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Hannah Jacques outside Mamma Mia

I met Hannah at the stage door of the Prince of Wales theatre. It’s right on Leicester Square, the heart of the West End.

Even though it’s a year since she was part of the show Mamma Mia, the cast members greeted her with real excitement and warmth.

They had just come off stage from recording for Red Nose Day, and were still really buzzing.

We went across the back of the stage, where she showed me the vocal booth where she used to sing parts of the show live; then we went upstairs to the bar to chat.

Hannah’s is a tale familiar to many actors. She worked really hard at her stage work from her earliest dance lessons in Jersey at the First Tower School of Dancing, and took part in lots of amateur shows.

Mamma Mia at the Prince of Wales theatre

She told me she was totally uninterested in Maths or any of her school subjects, and as soon as she could she went to England to stage school.

That, says Hannah, was really hard. The first hard dance workouts started at half past eight in the morning and they very often didn’t leave until ten at night, or later if they were producing a show.

When her final term ended she went straight into work, appearing in professional pantomime; and then came her lucky break.

After a nail biting audition process, she had an early morning phone call. She remembers looking at the phone, bleary eyed, and recognising the number; and saying “yes, please!” when they offered her a part in Mamma Mia, one of the biggest musicals in the world.

For the next two years her life was constant performing, rehearsing and enjoying the thrill of being part of such a huge show.

Hannah Jacques outside Mamma Mia

But after two years she felt the time had come to move on. Having been successful so far, she believed she’d be able to find another role quite quickly.

But that’s when the reality of life as an actress started to make itself felt. Despite several auditions, Hannah is now working in a bar during the evenings, and applying for stage work wherever it is offered.

When I met her, it was almost exactly a year since she’d left, a year without acting work. And it’s been hard, for someone who has been used to the glamour and excitement of the West End.

Hannah says she has her weeks of doom and gloom, but is certainly not ready to give up on her dreams just yet, “no way!” The week after I saw her, she had an audition for Les Miserables, and is waiting to hear from them….