Interview: Sam Ebenezer on being a Swing in THE CHOIR OF MAN

The Choir of Man is still enjoying huge success in London’s West End - it’s a party, it’s a concert, it’s a lock in like no other! We spoke to Sam Ebenezer who is one of the production’s Swings, about what his role entails and how it is performing in such a popular show.

You’re currently a Swing in The Choir of Man in the West End. For those who may not know, please can you tell us a bit about how that works?

A swing is the same as a cover/understudy. So our job is to learn a certain number of roles and be ready to go on and cover anything from holidays, injuries, illnesses etc. We could have shows scheduled months in advance, we can find out on the morning of the show, or you might even need to be thrown on mid-show, which has happened to me before!

What is your favourite song to perform in the show?

The fantastic thing about this show is that each song can resonate to different people and hit differently on different days, depending on what’s going on in your life. But the best song for me is our acappella version of ‘Chandelier’. When that harmony clicks and each one of the nine boys are on form, it is very special.

The show gets the audience involved quite a lot. Have you experienced or heard any funny stories about any instances when something unexpected has happened?

We’ve had several funny stories of people being brought up on stage, some I’d better not say on here… but nothing will beat the lady who was brought up for ‘Teenage Dream’ and clearly had never heard the song before and nearly spat out her beer with laughter at one of the lyrics whilst being serenaded by the Beast.

You’ve appeared in pantomimes, both on stage and filmed for online viewing. As a performer, how do you keep the energy the same for both types of performance, when for filming you don’t have an audience to feed off of?

For me, nobody’s energy should change whether there is an audience or not; the same way that you shouldn’t give more effort for a better/louder audience. But filming is a different style of acting, even if you’re filming a panto. Being truthful and engaged fully is what’s important both on stage and whilst filming.

If you could play any role in any theatre production, what would it be and why?

To be completely honest, I don’t really have a specific role I’d like to play. Of course, I’d give an arm and a leg to perform in some of the West End’s most popular musicals that we all know and love! But it excites me equally, if not more, to have the chance to create a role and originate a character in a new show. The Choir of Man was actually on my bucket list after seeing it the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018 because the show is right up my street. But for me, success in this industry is working, and working as consistently as possible, and I am very fortunate and grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had to date.

The Choir of Man is currently booking at London’s Arts Theatre until 18 February, with tickets available here.