I grew up in Blackpool and now I’m taking to its biggest stage as a lead part in hit musical & Juliet

41-year-old Lara Denning, who grew up in Poulton and Bispham but is now a well established musical theatre star up and down the country, says she is “super excited” to return to Blackpool for her latest role.

The former Thames Primary Academy and Greenlands Girl School pupil is playing Anne Hathaway, the wife of X Factor star Matt Cardle’s character, William Shakespeare, in & Juliet which is at the Winter Gardens between Tuesday, July 23 and Saturday, July 28.

Ahead of her homecoming performances, we had an exclusive chat with Lara, who now lives near Cambridge with actor husband Nick Denning-Read and their Tibetan Terrier, about her career so far, her role in & Juliet and her advice for those on the Fylde Coast hoping to make it in the entertainment industry as well…

Can you tell us about your upbringing in Blackpool?

“I went to Sue Turner's Dance School when I was younger and I just learned how to sing and dance and act and do all the shows… Sue's been an amazing influence on me, we did loads of shows each year at both the Opera House and the Tower Ballroom.

“After school, I did a two year course at the Blackpool and Fylde College and then I went to Mountview Theatre School in London in 2003 but Blackpool College took us to London to experience certain drama schools and I fell in love [with performing] because of that college so Blackpool has been an amazing opportunity for me, it was brilliant.

“My mum and dad are in the business as well, Jenny and Jimmy Nairn, they are actors in Blackpool. My mum's now a cruise director for Celebrity Cruises and my dad does a lot of different stuff, he also was a producer for Catchphrase. Then my brother is in a rock band in Vegas but he started out in Blackpool. So we’re a big showbiz family!”

So did you always know you wanted to be in the entertainment industry?

“Definitely! Because of what my parents do, I was always just involved in it and I got the bug very, very early.”

Did coming from Blackpool inspire you to enter the industry particularly?

“Yeah massively. [Thanks to] my northern roots, as an actor, I feel like I can really dig deep with a lot of issues and I've experienced a lot of things. I also think that Blackpool is so warm, I always say to people go to Blackpool because the people there are the best, they’re the kindest, they’ll take their shirt off their back for you. So I was always around really lovely people and I was also around all the variety stuff. I's a thriving, creative area and it always has been. That's what I loved about it and that's why people like me- and people like Jenna Coleman who’s also from Blackpool - have just sort of gained everything from Blackpool and then moved it to wherever we wanted to go in terms of work. “

So what were your first steps into the industry aside from childhood shows?

 “I was a former spot operator on North Pier years ago, so you know the spots that follow people when they’re on stage, I was that. I mean, I was terrible at it but it was amazing. I also auditioned for Keith and Orville’s Magic Castle at the Sandcastle and I got the job and so I did a summer season with Keith.”

But what was your big break?

“My biggest thing was I played Miss Honey in Matilda when I was 29. That was my first lead role in the West End and that changed my life. Up until then I was doing lots of bits and bobs, ensemble tracks, but that was the one that just hit at the right time. And then I went back to Matilda about four years ago to play Mrs Wormwood so I think I'm the only person to ever have done Honey and Wormwood, which I think is really cool.

“I've also just recently done Sunset Boulevard with Nicole Scherzinger and Jamie Lloyd. But I've got to admit, & Juliet is is on my top list. I'm not just saying it because we're doing it, it is my top, I'm having so much fun on it, it’s  so great.”

What was Nicole Sherzinger like to work with?

“She was amazing! I was her standby for three months so I was in rehearsals with her the whole time. She always came in professionally, knew all her lines and Jamie Lloyd - who is a genius director-  asked loads of crazy things of her and she was like ‘okay, let's do this.’ She's actually really funny and goofy, she's really kind and she works really hard. She went on to win the Olivier and fingers crossed she wins the Tony. She's off to Broadway now but we still keep in touch.”

Back to & Juliet- how would you describe it?

“So I can't shout hard enough that it's not about Shakespeare, and it's not Shakespearean at all. Basically my character is married to William Shakespeare, Anne Hathaway, and I turn around to William while he's writing Romeo and Juliet, and I say ‘What if Juliet didn't die? What if she created her own thing and she became dependent’, and from there, chaos ensues! And all these pop songs come in, and we meet all these amazing characters.  The show is funny, it's warm, it's super modern, it's got an amazing spectacle to it.”

Why did you audition for the role?

“Long ago, it was known as the Max Martin Musical, and I was auditioning for it but I didn't get it and I was so upset. So then when it came around this time, six years later, I'm a bit older, more of the age range that [Anne Hathaway] should be and I was determined to get the job because the script is so good and it's full of 90s /2000 baggers. In my audition, I had to sing Backstreet Boys -I never get to do that, it’s all musical theatre stuff- so Backstreet Boys and Katy Perry? Yes, please! And my instinct was right, it's a brilliant show and I'm really happy to be a part of it.”

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What is Anne Hathway like, do you relate to her?

“Yeah, I do. Actually. She's really independent - so am I - she's kind, funny. She also really sees herself in Juliet and she's sort of creating the life she wants through Juliet, if that makes sense? She's trying to find her way and find out what her marriage is because William and Anne are massively in love with each other but there's problems within their marriage that you see throughout the show, it's almost like marriage counselling between the two of them. They're trying to figure out each other and how she feels a bit left out because she’s stuck in the country looking after their kids when she wants to be a part of the writing. So she is an amazing character, funny, warm, a riot to play!”

What’s Matt Cardle like to work with?

“Yeah, really good! I'd heard really lovely things about Matt anyway but he's absolutely everything and more than I wanted, he’s brilliant. We've got the same energy so the first time we met each other we were like ‘Omg! We’re going to be husband and wife! It’s going to be amazing! so we've had that energy ever since. We just work really hard together to create a marriage that people out there really believe is real and I think we've done that. Matt is incredible,I can't wait for Blackpool to see him.”

How are you feeling about coming to your hometown with the show?

“I'm so excited. So I've already talked to the cast and I’m  taking them to Pleasure Beach. We're going to do north, south and central pier, and I’m taking them to Notarianni's, the ice cream place, which I think is the best ice cream in the world! My husband laughs at me because I will not have any other ice cream but Notarianni's so when I'm in Blackpool, I just like cane it! And yeah, I'm gonna take them to loads of sites, take them up to Lytham and I'm just gonna try and cram it all in there so they can see the Blackpool that I grew up in. But they're all really excited about it. A lot of the young ones haven't been to Blackpool so it's really exciting.

“My mum and dad also still live on Whitegate Drive, so I can't wait to see them and I've got about 40 friends and family coming on the first day and then others trickling in throughout the week, so it's gonna be mega.”

Will it feel different performing to a Blackpool audience?

“For sure, I think it's going to be mad, but in a good way. I think they're going to embrace us and we're going to embrace them. It’s going to be a really cool week and I'm super excited about it. Obviously it's my hometown but I am genuinely really excited for them to experience it as well.”

Will it feel nostalgic to be performing on the Blackpool Winter Gardens stage again?

“Yeah, I think it will, because I've never professionally performed on there. I've done two tours -. Everybody's talking about Jamie and All the fun of the Fair with David Essex years ago -but we never hit Blackpool. So this is my professional debut on the Opera House stage which means even more and going back to that theater from when I was a kid is going to be mega.”

Why should the people of Lancashire grab tickets to & Juliet if they haven’t already?

“It’s a must see if you want joy in your life and you want to come out with a feeling of nostalgia, a feeling of fun, a feeling of warmth in your heart, You're going to have the best night of your life and that's no lie, it is the best night and audiences come out buzzing. And we need joy in our lives! Everything's a little bit rubbish at the minute, we need the joy and & Juliet brings the joy and fun.”

Is there anything else you still want to achieve?

“There's lots of stuff! For me, it's all about the script, rather than the actual music but & Juliet is script and music combined so the ultimate package. But yeah there's nothing at the moment, it comes to me as it comes.”

Have you got any words of advice for people want to be a professional actress?

“The biggest thing I've learned is be yourself, don't try to be anybody else. I've had icons and people that I've admired and sometimes I've tried to sort of emulate them and it's never really worked and actually the moment that I turned around and went ‘oh I think I just probably need to be me and come at it from that angle’ [it worked]. 

“I went to dance school and then I went to Fylde College… did performing arts A Levels/BTEC and then I moved to university. That's my journey but I know other people do different things. There's so  much online now that you can use and source tha  is available to everybody so everyone has their own little journey.

“Don't give up! That's the thing and the big one is learn to love the word ‘no’ because it happens a lot!”