Casting a spell Wicked role a dream come true for Ashleigh

Ashleigh Gray has spent the past couple of years on stage with Susan Boyle, John Barrowman and The Krankies but her latest role is her most exciting yet.

She’s landed the lead role of Elphaba in the UK touring production of smash-hit musical, Wicked, which tells the stories of the witches of Oz.

And the next date on the tour sees the realisation of a dream for Ashleigh, who comes from the small mining village of Newtongrange in Midlothian.

Wicked will be in residence at the Playhouse in Edinburgh for two months and the 32-year-old can’t wait to step out on stage.

“I’m so excited,” she smiled. “Performing at the Playhouse is a dream come true. I used to go there as a kid and I could only dream about being up on stage. I didn’t think it would ever happen.

“I’ve toured Edinburgh before, but never the Playhouse. All the big shows came there and I would go with my parents or on school trips. That was what influenced me to pursue this as a career.”

Ashleigh joined a musical youth group in Prestonpans and went onto Telford College in Edinburgh for a year, before moving down south to join the Guildford School of Acting. She’s lived down south for 14 years now as she’s pursued a musical theatre career, appearing in productions of Taboo, Grease and as the stand-in Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked.

Ashleigh was also part of the Susan Boyle musical, I Dreamed A Dream, and made a big impression on SuBo.

“I played the role of Lorraine Campbell, who is one of Susan’s oldest friends,” she explained. “That was an interesting job for me, because I had never played a real person before. I had a cup of tea with Lorraine beforehand. She stays in touch and will be coming to see Wicked.

“Someone obviously noticed me in the musical because I was then asked to support Susan on her first tour around Scotland. She must have felt comfortable about taking me on the road and I had the joy of duetting with her every night.

“We did I Know Him So Well by Elaine Paige. It was daunting to start with but I loved being part of the show. It was very different from what I’m used to playing a character.

“Susan and I both have very similar stories. We each come from mining villages and supportive family backgrounds where everyone would sit round the fire having a sing-song. Susan just loves to perform and she gives it laldy!”

Also coming to see the show while it’s in Edinburgh will be John Barrowman and The Krankies, who Ashleigh starred with the past two years at the SECC pantomime in Glasgow. She’s also performing a duet with Barrowman on his new album.

“The panto family are coming through to Edinburgh to see me. It was hard work, doing two shows every day, but great fun. John’s a great guy. I was honoured when he asked me to duet on Bridge Over Troubled Water for his new album.”

Appearing in Glasgow for the past two years means Ashleigh has been lucky enough to stay at the family home for Christmas and New Year.

“I’m doing the hat-trick this year. I try to get home to Newtongrange as much as I can, because all of my family still live there. It’s great. I get all my washing done and I’ll be the size of a house by the time we’re finished at the Playhouse!”

Ashleigh first saw Wicked in New York 10 years ago and immediately knew it was something special. There are nine productions of Wicked running concurrently around the world and it has now been performed in more than 100 cities in 13 countries. An incredible 42 million people have seen the show.

Ashleigh was the stand-in for the West End production from 2007 to 2010 and when the opportunity came to lead the touring production, she jumped at it.

Even the nightly make-up sessions to transform her into a green-faced witch are enjoyable.

“I spend 40 minutes in make-up but it’s actually quite therapeutic, because they use special brushes to put it on.

“But it takes much longer to take off and tends to stick around for a while. I often find green bits behind my ears!”