Interview: Elliotte Williams-N’Dure on UNFORTUNATE - THE UNTOLD STORY OF URSULA THE SEA WITCH
From multi-award-winning Fat Rascal Theatre and fresh from sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and around the UK comes this critically acclaimed hit parody musical, Unfortunate, splashing into Earls Court this summer for its London premiere. We caught up with the leading lady herself, Elliotte Williams- N’Dure, during rehearsals.
Tell us about Unfortunate and how does it add (or take away!) from the hugely beloved Disney classic, The Little Mermaid?
Unfortunate tells the untold story of the most wonderful, amazing Sea witch – Ursula. It's all about how she came to be, and it's bright and comedic and dirty and fun. I think it adds to her story for sure. We don't know about how Ursula came to be, we don't know why she hates Triton and has all this malice and revenge in her heart towards him and Atlantica. The show gives us a chance to find out.
Unfortunate has received huge amounts of praise in previous runs. What is it about this musical that audiences love so much?
I think that, apart from the fact that a lot of adults that are watching the show now feel very nostalgic toward the story, it is just an amazingly written comedy with wonderful music. Also, seeing all of the colourful, creative characters brought to life is quite the spectacle.
How have you approached the character of Ursula and finding the balance between giving audiences the villain they know and love whilst putting your own stamp on the role?
I relate a lot to Ursula and her story, and I think that’s made it easy to marry my performance style and personality to the character. It brings some humanity and something people can recognise to the role, as well as keeping the spirit of Ursula in tact.
Having featured in several popular musicals over the last few years, what is it like to step into the role of leading lady?
It’s an amazing trip. I am used to being a solo artist having had a career in house music before going into musical theatre, but it is a completely different beast. I am super excited, if a little apprehensive, but have complete confidence and great support in the whole team. It’s wild but I can’t wait!
How did you first discover Unfortunate and Fat Rascal Theatre and what was the process of landing this iconic role like?
The process was really fun. Luckily it’s a great creative team, Robyn’s a great director and really helped with guiding the audition. I actually only heard about Fat Rascal Theatre via the audition process and I’m really glad that I did. Their shows are so innovative and I really do believe that we could do with some great, new, well-written shows in theatre and this is definitely one of them.
Giving the villain a back story is quite common in modern culture, whether in musicals like Wicked, films like Maleficent and Cruella or TV shows like Once Upon a Time. What do you think makes this such a popular concept for both creators and audiences?
I think it’s relatability, and also understanding the background and where this character has come from. What made them make the choices that they made and how did they become what they are? Nobody is born evil in my opinion, no one is born a villain, so what’s happened in their life? You know, we all make choices and some of those choices we’re really not proud of and how do we come out of it? Do they have the ability to come out of it? When we look at characters like Maleficent, when you first watch Sleeping Beauty, you see this person that has essentially just cursed a baby because she didn’t get invited to a party but obviously that doesn’t make any sense! As a human being you say, ‘but why’ and I think it’s the why for creators, we always want to dive into characters and find the real root of where they come from. I think for audiences as well it’s looking at that and feeling reflective in themselves and thinking, maybe I’ve made choices and maybe people see me as a villain but if maybe they understood me a little bit more they would see me on a broader scale. I think good and bad, depending where you’re looking from, is very subjective and sometimes it’s good to look out at that and I think that’s what draws people to it. In a way, seeing the darkness and the light and the shadow side of that character, they could see it in themselves and other people around them and maybe have a little more acceptance and I think we all kind of want more acceptance.
What can audiences expect from Unfortunate and why should they come to see the show?
They can expect fun, filth and fabulousness. A wonderful, wonderful cast and a brilliant story with a lot of heart, soul and absolute hilarity. You should come if you like good musical theatre, because it is good!
Unfortunate - The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch plays at Underbelly Festival Earls Court from 21 June-16 July, with tickets available here.