“That is something that will stay with you forever.”
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat is a show that any musical theatre lover is familiar with, it means something special to anyone who has seen it.
For Jac Yarrow who is currently taking his turn as the title character, it has been a whirlwind of emotions.
Starting in the role at the London Palladium in 2019 and reprising it again in 2021, the show is now on tour and currently at Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.
While playing the role itself means so much to Jac, it was when he was nominated for an Olivier Award in 2020 that he truly knew the show had changed his career.
Speaking to Her.ie, Jac said: “Growing up it was definitely a show I knew about, and a show that everyone’s had an experience with of some sort. To do it was amazing, it kind of feels like you’re joining a really exclusive club.
“People have all kinds of different stories and we see people at stage door every day that have different experiences with the show and grew up singing the songs, or doing it at school. It’s nice to be a part of something that resonates so much with people.
“I’ve wanted to be a performer since I was about seven years old so to be nominated for something like that in my eyes was the industry’s way of saying ‘welcome, you did a good job’ and that is something that will stay with you forever. It’s a big honour and some people don’t get experience that ever in their careers so I felt very lucky to be able to have that experience so early on.”
As the show had been closed for months, Jac didn’t think a nomination was a possibility and admitted he wasn’t even watching the live stream where it was being announced. It wasn’t until his phone was going 90 that he knew how much of an impact on the industry he had made.
Currently touring with the production, people far and wide that have grown up with the show are approaching him at stage door to say just how the show has impacted their outlook on theatre, another thing Jac does not take for granted.
“People do want to go out of their way to let you know what their experience has been with the show. It’s nice because you get people who are in their 40s, 50s, who are saying that it was the first musical they saw back in the 90s and then you’ve got little kids coming and their parents telling you it’s their first time to the theatre, it’s amazing that it’s such a timeless show in that way and it’s kind of resonates with different generations as opposed to one age group. It’s a unicorn musical in that sense.”
“I feel very lucky to still be apart of the show, to take on tour is amazing because people kind of resonate with it more in these different cities as opposed to just in London. It’s really a show that has touched people so to be able to take it to their doorstep is really cool.”
Planning on sticking with theatre for the foreseeable, and maybe dipping his toes more into TV, Jac revealed who is one dream role would be if the opportunity came.
“I’d love to do the musical version of Catch Me If You Can, the music in that is really cool. It’s never been to London before, it’s never made it over from the US. I’d love to play the lead in that, that’s a great part.”
