If you happen to be a fan of Hawkeye, Cinderella or Les Misérables, then you have already bore witness to the widely acclaimed talents of rising star Fra Fee, who has exponentially shot to stardom within the acting industry. Having most recently played the role of Kazi in Disney+’s Hawkeye, it was about time Fra stepped into new shoes. Whos, you may wonder? Announced originally by the Kit Kat Club, Fra has embodied the very heart and soul of the Emcee in the award-winning revival of Cabaret.

But that is not all, as playing alongside him is Amy Lennox, the Olivier-nominated actress most commended for her work in the West End production of Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde and Lazarus. Having now transformed into the unapologetic Sally Bowles, Amy has been putting her best foot forward to encompass the fiercely iconic and forthright figure.

Speaking of the fresh new casting, producers of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club: Adam Speers, Ed Bartlan and Charlie Wood explain, “We are thrilled to be welcoming the perfectly marvellous Fra Fee and Amy Lennox to our production of Cabaret. We wanted to recast these career defining roles with exceptional actors and so we’re just delighted that the stars have aligned with both Fra and Amy’s schedules. We couldn’t have asked for a more exciting and thrilling duo to follow Eddie and Jessie.”

To celebrate their recent successes, we sat with Amy Lennox and Fra Fee to discuss their new roles, their journeys to the stage and what to expect from the reimagining of the classic show. To read the full interview now, head below…

How are you? How has this past year been?
Amy Lennox: I’m great, actually! I was very lucky during 2020 as I was filming. We had an initial four months off before going back in July. Although it was a new filming experience with social distancing and covid marshals, we all felt extremely grateful to be working. I finished in June last year and the following six months were spent waiting for the right job. I had recently moved to the seaside in Kent, and I took the time to really embrace my new home and make new friends. There’s an amazing community of women here and I’ve really enjoyed that whole vibe. I’ve never lived anywhere where people are so sociable before! Considering all things, I have had a pretty good year and feel very lucky and grateful for that.

How did you get into theatre, what sparked the interest?
I got into theatre relatively late. I was watching a documentary on a stage school in London, I’m from Aberdeen where there isn’t anything quite like that. The documentary showed these kids at stage school all auditioning for a show and I was struck with complete envy. I was about eleven and had just started secondary school. The only opportunity to perform was part of the school show, which was Annie Get Your Gun, and we were only allowed to audition for the ensemble. I had never auditioned for anything before and had never sung in public and was absolutely a bag of nerves. My knees were knocking, I was so shy and didn’t get in! I remember being really upset about it and speaking to someone in my class who told me about an am-dram group they went to. I joined and immediately it brought my confidence out. From then I just joined every single theatre group in the local area and did as many shows as I could, eventually managing to get lead roles in my school shows.

And joining Cabaret, what does this mean to you?
This is a complete and utter privilege. I was lucky enough to see the show just a few days before I auditioned for Sally Bowles. It blew my mind, the entire production is mind blowing, I thought the design and the direction was genius, as were the entire cast. I thought the Kit Kat girls and boys were just mesmerising. It was in some ways quite intimidating watching it and thinking, “Oh my gosh, this is just the best of the best and the classiest thing I’ve ever seen.” I’m over the moon to be part of it, and really proud.

It opened last year to critical acclaim, what was your reaction to this?
I was massively intrigued when the buzz started about it, and very keen to see it. Now that I’ve seen it, I’m not in the slightest bit surprised. The show has garnered eleven Olivier Award nominations and each and every one is well deserved, it’s amazing.

And stepping into these roles, did you face any challenges?
There were challenges, but nothing different than there would be stepping into any other role. In any character, there are always going to be elements that come quite naturally to me and some that don’t. That’s the process of the rehearsal. I think Sally is a lot more forthcoming than me! Finding the elements of her personality and character that are different to mine that initially I felt slightly uncomfortable with – like how unapologetically in your face she can be. I had a level of politeness to that, which I’ve been chipping away at to find ‘my Sally’ as it were. I’ve been unbelievably lucky to have had, hands down, the best creative team supporting me along the way. Our director, Rebecca Frecknall is wonderful to work with as is our associate Jordan Fein and our choreographer Julia Cheng, along with Kayla Lomas-Kirton and Lauren Dickson. I’ve never felt so safe in a rehearsal process which I think is one of the most important things for an actor. It’s great to be able to try anything and find our way and not worry about being wrong. We’ve not been forced to do anything that someone else as done in the past, and it’s been just a wonderful process.

What do you hope people take away from the show?
I think the timing of this show, even without the current situation in Ukraine, has real parallels with our world now. Even though the musical was written in 1966 it feels so powerful and valid now. You can feel it at the end of each performance; there is sometimes this overwhelming silence from the audience as they’ve been knocked for six. I don’t think Kander and Ebb anticipated that Cabaret would be so relevant this many years on, it is almost frightening that humanity hasn’t managed to progress too far. The validity of the subject matter is quite haunting.

Do you approach each show differently?
I approach every project I do with the same sort of attitude – go with the flow and see what happens. There are so many factors that can make a process feel different such as the style of the director, the nature of the piece, the size of the cast and with all these varying factors I just go in with the same attitude and hope to learn something new and come out of that project a better actor.

Working with Fra, what is one thing you’ve learned about each other?
This isn’t the first time I’ve worked with Fra, we did The Last Five Years, a Jason Robert Brown two-hander seven years ago. We’ve known each other a long time so when we found out we were working together we were like giggling school kids, so excited to be going through this journey together. I guess I have learned that he is still as nice as he was to work with seven years ago! He’s a delight – easy going and grounded.

Who would you say inspires you?
I’d say I’m quite difficult to please, and when I am, I am massively inspired by wonderful performances. Some incredible performances stick with me – I think Cate Blanchett is a wonder, Toni Collette I love and think she is the most wonderful character actor, Javier Bardem is incredible especially when he plays baddies. Just seeing wonderful performances really sticks with me. I was blown away by Robert Icke’s Mary Stuart and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for weeks afterward. Lia Williams and Juliet Stevenson swapped roles each night on a coin toss and both women were like lionesses on the stage. I was just in awe.

What’s next for you?
I have no idea! It’s going to be hard to top this job, that’s for sure, but I will do my very best!

How are you? How has this past year been?
Fra Fee: I’m very well thanks. Pleasantly shattered after a performance of Cabaret… this year has been a bit of a whirlwind to be honest and I can’t believe we’re in April already. I was waiting for a Disney series to begin filming in the spring and it was unfortunately pulled out of the blue. Thankfully, Rebecca Frecknall called a couple of days later asking me to replace Eddie in Cabaret and here we are. Feel very lucky.

How did you get into theatre, what sparked the interest?
I’d say a little nature and nuture – I come from a family of literary and art lovers. My sister sings and my Da is a popular actor on the local amateur dramatics circuit so I was always immersed in drama and music and I just caught the bug very early on.

And joining Cabaret, what does this mean to you?
It’s such an unbelievable thrill. When I was cast I hadn’t seen this lauded production and sat with Rebecca, our director watching it for the first time I was stunned. I didn’t really know what to say or how to express my feelings after witnessing it. It’s extraordinary. To be riding on the crest of the show’s success is both a privilege and a huge responsibility, but I couldn’t be happier.

It opened last year to critical acclaim, what was your reaction to this?
Well, I was one of the many people struggling to get a ticket but knew I’d catch it at some stage. I just didn’t expect to be IN it!

And stepping into these roles, did you face any challenges?
Although we had four weeks which I suppose is pretty standard, it felt a little quick. The role of the Emcee has all of his moments with the ensemble – who of course was still performing in the show every night – so I didn’t get a great deal of time with them until I started performing it myself. And of course, his scene partner is essentially the audience themselves, so discovering that relationship only happens when you’re doing it. But that side of it has been extremely fun.

What do you hope people take away from the show?
People would consider Cabaret a classic, but in light of everything that is going on in the world right now, it seems to be a remarkable reflection. Sometimes we need to learn about our own stories by seeing them depicted in front of us. As well as that, it is the most special immersive theatrical experience. One feels like they’re in a club in Berlin. It’s unreal.

You were in Disney+’s Hawkeye, how different is the preparation for theatre to TV?
You tend to get more time with theatre, the beauty of rehearsing for weeks. It’s usually quite different for telly; more a case of ‘get up and just see what happens – but with Hawkeye, because so much of my stuff was with Alaqua Cox, a stunning deaf newcomer, I had a lot of American Sign Language to learn, which I thankfully had time to prepare, so I felt well rehearsed for it.

Working with Amy, what is one thing you’ve learned about each other?
Well me and Amy go back quite a while. We did a production of the last five years, a brilliant two-hander musical in Belfast about 7 years ago so we know each other quite well which was why I was utterly thrilled when she was cast as Sally. It’s gorgeous to be sharing this experience with a friend I love so much. What have I learned…? That she sings the shit out of Cabaret!

Who would you say inspires you?
I tend to be inspired by writing. That’s what I’m drawn to. Perhaps because I’ve never had the bravery or audacity to try it myself. I just speak or sing other people’s words. There are plenty of writers I admire who inspire me; Stephen Sondheim being one. He sadly just left us at the age of 91. But anyone that has the bravery to put words to a page and put it out there for public consumption, I just think is incredible.

What’s next for you?
Well that would be telling… AKA, not a clue!