From Downing to the West End...

From Downing to the West End...

2024 has so far been a super (trooper) year for Abba. Not only is the band celebrating the 50th anniversary of their famous Eurovision win in 1974, but the worldwide smash musical ‘Mamma Mia’ has also recently accomplished an impressive run of 25 years in London’s West End.

Performing in the cast is Downing alum, Chris Dickins (1989). Chris plays the role of Harry Bright, another of Sophie’s potential fathers and a respected London banker.

In between performances, Chris took the time to talk to us about all things theatre and the journey he took from being a Law student at Downing to a West End leading man.

How long have you been in Mamma Mia?

I joined the cast in October 2022. I’m now halfway through my second contract, which ends in October 2024.

What is the best thing about being part of the show?

Often introducing yourself in polite company as an actor you end up on the receiving end of the dreaded question “Have you been in anything I might have heard of?” It’s so nice to be in something that literally everyone on the planet knows.

And it’s as successful now as it has always been; we have regular full houses and the audience is consistently ecstatic at the end. It’s more than just a crowd-pleaser; there is real quality in the writing of the script as well as the songs, many of which in themselves are mini masterpieces. 

The experience of being part of the cast in the year of its 25th anniversary, as well as the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s Eurovision-winning performance of “Waterloo” has also been wonderful. We were lucky enough to be joined on the stage by Björn Ulvaeus on the day itself, and I’m pretty sure it was him and not his avatar!

You have been part of many shows and productions; do you have a favourite?

There have been many highlights, but a particularly special one was "War Horse" at the (then) New London Theatre in 2014. Quite apart from it being a National Theatre production, there was all the exquisite puppetry and physical theatre that we all were given training in. This prepared us for everything from catching people falling off horses in slow motion to more invisible skills, such as pretending to wrestle with a flimsy bit of canvas whilst making it look like it had the strength of a large mammal. 2014 of course was the year of the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War, and it was an enormous privilege to lead the audience in paying our respects to that sombre anniversary, in a specially put together presentation after the bows.

Another highlight was working with Trevor Nunn (1959), at the Chichester Festival Theatre/Old Vic production of "Kiss Me Kate” in 2012. When I met him at the audition, he looked up from my c.v. and with a twinkle in his eye said; “Just one question: what springs to mind when I mention the word magenta?"

Can you tell us about your journey from Downing to the West End?

The first play I did at Cambridge was a production of "The Importance of Being Earnest", which was a Downing Drama Society show that we put on at the ADC in my first Michaelmas term. Thereafter I did as much drama as I could get away with - sometimes, more - up to three plays a term.  I also ended up rowing in the Downing Second Eight and singing with the Chapel Choir. The Senior Tutor and my Director of Studies, John Hopkins, was very supportive of my getting as much out of the whole range of activities that Cambridge had to offer. In fact, in a scary one-to-one with him at the end of my first year, he puffed his pipe and said “Chris, you could get a First. But I don’t think you should try and get one.” He reasoned that I would have to sacrifice too many aspects of university life to do that; I think he had the wisdom to sense that limiting my attentions to my degree course would not result in a proper education for me. It was a wonderful piece of encouragement, and opened the way for my cultivating what I knew was a vocation in theatre.

I directed a Christ’s undergraduate named Sacha Baron-Cohen in Fiddler on the Roof at the ADC, and was in Dr Faustus with one Emily Maitlis, who played Lucifer.  At Downing, several of us got together to form a barbershop sextet called “Short Back and Sides”. We arranged all the music ourselves, practising in the Maitland Room and the Howard Building, and performed at all the May Balls. The repertoire included ABBA, the Beach Boys and Queen; I was particularly proud of a full-length arrangement I did of "Bohemian Rhapsody".

I spent my law lectures thinking about theatre and did not spend my play rehearsals thinking about the law, so it was pretty obvious where I should place my energies. New to Downing was a young law lecturer called Graham Virgo, definitely one of my favourite supervisors, whose catchphrase was “…and that’s really all you need to know!” He was gifted at being able to distill the most important concepts of intricate subject matter into coherent, digestible chunks and thanks to him I somehow was able to achieve a 2:1. 

I went straight from Downing to train on a postgraduate one-year course at the Guildford School of Acting. I was lucky enough to get a job working for a small theatre company in Northumberland within months of leaving, and I’m glad to say work has been pretty constant ever since. 

Most of the professional actors I’ve worked with went straight from school or sixth form college to drama school, but whilst a full three years at drama school gives you a wonderful technical foundation, you’re pretty much always being told what to do by experts and there’s a danger you don’t take responsibility for your learning yourself. On the other hand, at university, you’re free to direct, produce or at the very least be directed by fellow students who are also just figuring things out. As such, you learn in a different way; you develop a critical awareness and a taste for innovation. This has stood me in really good stead when I’ve been developing my own work, writing or devising plays or songs as a composer/lyricist.

What are your key memories/takeaways from your time at Downing?

My key memories revolve around people. I had a tight group of Downing friends, most of whom had nothing to do with theatre, and we had a lot of fun staying up late, drinking Downing port and talking nonsense. University can be such a pressured place to be. I was keenly aware, just a few weeks into my first term what a huge gear change was occurring. For some of my colleagues, being away from home for the first time coincided with a move from a small pond to a bigger one. I think this can seem a real problem for those used to being the highest achievers, and for whom not remaining so feels like some kind of failure. 

Downing, however, mitigated this with its emphasis on outdoor life. There’s something about the architecture of the place that gives you a sense of space and relaxation. I was the least sporty student, but even I appreciated the early mornings rowing on the Cam. And when even the Senior Tutor urged me to complement my academic studies with a healthy dose of playful activities, I knew I was in a place that cared - in what was then a very old-fashioned way - about an all-round education of young people. Rest, recreation and creativity are now well recognised as being preconditions for innovation even in the cut-throat world of business, and that is something I’m trying to champion in my new company ArtSolve.

Mamma Mia has just extended its run to 2025 - what might happen next for you, after the show?

As an actor you are rarely able to plan that far ahead, as casting is often a very last-minute process. 2025 is well over the horizon! However, alongside my acting work, I’m going to continue to develop my other company ArtSolve, taking theatre-based training into a business setting, helping organisations with creativity, communication skills and creative decision-making in management. Though the dad-dancing may have to be confined to the bathroom at home!

Published 30 April 2024