In The Spotlight - Gary Peake

How long have you been performing in shows
Since I was 9, I appeared as Officer Pugh in the School Play "Cops and Robbers!", I remember telling a joke on stage and hearing all the people laugh- I was instantly hooked and knew entertaining was for me!!!

What got you interested in music / theatre
My Mum & Dad used to take me to the Theatre from a very young age. I was totally captivated watching shows. I watching whilst sat on my Dad's knee and thinking "I would love to do that!". I remember specifically watching Torvil and Dean Perform Fire and Ice, I was only a Toddler, but apparently I was transfixed for the entire show- and I can still remember it.

What was your first show
My first ever play was "Cops and Robbers" by Janet and Allen Ahlberg. My first lead in a musical, and indeed my first musical show, was Seymour in "Little Shop of Horrors" which I did at Secondary School. Around this time I joined Derby Playhouse Youth Theatre and did two main house shows a year from when I was 13 - 19. At University I was President of the Drama Society for 4 years, which was awesome!

What has been your favourite show and/or character and why
My favourite show has to be performing Seussical with everyone from Greasepaint. I was so happy to join such an awesome group of talented people. I have made so many friends and when we performed together for the first time it felt like magic. Such an amazing show being performed by such an outstanding cast, with all that amazing music made me buzz. It had been literally years since I had been in a Musical that made me feel like I did that week- magic!

What has been your most embarassing or funniest moment in a show
My most embarassing moment was walking on stage with a lit torch during a production of the Passion Plays. It was the Gethsemane Scene. The night before our torches burnt out before the end of the scene so the Director said to put "more fuel on them". We did. I remember walking on-stage under a wooden archway on Centre Stage and arriving at the front of the stage just as a Chorus of old women yelled "the stage is on fire".... which it was, and Derby Playhouse was evacuated for only the second time in its History.....

Describe the best and worst costumes you have had to wear
Best Costume I have ever worn was in Seussical with Greasepaint. I thought the costumes and face paints we had as Wickersham Brothers was outstanding. We really looked the part!

The worst costume was when I was playing Creon in the Oedipus Trilogy at Derby Playhouse. I had skin tight PVC trousers and vest..... and an African Tawny Eagle with a 6 foot wingspan on my arm to carry. It set a rather confusing image!!!

What has been your proudest moment
Performing the Lead Role in a Production of the "Pocket Dream" at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). It was a life long dream come true after spending so much of my youth going to watch productions at that venue with my parents and wanting to be good enough to do it myself. Making 500 people fall about laughing for two hours on the Worlds most famous stage was totally awesome.

I felt very emotional taking my bow and seeing my Mum and Lou sat in the audience with huge grins on their faces. It was only a short time after my Dad and my Gran had passed away and I didn't know if I would be able to pull it off, but somehow I managed to drag the performance of a life out of the bag!

If you could choose any show to perform in, what would it be and why
I would want to play Jean Valjean in Les Miserables or Frank 'n' Furter in the "Rocky Horror Show". Les Miserables because the story and music is outstanding. It always gets to me, and I do not believe that the story will ever "age". It is a moving and emotional peice with themes that transcend the time it is set in.

I would love to do the Rocky Horror show simply because I love breaking down the 4th wall and interacting with an audience- RHS offers plenty of opportunity to do that and an awesome sound track to boot!

Do you have any plans to pursue theatre as a career
I would love too! I have performed at the RSC and the Edinburgh Fringe many times, where I have also Directed Comedy plays. I have also worked a little in stand-up comedy under the name "Mountain Peak". I would love to do it all day every day- it is just far to much fun to ever feel like a chore, and to get paid as well?!?!?!?! Yes please!