Meet The Leeds Actor Starring in Hamiilton at Sunderland Empire
Hamilton is coming to the North East for the very first time!
Ashley originally joined his friend at ballet classes before getting involved in youth theatre. ‘I look back and I do see how I was lucky to know the right people. You learn the channels and there’s really important people to the journey,’ he says. Ashley is thankful for his parents’ support too adding, ‘I think that’s maybe a thing that people take for granted sometimes.’
Prior to starring in Hamilton, Ashley played King Agnarr in Frozen in the West End. ‘I believe that’s coming out on Disney+ at some point so that’s really exciting,’ he says. He has also performed in Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre in the West End, Motown the Musical, Ghost the Musical, Porgy and Bess, Bring It On and The Producers. ’As controversial as it might be – I loved being a part of that,’ he says. ‘But Into The Woods was a really special one for me, to get to sing some of that material. It was a bit of a goal for me as an actor and it was nice to do that relatively early.’
Hamilton is Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece and tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, who became George Washington’s right-hand man during the Revolutionary War. When Ashley performed in Hamilton’s West End shows he was on-stage cover. ‘I was part of the ensemble and I covered a bunch of the roles,’ he explains. ‘It’s a completely different beast in that you’re in rehearsals so much more because you have so much more to learn. You give a lot of yourself to the company because you love it and you want to do it. It’s such a big undertaking and it really takes it out of you. I don’t think covers get enough credit – without them there’d be a lot of shows that just couldn’t happen.’
The pandemic brought unique challenges to the production. ‘It was a strange time to be a performer because what Covid restricted was exactly what you needed to put on a performance,’ Ashley explains. ‘What I will say for Hamilton, and the company in general, is that they were really good at supporting us through that.’ Ashley says his time with the company was a rewarding experience. ‘It was such a momentous thing for me as an actor,’ he says. ‘It marked a real milestone with the calibre of production that I felt I could achieve. It’s really helped me move forward.’
One of the most memorable elements in the staging of Hamilton is its rotating stage floor. ‘I remember my first time going on it. It’s quite an adjustment,’ Ashley laughs. ‘Imagine when an escalator stops moving in a shopping centre and you have to step on it but your body sort of anticipates that it’s going to move – it’s kind of like that the first time but the opposite way around. You’re just walking on the floor but then it starts moving and your body doesn’t know how to adjust but eventually it’s like, if I got to a point in the show now and the revolve didn’t happen, I’d be so wobbly!’
Hamilton has won 11 Tony Awards, seven Olivier Awards, the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album – so it’s fair to say it’s a hit. ‘I think that Hamilton came at a time when innovation in theatre was lacking, especially from the perspective of London and the West End,’ admits Ashley. ‘There’s so much risk to opening up a theatre production and you’ve got to give credit to the producers of this show for taking a big risk on something that’s a little bit unorthodox, as far as how theatre should be, especially with the way the show is put together.
‘It paves the way for writers, creators and producers to feel more confident to take risks’
‘I think the world was just ready for something theatrically new. I think we needed it and it continues to be successful today because of what it represents for theatre, not just because it’s an amazing show, but because it paves the way for writers, creators and producers to feel more confident to take risks and to trust that an audience, if a show is good, will enjoy the work and that will influence ticket sales. For the new generation of theatre lovers that this show has created and inspired, I think it represents something to them. I think Hamilton, in the same way as those classic musicals like Carousel and Show Boat, will mark a huge turning point in musical theatre history that newer fans will look back on.’
Ashley is enjoying the challenge of playing two very different roles. ‘There’s this cliché saying that “acting is reacting” and I think that goes for more than just the people around you and the words you listen to onstage,’ he says. ‘A lot of where I feel I begin to embody a character is what they wear, their physicality and the way they speak. I feel when I’m in certain costumes that I know who I am. The way I’ve always been able to compartmentalise it is that the show feels less of a two act show but two separate shows to me. There’s the show in which the revolution happens and America gains independence, and there’s the show where America figures out what democracy looks like. At the end of act one, when Hamilton says his last “I’m not throwing away my shot”, the light comes down, and I walk off the stage thinking a new show is starting.’
The unique opportunity his dual role has offered is something Ashley hopes to continue exploring in future roles. Complex characters mean new notes each week offer new perspectives. ‘Going forward, my only real criteria is to play roles that make me do that, where every day I come in and maybe have a different idea of what the character is feeling,’ he says. ‘I want to feel like the character lives and breathes, and based on what’s around them that night your experience of the show will change.’ When Ashley returns in act two as Thomas Jefferson, how the audience reacts might influence how he acts. He says the audience is like an extra cast member. ‘That’s the feeling I’m looking for,’ he adds. ‘It’s less so a specific job, but to feel this way when I work.’
