodyguard
returned to London for a limited six-month
run it was Beverley who again took on the
starring role.
But while Beverley is clearly excelling in her
new theatre fame, singing is where she truly
comes into her own.
“I love the camaraderie of being with
everyone in a theatre show, having a crew
around me, which is a lot of fun, but I’m
absolutely a musician, a singer, a songwriter
and arranger, that’s what I am at my
core so it’s extremely natural and just so
comfortable for me,” she says.
“Being in theatre is a lot of work; you’re
sharing the stage with a lot of people which
is beautiful, but you’re doing shows six days
a week and sometimes twice in a day, which
is tough.
“When I’m on stage doing my own thing
I’m just feeling it; in the theatre production
I’m always thinking about what’s next,
what I need to be doing. It’s wonderful
though; it’s really good to do things which
challenge you.”
As if 2017 hadn’t been hectic enough for
the Wolverhampton lass, in November
she teamed up with British singer Cassidy
Janson and American actress Amber Riley
to form a musical theatre supergroup,
known collectively as the Leading Ladies.
Their debut album, Songs from the Stage,
features covers songs from Cats, Beautiful
and Rent among others.
“We’ll see how that goes; maybe we’ll get
to tour the album, which will be fantastic if
we do,” Beverley says.
“But after that, who knows? I’ve given up
guessing, I can’t predict what I’m doing
anymore; a show could come along, a play
could come along and I’ve got to write
another album, that’s for sure!
“But I’m sure whatever I end up doing, it’ll
be a great experience!”
Beverley Knight is starring as Fairy
Godmother in Cinderella at the
Birmingham Hippodrome until Sunday,
January 28. For more information and to
book tickets call the box office on
0844 338 5000 or visit
www.birminghamhippodrome.com.
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