FORMER PUSSYCAT DOLL
ON HER MOST INTIMATE STAGE ROLE YET — AHEAD OF HER OWN BIG DAY
Nicole Scherzinger has been happily engaged to rugby ace Thom Evans since his exotic proposal in Portugal over the summer.
But it’ll be a wonder if she has time to fit in any wedding planning: the singer and actress’s schedule is jam-packed as she embarks on her most intimate role yet – as Norma Desmond in the West End revival of Sunset Boulevard.
“It’s more physically demanding than doing a Pussycat Dolls tour,” says Nicole of the Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical about a faded silent movie star in late 1940s Los Angeles, as hello! joins her at London’s Savoy Hotel for an afternoon tea to hear about her newest projects.
“You could do six shows a week in different countries [with the Pussycat Dolls], but this show takes a lot; it’s a very demanding role,” adds Nicole, who is doing seven shows a week during the show’s 16-week run until 6 January.
Indeed, the raw emotion of Norma is a world away from the glamour of Nicole’s time in the Pussycat Dolls, the girlband in which she found fame in the Noughties alongside Ashley Roberts, Kimberly Wyatt and Melody Thornton.
“It’s quite an experience. It’s not what people are going to expect. You get to see us fully exposed,” continues the 45-year-old, who tells us that before going on stage this evening she will, in fact, take make-up off, instead of putting it on.
BAREFOOT ON STAGE
“Our director Jamie Lloyd has completely taken us out of our comfort zone. I’m barefoot and I wear one black slip [dress], no jewellery and not much make-up for the whole thing,” she says.
“It’s an intimate production because it is so stripped-back that you’re forced to be emotionally invested. You don’t have any of the distractions of a set piece or costuming or props.” Nicole admits she was hesitant about taking the role of a “has-been” movie star at first.
“Jamie called me up and said: ‘I want you to do Sunset Boulevard,’ , and I said: ‘What?’ I was a bit taken back, because I’m like: ‘Hey, I still look good under bright lights. Don’t put me in that place as a has-been!’ But when I read her story, it completely related. I just fell in love with Norma. In a weird way, this is the role that I was meant to play my whole life and I didn’t know.”
