West End group The Barricade Boys comes to Dubai

Scott Garnham, from The Barricade Boys, is excited for his December 18 performance in Dubai. “It’s actually really great that we’ve got this opportunity to come to Dubai – it’s our first time in the UAE and do this show. We can’t wait!” he says.

Garnham and The Barricade Boys, who’ve been part of productions on London’s West End as well as on Broadway, are part of the line-up of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’, which will play out at Sheikh Saeed Hall at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The other celeb bringing the cheer is Kerry Ellis, best known for her leading and award-winning role in ‘Wicked’. They’ll be joined by Jingle Bell Christmas Orchestra featuring not only international but also UAE-based musicians. All-in-all, they promise a star act.

On the cards is a Christmas-themed song list including 'All I Want for Christmas', 'Twelve Days of Christmas' and of course 'Jingle Bell Rock'.

Ahead of the show, Gulf News spoke to Garnham, who’s been working the stage since age 7, about what is it about performing he loves, how the pandemic has affected his job and why we need to be at his upcoming gig. Here are excerpts from the conversation.

You’ve been performing since you were very young. What is it that keeps you coming back to the stage?

It’s a lots of things that I love about being a performer. I love that there are very few jobs where when you finish your job, you get a round of applause. Every time I sing or dance, or do something on stage, I can look at [the audience] who applaud or laugh or cry at the something. And I think it’s great as a performer if you can move people in some way.

How has the pandemic affected theatre?

Well, it’s changed dramatically. Obviously, theatre is a confined space – you can’t have large groups of people for a confined space. So for us, you know, we were meant to be touring the US and the UK and both got cancelled. We’ve managed to do a couple of concerts outdoors, socially distanced. It’s great for us to go out and perform but it’s not been very much. It’s actually really great that we’ve got this opportunity to come to Dubai – it’s our first time in the UAE and do this show. We can’t wait!

You’ve worked in plays such as ‘ ‘Les Misérables’, ‘Billy Elliot’, etc. which are very serious works of art. After that, how easy is working on ‘Jingle Bell Rock’?

Any time you are performing, you want to work on it, because you want it to be the best it can be and you never take for granted that people have spent their money to come watch you do anything. When I was in ‘Billy Elliot’, for instance, I played Tony the brother, which is a very serious role, and I used to feel quite down sometimes because of the journey I had been on as an actor….[As part of the Barricade Boys] people think we so ballads but we do so much more. We do pop, rock, swing, Motown.

Why should people come watch you?

It’s our first time there so if there are people who are sitting on the fence or are unsure about who we are and what to expect, just come. Because we promise you you’ll have the best time.

Don’t miss it!

Tickets to see ‘Jingle Bell Rock – Christmas in Dubai’ on December 18 at 3pm or 8pm start at Dh175.