Regulars to the Playhouse may recognise Ellen as the White Witch of Narnia from the 2004 show The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Ellen has fond memories of the theatre - even though she had to get into the dressing room early for every performance in order to be painted white all over! This year, however sees her taking on a very different role, as part of the cast of Bad Girls the Musical. | "To be in at the start of an original play is amazing." | | Ellen O'Grady |
A brand new production, Bad Girls has been written by the creators of the hit TV show. The inmates of HMP Larkill will have their eighth series on ITV this year, but this is the first time they have been brought to the stage. It's a lot of work in rehearsals, but Ellen is enjoying being part of something so new: "As an actor it's very exciting that every song the audience hears will be for the first time and it will be the first time it's ever been sung. To be in at the start of an original play is amazing." The original music score features a mix of musical styles from ballad to showtime. Ellen's favourites are the first number where the characters introduce themselves and The Future is Bright - "the whole cast are involved it's a kind of send up, fantasy sequence". Bad Girls comes at a time when stage musicals are enjoying a revival and the strangest topics are finding themselves getting the lyrical treatment (think Queen, Jerry Springer, Acorn Antiques and even footballer Roy Keane). Ellen doesn't have a problem with this trend, although she hopes they never make EastEnders - the Musical ("all the numbers would be really downbeat").
 | | Bad Girls - the Musical |
Ellen thinks the audience will enjoy the show and that it does bring something new: "You'll have a ball. Nice plot, juicy characters, lots of kicking off... Also, theatre can be male dominated, it's good to see so many powerful women on stage." She plays Yvonne Atkins, described as a 'ganster's moll', who has been jailed for four years for conspiracy to murder. Ellen describes her character as: "Sassy, full of attitude, hardcore... She comes in an establishes herself as top dog but there is another side to her that you don't see until later. "She's married to Charlie, the biggest gangster ever. It's a massive shock to her when she goes down. She's always been guarded by Charlie and so has got away with everything. "She's older and has had a fantastic lifestyle with money, always getting her own way. The only way she can get through prison is to establish from the start that she's running things." So does Ellen consider herself to be a bad girl? "Not as bad as Yvonne, no - or I would be in prison now! I can be sometimes but I balance it out nicely. It's good to play a character who's off the edge when you know you're not - it's one of the joys of being an actor." Bad Girls - the Musical is at the West Yorkshire Playhouse from Saturday 27 May to Saturday 1 July 2006. | 
