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For the best part of three decades, Joanna Ampil has been recognised as one of the most prolific musical theatre acts to arrive onto the scene, taking on roles like Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar, Grizabella in Cats and Kim in Miss Saigon. After receiving a huge reception as Bloody Mary in South Pacific last year at Chichester Festival Theatre, she is reprising the role in the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical at Sadlers Wells Theatre, before heading on tour with the show. Although traditionally seen as a caricature, in Daniel Evans' new production, Joanna is given the opportunity to humanise this character and make her someone audiences are able to empathise with. It's an opportunity that she's fully taken advantage of as we are invited to see Bloody Mary through a new lens. Of course, Joanna's portrayal has also meant we are treated to a terrific performance as well as luscious vocals.

In this new interview, Joanna Ampil sat down to talk about how she felt it was really important to return to the show to tell Bloody Mary's story. After performing in a concert production of South Pacific in Manilla a few years prior to the Chichester run, she tells us about how surprised she was by how richly deep and antiracist the show really is. We also hear Joanna share her hopes for the musical theatre industry as in many ways, the industry is still continuing to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. She hopes audiences will return on larger scales to support the industry and that shows like South Pacific will continue that drive. As she prepares to go on tour, we hear her also talk about her experience working on productions all around the world from her home in the Philippines to the rest of Asia and of course here in the UK. It's a fascinating listen and we look forward seeing Joanna continue her role on tour in the coming weeks.

South Pacific plays at Sadler's Wells Theatre until 28 August and a list of tour dates can be found on southpacificshow.com

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