Jaymi Hensley on his dream role as Joseph

Joseph
and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat opens at the Edinburgh Playhouse tomorrow
(Tuesday). Here, Union J star Jaymi Hensley, who plays Joseph, talks about
making his musical theatre dream come true.

What is
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat about?

It’s based on a biblical story about Joseph the dreamer.
He has 11 brothers, but he’s his father’s favourite and his Dad gives him a coloured dreamcoat as
a gift. His brothers get very jealous and hatch a plan to kill him, but instead
he gets taken to Egypt as a slave and is sent to prison. Fate is on Joseph’s
side however and despite trying times, he eventually becomes the prince of
Egypt.

Joseph has got something special. It has all these
markers that made me think of my life. I had people, not brothers, but
contemporaries at school, who told me I couldn’t be what I wanted to be. I’m a
dreamer; I wanted to be a star. I also had something that made me different;
being a gay man and finding out at a young age.

I always had my head in the clouds, but I was always
sure of who I was and I never let what anyone said deter me. That’s how I approached
Joseph, with the message that as long as you stand by who you are, eventually
the rest of the world will see how wonderful you are too.

Is that what
drew you to the role?

It just felt right. Theatre was always my first love.
I always envisioned myself on stage every day. But life took a different turn.

I believe in the universe giving you signs and the
tools you need to make things happen. I did panto with Jimmy Osmond, who’s done
Joseph, and then I met Joe McElderry, who’d also played Joseph. All these signs
were there. It was so bizarre. It just felt like I need to do this. And I’ve
never felt like I’m more in the right place at the right time than I do right
now.

Joseph and
the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is 50 years old this year. How do you think
this show has stood the test of time?

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice are the best. They
wrote this musical at university! The songs are timeless. I think that is the
one word to use. You have songs here that, in 2019, don’t have to be modernised.
We’re not changing anything at all. That’s testament to how well written they
are. I know how dated the music I released in the last seven years is already,
just listening to the charts!

How did it
feel to put on theatre’s most famous coat for the first time on stage?

At my opening night in Windsor, that moment was when I
got an out-of-body, hairs on the back of your neck moment. I had goosebumps
everywhere and was rushing with emotion. This is just such an amazing show to
be a part of. I’m honoured that they’re letting me take the torch.

What’s most
exciting about touring the show?

What I love about a touring show is people are so
grateful that you’re coming to see them, that you’re doing the leg work. People
really appreciate that.

I’m really looking forward to going to places I’ve
never been before and finding new audiences. I love being on the road. Although
I’ve been a pop star for the last seven years, being on stage is the thing I’ve
done the least. It was all about being on TV or in a studio. The stage is what
I love. I love being live in front of an audience, so to do it 10 times a week,
I couldn’t be happier.

What is it that
makes live performance so special?

It’s the seeing sweat on someone’s face, the passion
and the being in the room with them. You can’t beat that. Especially singing,
you can’t beat live music and hearing that passion come from someone’s voice. As
a performer, you have to impress there and then; there’s no rerun, it’s now or
never. That added pressure is what makes theatre so amazing.

At the start
of 2019, you announced Union J were splitting for now. How do you look back on
your time with that band?

I have the fondest memories of that project, even when
things were tough for us. You need to have those moments to give you a sense of
how much it means to you. I’ll be forever grateful to that band for giving me
what it’s given me and the joy we’ve had over the years. In my adult life I’ve
only done what I love. Very few people can say that. I would never take that
for granted.

People might think it a little self-indulgent, but I
watch back our YouTube videos and listen to our music. I’m very proud of what
we achieved as, initially, three young kids who set out to do something and
made it happen. We were all so determined.

One day, hopefully, we can get back together and do a
reunion and be together at a different time in life when it’s right again. As
much as we were a band, we are individual people and we have individual
passions, hopes and aspirations. In every good relationship you have to let the
other person flourish.

What can
audiences expect from a trip to see Joseph?

It’s a real feel good musical. The music’s fun, it’s
bright and colourful, and we have the most amazing, talented cast. The world at
the moment is so depressing; I think everybody should come for a couple of
hours of detachment from reality, and have a fun, uplifting time.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is on at the Edinburgh Playhouse from Tuesday 19^th – Saturday 23^rd March 2019. Tickets here.