She’s not as fast as an F1 pit stop but Joanne Clifton must hold some kind of quick-change record even so.
Grimsby-born Joanne, an actress and professional dancer who previously starred in the BBC hit show Strictly Come Dancing, is currently playing the leading lady, or should that be ogre, in Shrek The Musical, which is heading for Hull New Theatre next week.
Gearing up for her 200th performance as Princess Fiona in Milton Keynes, where the touring show concludes a run this weekend, Joanne said she is “absolutely loving” a role that has so many similarities to her own personality. It is very different from the last theatrical guise she adopted, playing Morticia in The Addams Family.
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“It’s the opposite end of the scale, which makes it really interesting,” said Joanne, sister of another former Strictly professional, Kevin Clifton. “I literally get applauded every night for farting on stage.”
That is one of the characteristics that Joanne does not share with her alter-ego, she is quick to point out. “With Morticia, it was such a challenge being still, that’s not my personality.
“With Fiona, I’m much more similar, there’s a lot of Joanne in there. In terms of being a bit goofy, that’s much nearer real life.”
One thing Joanne has to do in the role is look sharp with a change off stage for the closing scenes. “I have about 56 seconds to run off as human Fiona, get the wig off, get the dress off.
“There are about five people on me – they even pick up my feet for me because I have my eyes closed for the green make-up to go on to cover my face, chest and the top of my back. There’s the ogre padding, the ogre wig with the ears and a prosthetic nose gets stuck on.
“It does feel like a pit stop because it’s so fast and it’s probably the thing I am most anxious about because I don’t want anything to go wrong – I don’t want to be going back on and my nose falls off! But we’re eight months into the tour and it becomes a choreographed kind of thing, we all work together.”
Although Joanne has a big tap number at the beginning of Act 2, and there’s I’m A Believer for her character to boogie to among the show tunes, it is not full-on dancing for the star, so she has not had any problems with her knees – Joanne has previously spoken about her struggles with arthritis – but she says she does have to watch what she eats to some degree as she does not burn off what she would have done in her younger years, when she did Flashdance, for example.
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
“I still like my sausage buns, and I’ve just been to an all-you-can-eat buffet, but when I was younger, I could eat anything I wanted. This show only has a bit of dancing, and I am older (Joanne is 40), so it’s harder to shift the extra pounds. I have gone onto soya milk, just because I like it.”
Joanne said the audiences for Shrek had been “absolutely brilliant” so far and the show has been playing to almost capacity venues every night. She’s hoping for the same of her “home” crowd in Hull, and the rest of the tour, which breaks in May before a summer run in London.
“I think a lot of people from Grimsby will be coming to watch. I also teach in some dance schools in Hull and I think a lot of the pupils are hoping to come and see it. There’s something about playing to your home audience.”
Joanne said: “I think there’s this idea that Shrek is just for kids, but there are so many adults who come along in their headbands with Shrek ears on and there are so many jokes for adults that just fly over the kids’ heads.”
When the break in the tour does come, Joanne, who brought out her debut album in December called Like Nobody’s Watching, said she might do some more teaching, go on holiday and get some rest. “I’ll be able to get the green out of my ears,” she said.
“That’s become a part of my life. I’m staying at a Premier Inn in Milton Keynes and the pillows are just green. I don’t know what they are going to think when they come to change the bed.”
After Shrek, Joanne will be starting in another show, though the details are currently under wraps. “I’m very busy but to be able to do what I love as a job makes me very happy.”
Shrek The Musical opens at Hull New Theatre on Tuesday, March 5, with Antony Lawrence as Shrek, Joanne Clifton as Princess Fiona and Brandon Lee Sears as Donkey. It runs until Sunday, March 10.
