West End performer Meesha Turner discusses her recent role in Stranger Things: The First Shadow, her debut in Six the Musical and working in pantomime for the first time.
As Christmas fast approaches, theatres across the UK are preparing for the great British tradition of pantomime. A flamboyant panto dame, a good baddie, innuendos and lots of audience participation are at the heart of what makes a panto great. However, whether you’re Alison Hammond stepping on stage at the Birmingham Hippodrome or Jennifer Saunders performing at the London Palladium, pantos can be a very demanding time.
Meesha Turner is an actor, singer and dancer, most notable for her West End debut in Six the Musical, playing ‘Catherine Parr’.
Originally from Birmingham, Meesha is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, where she received the Disney Theatrical Productions Scholarship. She was named Alumna of the Year in 2022 by Brunel University, where she studied Drama and English, and has performed songs from Six the Musical on This Morning, Dancing On Ice and at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Buckingham Palace in 2022.
She recently performed as featured ensemble in the original cast of Stranger Things: The First Shadow – the stage adaptation of the Netflix series Stranger Things, and is now playing ‘Jazz’ in her first pantomime Aladdin at The Norwich Theatre Royal.
We spoke to Meesha about her exciting foray into pantomime, as well as her West End debut experience and auditioning for Six and Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Here’s what she had to say:
Hi Meesha! Can you tell us how you first got into acting and musical theatre?
So I was a bit of a late bloomer for getting into musical theatre. I did an undergrad in English and Drama. I just chose the best two A Levels that I had done and then I worked ‘Muggle’ jobs for a few years. I worked in retail, I worked in HR, then I was working for a secondary school as a music coordinator. I had been singing part time, just doing some gigs and stuff, because I enjoyed singing, but I never considered pursuing musical theatre full time.
Someone I know went to the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) and they were quite successful afterwards, and they said to me, “You should try auditioning for RAM and just see what happens.” And, long story short, I auditioned and I ended up getting a Disney scholarship which paid for all of my fees. I was like, “Okay, I guess I am giving musical theatre a go!”
I was quite fortunate to have got in and got the music scholarship, and then it was all guns blazing!
What was the transition like for you going from training at The Royal Academy of Music to working on the West End?
The transition was wild! I absolutely loved training at RAM and I learned so much in a short space of time. It’s an intense year – you have long days and then our third term was actually just at the start of Covid, so we had our third term online. That was… interesting.
Suddenly I got thrown into auditioning and I was fortunate enough to get a really good agent at the end of year, and then all of a sudden I was in Six on the West End, which was my dream show. I couldn’t quite believe it, but I took it day by day, and it was very overwhelming because obviously Six has got such a huge fan base. Everyone was so supportive and I got really fortunate with the group of people that I was cast with because they were all incredible. There were a couple of us that were making either our professional or West End debuts, so we were all in it together and had that support network. It was quite the jump!
You’re currently starring in your first pantomime in Norwich Theatre Royal’s production of Aladdin, playing the role of ‘Jazz’. As your first experience working on a pantomime, how was the rehearsal period?
Rehearsals went super well. It was a fast process – we had two weeks to block the show and on the third week we started technical rehearsals. It was all very fast-paced and we had long days. We got a lot done in a short amount of time, but we had a very efficient team who luckily built a sturdy schedule for us to stick to. So, yeah, we managed to get it all done and now we’ve just opened and it’s all going well so far!
How does working on a pantomime differ from a play or a musical?
In terms of preparation, a pantomime doesn’t really differ from a play or a musical. You still have to learn your lines, you still have to learn the choreography, the set scenes and whatnot. The same amount of effort has to go in.
I suppose the only difference is the performance level, because everything has to be slightly heightened, and you’ve got an audience that you already know in advance is going to be a lot of children. Whereas with a play or a musical, you never know what kind of audience you’re going to get. You have to be bright and bushy tailed, giving that CBeebies energy! So it’s always a ‘bring your A game’ day.
Pantomime relies a lot on audience participation. Have you been taught any tricks or given any advice for how to deal with things not going to plan?
Improvisation is key for sure! You’ve just got to be open-minded, say, “Yes, and,” and be willing to make something new up on the spot. Whether that’s because something goes wrong with your scene partner, or the audience doesn’t react how you expect them to react, you’ve got to improvise!
How do you warm up before performing on stage and maintain your stamina when performing?
A warm up is vital. For this show, we do a 15 minute physical warm up and then a 15 minute vocal warm up. If it’s an early show, then I might do a bit of extra vocal warm up in my dressing room. It’s key.
In terms of stamina, there’s a lot of breath control. You really have to pace yourself and snatch breaths when you can. I find that as soon as I am turned up-stage away from the audience, I try to take a big deep breath if I am mid-song, just to get my breath back. You have got to pace yourself.
What advice would you give to actors who want to get work in pantomimes?
I would say to give 100% energy. If you think you’re doing too much, you’re probably not, and don’t be afraid to look silly. Pantomimes are all about having fun and being larger than life so always give it 100%.
If you are auditioning in a dance or vocal audition or doing scene work, imagine you are playing to the back of the dress circle or the back of the grand and play big!
Meesha as ‘Jazz’ in ‘Aladdian’ / Image credit: Andi Sapey
How do you look after yourself whilst working on a panto?
I drink plenty of water, and I exercise. For this show, I’m not really part of some of the big ensemble dance numbers, so I’m making sure I get my exercise elsewhere. I go for runs in the morning and I also find that if I exercise in the morning it helps my vocal performance for a show. Eating well, making sure I’ve got a good balance in my diet and finding downtime where I can rest is key as well.
I make sure I get a good eight hours of sleep. When I’m in between shows, I have as much vocal rest as possible, just chill out, watch an episode of something or read my book. Rest is very important.
You just finished a run in Stranger Things: The First Shadow as a featured member of the ensemble. What can you tell us about that audition process?
The audition for Stranger Things was a great process. It was kind of short – I think I only had three auditions. In the first audition, I sang a song and did a scene for our associate director, Audrey [Sheffield]. Even though it’s a play, there is some singing involved and my character had to sing. In my second audition I was pretty much doing the same material but for more people in the room, so one of our directors, Justin Martin, was also there and gave me some directorial notes.
Then I had my final audition, which was in front of a massive panel. There were some of the Netflix team there, some of the Sonia Friedman production team there, and both Justin and Stephen [Daldry] – the directors. I pretty much had to do all the material that I had learned so far for them, but it was a very supportive, welcoming room. It was a brand new show so it was unclear exactly what my role would be and I had some general scenes but yeah – it obviously went successfully!
The show is based on the hit Netflix television series Stranger Things. Did that inform your preparation and performance at all?
The play is a prequel to the TV show, so most of the play is set in the 1950s. For my specific characters, I didn’t have to do too much preparation because they were brand new characters, but in terms of performance it all had to be time period relevant. That was the only thing I suppose with creating these characters that myself, my fellow actors and directors had to be aware of.
One of the amazing things was with some of the characters – because it was a brand new show – we got to create ourselves. Yeah, I just had to be aware of what Stranger Things was about and the time period in which it was set.
Can you tell us about the demand of a featured ensemble member and what are some common misconceptions?
Being an ensemble member in a big show, well in any show really, is very demanding. Obviously it changes from show to show, but Stranger Things had a lot going on. A lot of scenes involving the ensemble, and I think a misconception with a show like Stranger Things is, when there’s very well-known characters in it, that the ensemble aren’t as important, but if anything they keep the show going. We were integral to making a lot of the scenes happen and it’s demanding because you’re in a lot of scenes, there’s different characters and you have quick changes.
One of my quick changes was like 30 seconds. I had to change from one character to another and make sure I was on stage in time to say my line. So it’s very demanding, you don’t get much down time within the show, but it’s rewarding as well because you’re always changing character and doing something different.
What was an average day like for you working on Stranger Things: The First Shadow?
An average day for a one-show day would be a lie-in. I was definitely a night owl! So I would lie-in as long as I could in the morning to rest. Get up, have breakfast, go to the gym in the afternoon or do whatever social plans I had that afternoon. Then go into work and have some dinner before warm-up.
Have our physical warm up, vocal warm, go do make-up and get ready for the show. The show was quite long – it was three hours including interval. Then I go home. I was always still buzzing after a show, so I would stay up, put some TV on and chill out for the evening, and then wake up and repeat!
You also played ‘Catherine Parr’ in the West End musical Six. What was that experience like?
I absolutely loved playing Catherine Parr. It was one of my dream shows to be in, and I was very fortunate it was my West End debut. It was incredible, playing this incredible woman, and I got this amazing song to sing, I Don’t Need Your Love, which -, I’m biassed, but I think it’s the best song in the show!
I got really lucky with the cast that I was with, the people that I was working with were just incredible and they are my siblings for life now. So I felt very lucky to have been cast in it. I love that show and it was amazing to see so many people enjoying it as well. As a performer it’s amazing to look out and see all the fans enjoying it, to have all my friends and family come and watch it and just be so proud of me. I was very proud of myself for booking that.
Do you have a favourite memory from your time in Six?
I was very fortunate to be a part of many different events and performances during my year at Six. I’d say one of my favourites was getting to perform at the Queen’s Jubilee at Buckingham Palace. It was just incredible – we performed a number on the stage outside the palace as part of a show that had lots of other West End performers and popstars.
It was just incredible to be backstage and see all these incredible people that we were alongside. We got to go to the after party inside Buckingham Palace. I got to meet Alicia Keys, which just blew my mind! So that’s definitely a highlight for me from that year.
If you could choose a dream role to play in any musical, what would you choose and why?
There’s a lot of roles I’d love to play. If I was to name a couple, maybe ‘Mimi’ in Rent – that’s always been a dream, and I would love to do ‘Jenna’ in Waitress as well.
Probably most of all though, I would love to create new parts in new musicals. Do something that no one has done before and create those roles myself. There is such a need for new music, new shows and new theatre, and that’s something I’d definitely like to get more involved with.
How are you spending Christmas this year?
This Christmas I’m staying in Norwich because we have a show on Christmas Eve and also a show on Boxing Day. But my mum is coming from Birmingham to stay with me, so it’ll be a nice Christmas. She’s going to come and watch the Christmas Eve show and we’re going to go out for dinner on Christmas day and have a very merry Christmas indeed!
What’s your favourite Christmas film, or play?
So my favourite Christmas film probably has to be The Holiday. I feel like that’s everyone’s answer, but it’s because it’s a great film. Although I did watch a really cute animated Christmas film the other day called That Christmas which I would recommend!
Also my favourite Christmas play – I’m biassed because I was in it – but I went back to see it this year because I’ve got some friends in the cast. A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic. It’s just such a beautiful production. Obviously everyone knows the story of A Christmas Carol but The Old Vic version is just stunning. The staging, the lights, the music, it makes me cry. It’s just a beautiful, beautiful production. I think a lot of the run is sold out, but if you can get a ticket for this year please do!
Many thanks to Meesha for taking the time to discuss her invaluable experience with us.
You can see her performing as ‘Jazz’ in Aladdin at The Norwich Theatre Royal until 5 January 2025.
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