ICW: George Maguire, Actor and Musician

Tarantino Live is an exciting new musical-rock concert-film spectacular, the likes of which the UK has never seen. Or at least that’s what I’m piecing together after my chats with four of the stars of one of London’s newest shows, brought here from LA by For The Record. With a super diverse cast of some of theatre’s greatest talents, and a killer soundtrack played live every night, it promises to be a great night out - even if you don’t know Tarantino’s films! TBP got to speak with cast members Tara Lee, Karen Mavundukure, Anton Stephans, and here you get to enjoy the chat with Olivier Award winner George Maguire. We talked the show, the fun of playing live guitar in theatre, if he’s going to celebrate 30 years in the industry, the music that helped shape him, and remember the previously mentioned Olivier? Well, there’s some exciting news for fans of the show he won it for, Sunny Afternoon.

Brianna (TBP)
So what is Tarantino live? Because I've got absolutely no clue what I'm coming to see.

George
Well, I think essentially, even though it's a bit confusing, because maybe the name or maybe the descriptions, but essentially, it's a rock musical. It is a rock musical using - it's like fusing the Tarantino universe, like his movies, all nine of them into one world. And the stories are really cleverly interwoven. So the actors play the different characters throughout the universe. We call it the Tarantino universe. And so, so like, you know, you'll have someone playing like Butch, the Bruce Willis part, and then like Dr. King, from Django Unchained, and then like Marcellus Wallace becomes Django. And you know, I'm Vincent. I'm mainly Vincent - Mr. Pink from Reservoir Dogs - but me and me and Anton pretty much stay as Vincent and Jules. There's live music, obviously there’s live music. I play guitar for quite a lot of it which is cool. But it uses like the soundtracks to kind of tell the stories, you know. Like so Jackie Brown, who Karen plays will be like talking about the heist thing that she's going to do, and then she'll like, burst into like Streetlife, which is like talking about, you know, the way she lives her life and what she's going to do. And so it is, I think fans of musical theatre will enjoy it, you know, it's like, it's got really powerful moments, it's got like, sword fighting, it's got you know, banging tunes. But it's immersive, it's immersive theatre at the end of the day. It's sort of the action happens, you know, on a stage, but also comes out into the audience. The audience will feel like - and the set is like an old abandoned cinema. So it's almost like the characters have come out of the cinema screen and are interacting I suppose would be a good way to describe it.

Brianna (TBP)
It sounds wicked.

George
Yeah, it's good. It's really really cool. And really, like said, like, the people that have created it, from LA, they, it's really clever the way they've done it. Like nothing about it has been sort of thrown together. It's really well thought out, like really well thought out. So I think it's unlike anything London is seen.

Brianna (TBP)
Yeah, I can't think of a single thing that comes remotely close to that.

George
And it’s not just a - I mean we are celebrating Tarantino, but it’s more than that. Like it is a theatrical event.

Brianna (TBP)
Are you enjoying having an extra three days to make sure you've got those songs down, with this little opening push?

George
Yeah. Yeah I think everyone - it was the right decision. Because it's so big. It's a huge show. It's hugely technical. And it's also a big venue. And I think the decision was just to make sure it's absolutely, you know, in the right place. So there's a lot of projection. And, you know, a lot of technical stuff. So, yeah, just, it just gives us time now next week to do runs, you know, we're gonna do, we'll get a couple of dress rehearsals in and so yeah, a bit more time to practice, really, which is always welcome. Every actor will say, you know, I'd rather have a little bit more rehearsal time. Yeah, yeah.

Brianna (TBP)
Which song is like the most fun for you to play on the guitar?

George
So there's a song that's been made famous by Pulp Fiction. It's like the - it comes right at the beginning, it's like the intro music, and it's called Misirlou. So I get to play that which rocks. And what else? Yeah, there's loads. There's loads, I play guitar quite a lot in it. So Bang Bang, the Nancy Sinatra song. That's really nice, that Tara sings, the Mia character, so yeah, and the band are really, really awesome. You know, and they’re all onstage, obviously, like, featured. So yeah, the vocals are great and the harmonies, the vocal arrangements are really cool. So it's, there's a lot of highlights.

Brianna (TBP)
Is it fun to get back to actually playing onstage? Because you obviously, this show that you just did, I don't know it, I didn't really get to see it but Bonnie and Clyde* there was no, there was no guitar in that, The Wicker Husband, there was no guitar. (*I saw Bonnie and Clyde more times than I care to admit here.)

George
No, which is quite nice. Because there, you know, there can be a tendency in our world to get typecast. So if you do one show where you're playing guitar, you'll always be the guitar guy. So it's nice to play parts that just, you know, just don't require that. But, but it is cool. It is fun. And I've got I mean you may have seen the post, I’ve been loaned a really nice guitar by Gibson. So I'm enjoying playing that Les Paul. And yeah, so you know, for me, it's, I've always loved, like being able to mix music and acting. It’s why I love doing musical theatre because it does that for you. And then, you know, add in the element of being able to play guitar on stage. It's like, you know, all the things that I enjoy in one space.

Brianna (TBP)
And so obviously the characters you're playing, they have been made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio and John Travolta, and also Steve Buscemi. How do you go about making them George's characters and not just impressions of those guys?

George
Well, the Leonardo DiCaprio character now is being played by James Byers because we felt it was better for the story. So I'm just doing the Mr. Pink and Vince. And I think like with anything, anything that has been done by someone else, you just have to put your own spin on it. And I've tried to incorporate a little bit of the physicality that John Travolta found in the film. And the Steve Buscemi is kind of - but just a little flavour because people that have loved the movies will go oh, that that felt similar. But, you know, you could never, you know, you can't become these people. So you just have to look at, the root of who the person is, what they're about what makes them tick, and what they want out of, you know, life and out of their sort of given surroundings. And it’s quite nice, because it's very different to like Buck Barrow, so it's sort of playing something that's a bit more - I really just try and go off sort of instincts and just go, well, do I feel like this version of the character? And do I feel like it's working and for me it's still developing you know? I mean, I'd like to, you know, the one hope is that people will come and see it - because everyone loves, well not everyone, but everyone that's coming, I imagine will have loved those performances. So you just hope that they go, “Well, I really liked this interpretation as well.”

Brianna (TBP)
Well, I haven't seen any of the films. So you'll be the first one I've seen.

George
Well, there you go!

Brianna (TBP)
So I googled you for the first time to do some research for this. I don’t know if anyone’s told you, but you’re quite a big deal?

George
(Laughs) No!

Brianna (TBP)
I mean yes, I read they booked you for EastEnders to try and increase their ratings.

George
That's what, yeah, that's what was reported at the time. I don’t know if it quite worked out that way. Yeah, EastEnders was fun. I wished it had um - in the end, I left because the character just didn't go anywhere. And it became sort of, I felt a bit like sort of set dressing, I suppose. But it was great to be there and be on that famous set. And I was there for like, pretty much a year. So that was cool. And it's one of those, you know, surreal moments, going into something like that. That's such a sort of -

Brianna (TBP)
Household staple.

George
It is a staple you know, and even I used to watch it. I was never that into it but I just used to watch it anyway. And then to sort of be on that set and be like, wow this does feel weird, and then acting with people that I'd watched in it, you know, and yeah. Yeah, so that was fun, you know, and it's - I mean, it's weird. It's always good, because you just, you don't really think about things like that, you just think about your next project. So you sometimes forget what you've done before, but it's nice, um, you know, in the world of the internet, nothing ever disappears.

Brianna (TBP)
That is true. That's very true. In googling you, I looked at your CV, and you've played, I would say, an above average number of real people. Why, what’s that about?

George
I suppose I have. I don't know. I don't really know. I think it's a mixture of there is a lot of stuff based on real people. You know, because, you know, reality is stranger than fiction, as they say. And I think maybe, you know, the first sort of real musician I played was Marc Bolan, and that got me into that sort of idea, like we were saying, of just being able to not, you know, not do an impression - because everyone, you know, he had such a big fan base, and people loved him, and he died so young that people were quite protective of him. So that was quite a challenge to do something that the fans 1. Didn't go, well, he's just doing a bad impression, and 2. Sort of agreed with what I was doing. And then obviously, there was Dave Davies, which was, you know, again, a similar vibe, he was very loved and actually, you know, still alive so I got the chance to meet him, which was kind of surreal. Probably more surreal for him I imagine.

Brianna (TBP)
Probably!

George
Meeting a dude that was playing him on stage. I think you'd never think that that would happen when, you know, you’re 16 and starting a band with your brother that one day someone will be pretending to be you on a West End stage. And then yeah, I mean, even like back to like, I played a guy called St. Just who was instrumental in the French Revolution, which was kind of weird. And recently I did a workshop of a thing, which I hope will come to fruition because it's really good. It's a musical called Mini. And it's about a young lad that he was like the youngest arsonist, he was really troubled, he was in care. He then like, he lit a fire but it was so bad. I mean, he didn’t mean to hurt anyone in any way. There was a documentary made about him. And the documentary was watched by a lot of people and you know, it's a fascinating young character. So I sort of played an older version of him, I sort of played a version that we didn't really know. It was sort of watching a real kid in a documentary, and then imagining what his older self might be like. So that’s really cool. That's in development now. So I don't know. I mean, I think essentially, there's no difference really playing real people or people that have been written by a writer, you know, as an actor, you approach it in the same way. What do they you know, what do they want? Who are they? What's the sort of thing that makes them tick, their energy there? And then, I think if people, you know, directors and stuff go well, I believe your portrayal then, that’s great. But it is fun. It's always interesting to research people's lives. You know?

Brianna (TBP)
That is why I do this job! Is there anyone that if they said, they're going to bring their life to stage, you'd be like, I will commit crimes to play that person?

George
(Laughs) I don't know. I don't know. I mean, there's so many people that that I love, or that I've, you know, admired. I think you know, like Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day?

Brianna (TBP)
Oh, you would absolutely kill at that.

George
I'd like to have a go at that, although it depends on how long it takes. I'm probably not that much younger than him to be fair but you know. Yeah. I mean, it's weird. I'm one of those people that don't, a lot of people have like goals in their acting career, and are like oh I want to do that, and I want to do that, but I've always felt it's so unknown, that it's quite, it's quite cool to just go look, until something comes up. And you know, someone goes, look at this, and you go, wow, that's exciting. So you never know what's around the corner. So, you know, I think I will just wait and see.

Brianna (TBP)
Wait and see. So your CV doesn't have years on it. But as an Oliver enthusiast, I do know that the Sam Mendes production started in 94. And you were in that. So that means you are approaching 30 years in the industry.

George
I am!

Brianna (TBP)
Are you going to do anything to celebrate that, I think you should.

George
Bloody hell I am actually. I was in that in 95. So…

Brianna (TBP)
Two years, 30 year anniversary.

George
That's mad, that is actually mad. Yeah, what am I going to do to celebrate? Well, I don't know. I mean, that's kind of cool. You know. And that was an amazing experience. Amazing, you know, the Palladium. And the set was so big. I just remember just feeling like I was in, I don't know, it just felt like a - wonderland sounds cheesy, but it was so cool. The set was just amazing. I remember that, like, the theatre. And the scenery just seemed so big and so brilliant.

Brianna (TBP)
Well you must have been tiny at the time as well. Like, what were you, 10? Is that the right maths?

George
10 or 11? Yeah. Then I did it two years in a row. And so it was an amazing experience. Yeah. And I'd done things since then, when I was younger, like, sort of bits of TV and things that were also kind of, you know, formative because of sort of working on sets and things and learning about how that works. So yeah, it's weird. It doesn't feel like 30 years. Wow. Hang on. Can it be 30 years? No, I'd have been - wait a minute. Yeah, two years 40, so 10. Wow, even me I was like, bloody hell that can’t be right. But it is right.

Brianna (TBP)
Yeah, well, you're gonna have to do something that is a big deal.

George
I'll get myself a balloon and just hold it.

Brianna (TBP)
Just celebrate on your own.

George
Yeah, that’ll be it. Hopefully, I'll get you know, get an acting job that will be a good way to celebrate.

Brianna (TBP)
That would be nice!

George
To be employed would be a good celebration.

Brianna (TBP)
Is there any show generally, not specifically a role that you played in it, but any show from the last nearly 30 years that you would jump at the chance to get back into?

George
Yeah, probably Sunny Afternoon. Because it went by in such a flash. And it was, even though there was like three workshops, Hampstead run, the Pinter it was so - there was not one show that I didn't enjoy. There was not one show that I did and thought I can't be bothered with this. But the thing is with that, and like with a lot of things like that, I don't think you could recreate that magic that was happening. So it would probably not feel the same, and I'd be hugely disappointed. But if it were ever to return, I mean, that would be top of the list and actually, a little exclusive for you. Me and Rachael, my wife are, we do - we've had a year out last year because we got married - but we do a festival in our local area, a music festival called Rush Fest, and its a music festival and it has stalls and stuff as well. It's a one-day festival. And we have like, you know, blues, opera, like, we play a set - but this year, for the first time since 2015, we have the original Sunny Afternoon cast reuniting, to do a full set, which will be a good 40 minutes set. And it's the guys that played The Kinks plus the rest of the cast all on stage smashing out some numbers. And there's probably going to be a couple of other West End appearances. Well, maybe one other that we're working on at the moment. And so that's, I'm very excited about that. I've just been talking to the guys so, yeah!

Brianna (TBP)
Oh that’ll be wicked! Yeah, one of my friends messaged me and was like, can you tell George to do something else with John because it's been too long? And I was like, sure.

George
Well there you go. You've done it. John's gonna be playing a set with his dad. They're an amazing like duo when they get together, his dad's like a ridiculous songwriter really, really good like folk musician. So they're going to do a set but the Sunny Afternoon cast are gonna reunite. And that’s the main bit of info I can give on that!

Brianna (TBP)
Okay! Well, thanks for the exclusive!

George
No worries.

Brianna (TBP)
So, I was also picking up from your CV you seem to really enjoy a 60s or 70s Rock Band. Can you confirm or deny?

George
I can confirm.

Brianna (TBP)
Who are some of your favourites?

George
My absolute favourites The Who.

Brianna (TBP)
Great choice.

George
Because I just think when it comes to like British rock of that era, they - I mean The Who and then The Kinks because The Kinks had a bit more like what's the word? Versatility in their sound as in like, some of their stuff was like, you know, folk poppy and stuff, and very narrative. But The Who, just for me like no one - no one sounds like The Kinks - but no one sounds like The Who. I like my music, kind of heavy with, you know, some beefy guitars and they just did that. And I've worked with Pete Townsend. And he's a genius. We did Quadrophenia. I did the the tour of that and that album for me is like one of the best concept albums ever made. And they're just brilliant. They're just genius. Pete Townsend is a musical genius. You know, and he's still going. They’re just, yeah. They'd be up there, they’re my, of that era, they're my favourite British rock band.

Brianna (TBP)
Nice. If you had to pick one decade to only listen to for the rest of your life. Which decade do you pick in?

George
Wow, that's hard. Yeah, well - I dunno. Yeah, probably the 90s because I was into a lot of like, American rock bands like The Get Up Kids, Thrice. You know, this kind of like, heavy kind of punk stuff. And I don’t think I could do without that.

Brianna (TBP)
You definitely give that energy. Yeah, I can see you as like a proper like punk teenager.

George
I was, I was like in the skate park every day I was in a band called The Excuse, and we were out there gigging. We were like, you know, singing songs about heartbreak that we'd never experienced. Classic. But yeah, that's kind of my that's what - I think anyone if you ask what music they'd want to keep its the stuff they grew up on. I think retrospectively I love bands like The Who, The Kinks, but it's the stuff that when you're going through like your teens and your angst and everything else, the stuff that you sit and listen to and like, that connects with you. Even now, like, you know, if I go on Spotify, like I listen to new stuff, but there's loads of stuff that I listen to from that era. It just makes me feel good, you know?

Brianna (TBP)
You had cool music as a teenager, me? I was listening to One Direction.

George
Ooh. No, well, I'm not judging anyone's tastes.

Both
(Laughs)

George
Whatever you want to listen to. I mean, I liked some pop music. I just didn't…I just didn't talk about it to my friends. (Laughs)

Brianna (TBP)
You kept that to yourself.

George
Yeah. I was a massive, massive, massive Michael Jackson fan. When I was like, younger, I was obsessed.

Brianna (TBP)
Did you ever get to see him?

George
I did. I saw him at Wembley Stadium on the History tour, which was his last tour, his last World Tour. Which, I mean, I was really far back, but it was. It was amazing. Yeah.

Brianna (TBP)
That must have been such a cool show. My uncle was supposed to see him on the one where he set himself on fire, and then obviously had to cancel the tour. I think that's Beat It, was that the beat it one or something like that?

George
Yeah, yeah. Was that the one where his hair got caught on fire or something? Yeah.

Brianna (TBP)
Yeah, and he had tickets for when he died. So I was like, it's your fault mate. Jinxed it both times.

George
Yeah! I didn't, I didn't even try to get tickets, because I kind of felt at that point - when I saw him, he was still kind of, I mean, he was kind of a bit frail, and you know, but he was still smashing it out. You know, it was full, fully dancing, given it. You know, live vocals. And I feel like that, I mean, it did kill him didn’t it, rehearsing for that tour. But I think, I can't imagine it would have been as good, to be honest.

Brianna (TBP)
No, probably not. It is a shame. There's hardly anyone left. I said this to my mum the other day, Tina Turner died, and I was like someone protect Elton John, because we ain't got many left.

George
Yeah, but you know, that's life, isn't it? I suppose there's new legends up and coming now.

Brianna (TBP)
(Harry Styles)

George
But yeah, it's a shame, it is sad, because you get a connection to people and then, you know - it's always I think, for people like Michael Jackson that are such big stars, their life, you know, even though they've got all that money, they sort of seem to suffer more than your average person because of what they put themselves through and the life they have to live. So, you know, like Prince you know, it's like you give yourself to an art so much that it actually ends up sort of taking you.

Brianna (TBP)
I don't think anyone is built to sustain the level of fame that they had either. It's just not natural.

George
It would be a horrible way to live I think.

Brianna (TBP)

A horrible way. Back to the actual questions, I got sidetracked. You have done way more musical theatre than straight plays however, you did just do Twelfth Night a little while ago. Do you think, if they were casting William Shakespeare's best character - Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing - would you say yes?

George
Yes. Yeah. I would. My thing with Shakespeare is because I'm not classically trained, I, you know, it would depend on the director and like, someone that I thought I could trust in order to kind of like, feel safe enough to to play in it. Yeah.

Brianna (TBP)
So is that why you prefer musical theatre to straight plays - because you haven’t done very many?

George
I think it's just that I've just - being a musician and a singer, I like things to have music in them. There's just an extra layer of being able to tell a story with music, it’s something I've always loved. I don't think I'd prefer it. I just think it's it's the way it's gone. And I'm alright with that.

Brianna (TBP)
You've been doing it for so long, was there ever any part of you that was like, maybe I should try something else, do I want to explore other avenues or have you just known?

George
No. Because I've done it since I was so young, and I sort of knew when I was a kid that that's what I wanted to do. I mean, I was weird. I was even in like, I left my secondary school in year seven to go full time at Italia Conti in London and I knew then you know there's kids in my year that didn't even know what they were going to do, you know, next week or let alone and I already knew what I wanted my career choice - not necessarily would I succeed - but what my career choice was going to be, which is kind of odd at that age and it's never changed. I mean, sometimes when it's been hard, I thought, God, I wish that wasn't my choice because, you know, I'd like to have more money and more stability. But I'd never quit because there's nothing else I want to do. And I'd be probably unhappy if I was doing it.

Brianna (TBP)
And also, you're very good at it. So it would be a shame if you weren't doing it. I don't know if I've let you know that before. I think I've been very low-key and subtle about my opinion on your acting.

George
No never, you have been subtle.

Brianna (TBP)
Yeah, there's no reason you'd know. Back to Tarantino, why should people come and see it?

George
Well, because if you don't - if you haven't seen all the films like yourself, it's a great way to like experience his brilliant writing and his fantastic characters, and his choice of incredible music in a theatrical setting, you know, with some great performances. It's just I think it's something for everyone. I mean, apart from children, because it's very sweary.

Brianna (TBP)
Very sweary. Don't bring kids.

George
Yeah. Do not bring kids, well they're not allowed in I don’t think!

Tarantino Live opens today, June 9th, and runs until August 13th at Riverside Studios Hammersmith. Get your tickets here! Use code BP20 to get 20% off your tickets.