Interview: Emily Davis of comedy musical, Blodwen Rocks the Boat

Emily Davis as Blodwen.

Following a hit run at the Edinburgh Fringe (★★★★ Three Weeks, Dark Chat), ‘Blodwen Rocks the Boat’ comes to The Quay Theatre, Sudbury in March and promises audiences a joyful, satirical and uplifting hour of musical mischief.

The show has been created by Welsh singer and actor, Emily Davis, and follows one woman’s hilarious journey from burnout to breakthrough - perfect for anyone who’s ever quit a job, questioned their choices or just needs a good laugh!

With music by Andy Campbell Smith, it is described as a show for the dreamers, the doers and anyone ready to jump ship.

We were delighted to chat to Emily in advance of her Suffolk performance to find out more about both her and the coming production…

So, Emily, tell us a bit about you…

I was born in Cardiff and raised in Pembrokeshire, so I’ve got the capital city and the Welsh coast running through my veins! I graduated from Cardiff University with a degree in French and Spanish and now split my time between London and Wales, having moved to the Big Smoke to follow my performing dreams. When I’m not on the stage I can usually be found dreaming about sailboats, reading about sailboats, talking about sailboats or, if I’m very lucky, sailing a sailboat. Failing that I’ll be in the swimming pool or the bath, anything to satisfy my need to be near the water.

I’m a proud Welshwoman who loves rugby (even if I don’t understand it) and singing, and who never gets upset when it rains.

What is your history as a performer? Where did it all begin?

On the school assembly stage at a very young age - singing Welsh hymns and playing the recorder. My first ever performance that I remember doing was in a local Eisteddfod, on a Sunday afternoon in a church in mid Wales. I must have been seven years old, and I remember wearing a black velvet skirt and a cream embroidered blouse that I was very proud of. When I’d done my singing and reciting I wouldn’t let my family leave because I was certain I would win. Which I did. I wish I still had that level of self belief!

I was also drafted into the Year 4 production of ‘Matilda (Who Told Lies and was Burned to Death)’ when I was in Year 5, because they didn’t have enough girls. By then I was hooked! I joined a local amateur operatic society in my teens and again after university, playing principal roles in ‘Kiss me Kate’ and ‘The Bohemian Girl’ before I took the plunge and hit the bright lights of London in 2010. Since then I’ve trained with Dr Gillyanne Kayes at The Actors Centre and Poor School.

In 2013, I started in cabaret following a Singer’s Cabaret Course run by Paulus the Cabaret Geek. Several one-woman shows, lots of concerts and roles in plays and musicals later, I’m about to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the fifth time with my first original, self-penned musical: ‘Blodwen Rocks the Boat’. The Quay Theatre show is part of my preview tour.

Tell us about your alter ego: Blodwen.

She’s a Welsh woman with a big heart and an even bigger voice. She’s fearless, open and trusting, and has a fundamental unshakeable faith in the fact that everything will always be OK in the end. Blodwen’s got a unique way of looking at the world that comes from growing up in a tiny village and living vicariously through all the books she read as a child, before she left the Welsh hills for the streets of London. She’s fiercely proud of her heritage, but always looking for ways to make her world bigger. She’s basically me without the baggage!

I love being her on stage because she’s so free and uninhibited - childlike even in some ways - and I wish we could all hold on to a bit more of that as we got older. It makes for much more joy in life.

What inspired your latest show: Blodwen Rocks the Boat?

My own experience of working in a corporate environment, conversations with friends about their jobs and the weird and wonderful things we do in an office, and a hen do in Mallorca spent on a 70ft yacht in very rough seas.

Tell us about the show. What can audiences expect?

It’s a funny, uplifting, one-woman musical comedy, full of original songs, sharp humour and a lot of warmth.

Blodwen joins the rat race at the bottom of the corporate ladder, and climbs pretty far up before she starts to think about what she’s doing and wonders whose dream it is she’s actually chasing. There are stationery cupboards, sales managers and sailboats…and a sea shanty - but no more spoilers!

Blodwen had a hit run at the Edinburgh Fringe - what was that experience like?

There’s nothing like the Edinburgh Fringe…that I know of anyway. It’s scary and chaotic and overwhelming, and at the same time totally mindblowing, inspiring and beautiful. As a performer it really is a marathon and a really good way to learn how to manage the adrenaline cycle. Whenever I’m up there I go to as many shows as I have the energy for, and it’s where I’ve seen the most incredible performances of my life. The best thing about it is the audiences - it feels like such an honour when people actually turn up to your show, because there is SO much competition. The whole thing always passes by in a blur but it’s the people who stand out.

Have you played The Quay Theatre in Sudbury before?

I’ve never been to the Quay Theatre, but I’ve heard very good things from performing colleagues and it’s got a fabulous programme. It’s a gorgeous, intimate theatre and I absolutely love touring - seeing and staying in towns and cities, and meeting so many different people. Everyone there has been so lovely and helpful since we were booked in and I can’t wait to get up to Sudbury!

How would you like audiences to react to the show?

I would like them to be taken out of themselves and away from the horrors of the world for an hour and get behind Blodwen as she blazes her own trail. I love it when people feel inspired and uplifted, and ultimately I just want to spread a bit of joy!

Tell us about your writing process. How long does it take to write a show?

Aaaah how long is a piece of string? It really varies. The first draft is usually pretty quick to get down, but it’s the editing and refining that takes the time. I usually get my best ideas in the swimming pool, which is not the best place to take notes! So, I’m usually scrambling for my phone as soon as I get out to record a voice note so I don’t forget. And then it’s a case of sitting down, fleshing it out, walking away from it, coming back to it, starting again - there’s nothing linear about it! From initial idea to where I am now with the show took about a year. I did lots of ‘work in progress’ performances, added songs, took songs out and then got in a room with Paulus (my Director) and Andy (my Accompanist), and workshopped the whole thing very intensely until I felt like I was finally saying what I wanted to say.

We’ll spend a few days rehearsing now before the tour starts, because the last time we performed the show was in October, so we will no doubt be a little rusty!

Do you get nervous before performing?

Yes, I definitely get nervous! It’s nothing like when I started out though. I’ve learned to make friends with my nerves and I think I’d be worried now if I didn’t have any. It’s such an odd physiological experience, performing; I can feel sick and wobbly and utterly panicked, but as soon as I step out on to the stage those feelings turn into something magical. You just have to trust that that will happen and not be too worried by the feeling sick and wobbly etc!

On a show day I like to go swimming in the morning if I can and mostly be quiet; this powerful instinct to conserve my energy comes over me and I become very methodical and deliberate, which is nothing like my usual state.

The show is now on tour - do you like touring?

I love touring. I love going to places I’ve never been to before, and I like to go for a walk in a new town with no Google Maps, just me starting from somewhere and trying to find my way back. I love anywhere along the coast. I did a show in Chichester last year and the following day went down to the marina and ended up walking six miles along the shoreline. Since I’ve been traveling a lot more as a performer, it feels like the UK’s got so much bigger and I want to feel like I’ve been everywhere!

What shows do you enjoy watching? Any dream roles?

Anything that takes me somewhere else and makes me think without noticing. I want to feel a little bit changed when I go to the theatre.

The first musical I ever saw in the West End was ‘A Little Night Music’ - that was 16 years ago, but I’ve never forgotten the way I felt. I was so transfixed that I didn’t want to leave my seat in the interval and break the spell.

I’d love to play Desiree and I’d love to play Donna in ‘Mamma Mia’. Musical theatre is technically a genre but I feel like it has so many genres within it – ‘Mamma Mia’ and ‘A Little Night Music’ are totally different beasts but I find them equally appealing for very different reasons.

What does the future hold?

More touring I hope! This is a taster tour that is hopefully going to get me up to the Edinburgh Fringe this year, and then I want to get this show out far and wide across the UK - maybe even further afield!

I’m writing a lot in the background, mostly for Blodwen. I know where I want her to go next, but at the moment she’s having a lovely time where she is so I’m not quite ready to share the next part of her story.

I’m also super excited to be recording an album of songs from the show, which will be available from early February. Never done that before!

To be honest, I’m very much enjoying the ride at the moment and I’ll take whatever gets thrown at me.

Our thanks to Emily for chatting with us.

Blodwen Rocks the Boat is at The Quay Theatre in Sudbury on 27 March at 7.30pm.

FOR SHOW DETAILS AND BOOKING LINK, CLICK HERE