An award-winning Frome actor has made his Paris debut in La Divine Comedie theatre, a stone’s throw from the Folies Bergère and the Grands Boulevards.
Pip Utton, who has performed in over 30 countries, played two of his solo performances, Chaplin and The Hunchback of Notre Dames, to packed houses in the heart of the city and has been invited back to Paris for more performances next year.
Pip specialises in monodramas (one-person dramas) and is internationally recognised as one of the ‘finest’ writers and performers of this genre, having won awards around the world.
“It means a great deal because it is always challenging to be performing in such a special place. Slap bang in the middle of Paris, next door to the Follies, how thrilling is that?” says Pip.
“I’ve been very lucky to have worked on some very special productions. Some of the stand-out moments have been playing Adolf in so many different countries, singing the lead at a sold-out Albert Hall in the premiere of Mark McGann’s Backstories, playing Churchill in the amphitheatre in Paphos and transforming into Mrs T for Playing Maggie.
“I’ve had the chance to work with some very talented people and learn from all of them.”
Pip who was born in a small Staffordshire mining village called Rawnsley said he has not always been an actor. He worked in the clock trade and then the jewellery trade, qualifying as a gemologist, until he was 43, but acting has always been his love.
“It’s what I do best,” says Pip, who has two sons who were born and educated in Frome. “I feel at home on stage and working with theatre folk, and performing solo is both terrifying and thrilling.
“I have to thank the Edinburgh Fringe. After four years of slowly trying to break into this crazy business, I had a massive ‘hit’ with my play Adolf.
“It has been touring all around the world since 1996; [this month] [Adolf] goes to Slovakia for the first time and next year I am booked to play in Bangladesh for the first time. Adolf opened the door to everything that followed.”
Following performances in Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, and with Prague, Slovakia and Edinburgh Festival Fringe coming up, Pip says it has been a busy year and he will be taking the rest of the year off from performances to travel and write new work.
