Podcast Summary: Interview with Melanie La Barrie

Podcast: MickeyJoTheatre
Host: Mickey Jo
Guest: Melanie La Barrie
Episode Date: October 14, 2025

Overview

In this lively, insightful interview, host Mickey Jo sits down with acclaimed West End and Broadway performer Melanie La Barrie during rehearsals for The Book Thief: The Musical in Concert. The discussion explores Melanie’s remarkable career—from iconic roles in shows like Hadestown and & Juliet to her approach as a creative force and mentor in the theater industry. The episode offers a candid look at her philosophy on representation, character creation, resilience, and the importance of nurturing younger generations in theater.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Balancing Multiple Projects (01:42–02:53)

• Melanie reflects on her busy schedule, simultaneously performing in a play (Mary Page Marlowe at the Old Vic) and rehearsing The Book Thief in concert.

• She shares her excitement about collaborating with creatives like Tom Jackson Greaves and Jodi Picoult:

  "Jodi is like my favorite author...I didn't even read the script...But as soon as I saw those two names at the top of it, I said yes." —Melanie La Barrie (01:57)

• Humor around typecasting and aging on stage:

  "When I was in my twenties, I played a lot of women in their forties. When I was in my forties, I played a lot of women in the fifties and sixties. And now that I'm in my fifties, I can't age up anymore. So now I'm only playing immortal characters." —Melanie La Barrie (02:59)

On Playing “Nurse” and Representation (03:25–07:43)

• Melanie explains her recurring roles as nurses—including in Mary Page Marlowe and & Juliet—and muses on how casting often depends on how others perceive her:

  "I was never an ingenue...I always had I suppose a very mature energy...I also have a very weirdly maternal energy..." —Melanie La Barrie (06:41)

• She discusses the intersection of maturity, maternal quality, and how it translates to her being repeatedly cast in caregiving roles.

• Reflects humorously on Riot Women and continually being cast as a nurse.

Pioneering Representation in the West End (07:43–10:54)

• Melanie reflects on being the originator of several roles performed with her natural Trinidadian accent (Mrs. Phelps in Matilda, Mrs. Corry in Mary Poppins, the Nurse in & Juliet).
• The pride of opening roles for others:

  "It's only cool if other people get to do it. That's what I love about Making a [role]...I'm making a role for other people who come after me." —Melanie La Barrie (08:21)

• The importance of authentic representation and creating a path that others can reliably follow.

Identity, Accents, and Legacy (10:54–12:39)

• Discusses how just “doing the accent” isn’t about character quirks; it brings cultural depth:

  "When you say you want something to happen in an accent, then you're asking people to bring their history, you're asking them to bring their ancestors, you're asking them to bring their cultures." —Melanie La Barrie (12:39)

Reimagining Hermes in Hadestown (12:39–18:21)

• Shares the creative process and challenges of interpreting Hadestown’s Hermes as a female-presenting, gender-non-conforming character, blending her own energy and ancestry into the part:

  "Hermes just arrived as Hermes without gender...it was just me really just making the thing from my heart while respecting what had been made." —Melanie La Barrie (14:39)

• Cites inspirations like Marlene Dietrich and a suit aesthetic versus Lillias White’s corseted interpretation.

The Existentialist’s View on Theater (20:09–21:46)

• Discusses the deep realities of story-telling and the philosophy she brings to somber material:

  "I always say I'm an existentialist with a small E in that I believe in the inherent sadness of life, but the joy or the resilience of existence is about making it through...sometimes it's just surviving, that is your act of resistance." —Melanie La Barrie (20:11)

• On protesting through presence as a Black woman in British theater:

  "My presence is my protest...I will turn up...existence as a form of resistance." —Melanie La Barrie (20:44)

The Book Thief in Concert: A New Lens on Death (21:46–25:04)

• Melanie explains how the concert staging reimagines Death as humble and gentle, not frightening—deliberately contrasting with classic portrayals:

  "It's kind of the only thing we all have in common, right, is that we die. So it's always present, but it's unnoticed until you have to regard it...and to make her kind, because we wanted to, that even if people die in a horrendous way, that they meet Death perfectly." —Melanie La Barrie (23:14)

• Emphasizes the show’s themes of light, resilience, and small acts of surviving dark times.

The Role of an Elder and Mentoring (25:45–31:40)

• On being called an icon and the responsibility that comes with seniority:

  "It's also what you do for companies off stage...I want you to think about the kind of person you decide to be in this world. How will you be thought of? Right. How are you going to contribute?" —Melanie La Barrie (26:04)

• Touching on the importance of passing on wisdom and creating supportive, collaborative spaces in theatre.
• Cites her own icons and mentors—Maria Friedman, Sharon D. Clark, Susie McKenna, Noma Dumezweni—and the ongoing cycle of learning from others.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Roles and Identity:

  "I'm not trying to make a Trinidadian character. I'm just a character who speaks in a Trinidadian accent because that's how I was made." —Melanie La Barrie (09:53)

• On Mentoring New Talent:

  "It is my duty to care for people. And it is because I was cared for when I was coming up...my job is to pour into all the people that I get to be around." —Melanie La Barrie (27:47)

• On Audience Reactions:

  "If I tell you what's going to happen and then you don't pay attention...Why are you shocked? And then I must make you feel better? I said, absolutely not." —Melanie La Barrie (20:00)

• On Book Thief’s Themes:

  "...sometimes simple existence is the way we get through it." —Melanie La Barrie (25:04)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:42 – Juggling multiple shows at once
• 03:25 – Typecasting and the “nurse” phenomenon
• 07:43 – Representation and originating roles with a Trinidadian accent
• 12:39 – Accents, identity, and bringing heritage to the stage
• 14:39 – Creating a genderless Hermes in Hadestown
• 20:09 – Existential philosophy and resistance through presence
• 23:14 – Reimagining the character of Death in The Book Thief
• 26:04 – Philosophy on mentorship, nurturing company culture, responsibility as an ‘elder’

Tone & Atmosphere

Warm, candid, and deeply insightful, the conversation seamlessly blends humor, wisdom, and hard-earned perspective. Melanie’s humility and artistry shine through as she shares both practical and philosophical approaches to her craft and her legacy in UK theater.

Closing Details

• The Book Thief: The Musical in Concert with Melanie La Barrie as Death:
  Performances: October 19th & 26th at the Prince of Wales Theatre

• Mary Page Marlowe at the Old Vic:
  Through: November 1st

Summary Compiled by:
MickeyJoTheatre Podcast Summarizer
For more theatre interviews and news, subscribe to MickeyJoTheatre on YouTube and podcast platforms.