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Old friends Marina Prior and Philip Quast settle into unusual roles in a brilliant new show
It's probably the most unusual and unlikely piece of stage work that music theatre luminaries Marina Prior and Philip Quast have undertaken. The Secret Garden, which recently opened to rave notices in Sydney, has Marina hovering over the stage as a ghost and Philip playing an embittered, loveless doctor. Their stage presence is formidable, yet surprisingly they don't sing a great deal.
You would think a musical that sees these two reuniting with their old Les Misérables co-star, Anthony Warlow, would be teeming with show stoppers, but this is not the case.
Philip and Marina say The Secret Garden holds great appeal simply because it is so differnet from their previous roles. But they are quick to point out that they love the few songs thay do sing. "I can't liken it in style to anything" Marina says of the show baseed on France Hodgson Burnett's evergreen 1911 novel. "It is not like any show I have heard or seen."
For Phlip, the chance to sing the rousing duet, 'Lily's Eyes', with old mate Anthony Warlow was reason enough to join the show. He laughs at the notion he is playing yet another twisted, loveless character - one on a par witn Inspector Javert, the Les Misérables character that took him to the West End.
"Yes, it is another one of those sorts. This is basically a show about people who can neither give nor receive love. I just try to find some depth to these characters. I see their problems stem from lack of communication, lack of honesty or a stuffed-up childhood".
The rigors of parenting (he and wife Carol have three young boys - Edwin, 5, Harry, 3, and five-month-old Toby) leave little time for Philip to be precious about his revered singing voice.
"Life is too short to worry about that sort of thing. It just doesn't worry me. I get colds. We're all human. I've had two colds recently. The stress that goes with doing musicals is phenomenal."
Marina, however, is very protecitve of her voice. "I can't be around smoke and I can't talk too much during the day. If you are tired, it shows straight away in your voice" she says.
Beyond The Secret Garden, which heads for Melbourne after its season at the Syndey State Thatre, Philip is booked to tape some episodes of Play School - "Just so I can have fun again" - and plans to do more theatre in the UK.
"My career choices will be dictated to by the needs of the children. I'd love to write, and I'd love to be an archaeologist. Having come off the land (north of Tamworth, NSW), my big dream would be to go and live on it. That's my idea of bliss."
Marina isn't so forthcoming about her plans. "I just want to be better than I was yesterday," she says. Would she consider starting a family? "It's a goal, but not at the moment. I'm too caught up in what I'm doing, "she says.
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