Maureen Nolan’s still in mood for dancing
FOR 30 years Maureen Nolan was always in the mood for dancing. As a member of The Nolans, she travelled the world and enjoyed phenomenal success with her sisters.
As a member of The Nolans, she travelled the world and enjoyed phenomenal success with her sisters.
Now she has traded her place at the top of the charts for a life on “the never-never” to reprise her iconic role in Blood Brothers.
She talked to the Gazette about the play, her hugely successful solo career and why sisterhood means more than anything else.
Three decades ago, she and her sisters rocked the nation.
That wholesome brand of pop, personified by The Nolans, preceded The Saturdays, Girls Aloud and The Spice Girls and earned the Irish sisters a place in British chart history as one of the most successful girl groups ever.
Now Maureen Nolan, the sibling who stayed in the group longer than any other, has carved out a successful solo career for herself and is, once again, starring in the smash-hit musical, Blood Brothers, which arrives in Sunderland at the end of the month.
“I think for a woman of my age Mrs Johnstone is the absolute best role, really,” says Maureen.
“It’s got everything – comedy, tragedy and beautiful haunting melodies. I absolutely love playing her.”
It was in 2005 that she became the fourth Nolan sister to don the care-worn smile and cross-over pinny and take on the iconic role in Willy Russell’s legendary musical.
In doing so she earned them a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the most siblings to have played the same role in the same show at different times.
“Before I was in it I had seen it 18 times!” she says.
“When I joined, I actually apologised to the cast for being such a stalker.”
Maureen admits that, initially, she was daunted by the prospect of taking on such a demanding and emotionally-charged role but was also determined to make the most of the opportunity.
“I had big shoes to fill, not only from my sisters – Bernie, Linda and Denise - but also from all those other wonderful actresses who’ve played her, too.
“I remember thinking: ‘If I get this role I will never short-change anyone by just walking through it because I’ve been in it for a long time’. And I hope I never have.”
Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving tale of twins who, having been separated at birth, grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with tragic consequences.
Such is the dramatic power and cultural impact of the show that the role of Mrs Johnstone is one of the most coveted in musical theatre.
However, it demands a portrayal that forces the actress playing her to ride an emotional rollercoaster and the rigours of performing in at least eight shows a week can, sometimes, take their toll.
‘I did the show for two years in the West End and cried at the end every night.
Sometimes I look back and think: “How did I do that?” because it just drains you,’ admits Maureen.
At the beginning of the play, Mrs Johnstone is the 20-something Liverpudlian single mother ‘with seven hungry mouths to feed and one more nearly due’ but, by the final curtain, she’s a down-trodden, distraught grandmother who is struggling to comprehend the most tragic of situations.
So, how does she convincingly descend to the depths of Mrs Johnstone’s despair?
“There’s no other way, for me anyway, than to think of horrible things,” she reveals.
“I have one son and I just think about how I’d feel if I were in the same position. That part of it’s not great, really.”
Maureen admits that, initially, she struggled to leave her character behind in the theatre after each performance.
“I used to be an emotional wreck for up to an hour or two afterwards because the writing is so amazing,” she says.
“But then you have to learn how to snap out of it quickly.”
Blood Brothers is not the first production in which Maureen has starred as a strong female character.
She began her acting career in 2004 by taking the role of Jill in Mum’s The Word, a series of monologues about motherhood.
She also played Sadie in Girls Behind, in 2007, then reprised the role of Jill, alongside her sister, Bernie, in another tour of Mum’s The Word the following year.
She has also toured extensively as Viv in Footloose and as Barbara in Over The Rainbow: The Eva Cassidy Story.
However, one of the most challenging parts she accepted was that of Sarah, a woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer, in The Naked Truth.
Surely, given the fact that three of Maureen’s sisters, Anne, Linda and Bernie, have battled breast cancer during the last decade, this must have been a difficult role for her to accept?
“We talked about it first and agreed that it was quite spooky that, at that particular time in my life, I was offered the opportunity to play such a character,’ she admits.
“But then we all laughed and nobody said they’d rather I didn’t do it or anything like that.”
The sisters sparked a showbiz sensation in 2009 when a family feud erupted as a result of their reunion tour.
“Universal, the record company, only wanted to use the four of us who had had the big hits together,” Maureen explains.
“That meant that Anne and Denise wouldn’t be part of the line-up, which was disappointing. I thought they’d understand but I couldn’t have been more wrong.”
The rift between the sisters almost drove Maureen to the verge of a breakdown but, fortunately, she is once again on speaking terms with them all.
“I’m very close to all my sisters and nothing is ever worth falling out over,’ she says, adamantly.
“With what we’ve all been through, you come to realise that life is short and that family is the most important thing.”
And that, you can be sure is a sentiment which is shared by her current stage character, the indomitable Mrs Johnstone!
Blood Brothers is at Sunderland Empire Theatre until Saturday, February 11.
Tickets cost from £15.50. To book, call 0844 871 3022 (Booking fees apply) or log on to www.sunderlandempire.org.uk
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