Introducing Jacob Fisher – all singing, all dancing Grease extraordinaire

Packaged with barrels of confidence and an oozing sense of West End cool that only someone who knew every lyric to every song in Wicked (and sung them outside of the shower) could possibly hold, musical theatre kids are all too often typecast.

Yet, anyone meeting Jacob Fisher, the Weston-super-Mare-born actor currently starring as Johnny Casino in a new production of Grease on show at Bristol Hippodrome, will discover a very different type of thespian.

As he discussed his love of South West theatre, this softly spoken, mildly understated man explained how he’s drawn inspiration from the different auditoriums he’s performed in, and how going from one to another has helped to shape who he is, as well as his theatrics.

“The Hippodrome is such an iconic venue. It’s massive, it has a gorgeous auditorium. So, whenever you walk in, you’re taken aback by the beauty of the place,” Jacob tells Bristol24/7.

“But then, on the flip side of that, you’ve got the smaller theatres. In Weston, where I grew up, you’ve got the Blakehay Theatre, which holds maybe 200 seats.”

This new production of Grease will offer some unexpected twists – photo: Courtesy of Ambassador Theatre Group

Jacob grew up in Weston alongside sisters who were also involved in performing arts. It was his mum who encouraged him to get on stage, gently teasing him about his love of mimicking people and putting on different voices and accents.

When he was just eight or nine, he auditioned for the school musical after his drama teacher emboldened him to give it a go. Next thing he knew he was studying for a drama GCSE, getting further involved in acting during his time at Filton College and finally graduating from drama school at Arts Ed in London in 2015.

He described theatre in and around Bristol when he was younger as a “hot scene” and recognised how competitive it was to get as far as he has today.

From the humility with which he spoke, you couldn’t help but wonder if he ever saw himself touring the UK in not just one, but technically three roles. As well as his own role as Johnny Casino, Jacob steps into the shoes of Teen Angel and Vince Fontaine when singer and television personality Peter Andre is not wearing them.

Furthermore, he’s also the understudy for lead character Danny Zuko, who is played by Dan Partridge.

Peter Andre stars as Teen Angel and Vince Fontaine – photo: Courtesy of Ambassador Theatre Group

Describing the different “hats” he wears, Jacob said: “Normally, as Johnny, it’s lovely, I get to enjoy my dancing and all my singing.

“And then, playing Vince is a complete flipside. Because Peter is so brilliant at the role, he owns that stage.

“I have to come in and do my own take on it. Obviously, I’m not the same age as Peter, I’m a little bit younger. That lends itself to a slightly more energetic character on stage – that lends itself to a slightly more nervous character, in my instance.”

He continued: “And then obviously, as Danny, I have to come up with my whole character that isn’t based on John Travolta, because that’s the one thing I want to try and steer clear of. But I love it.”

He describes the new production as a “fresh take” on the Grease we think we’ve seen before – a little closer to the original musical than the blockbuster film that is so well known. According to Jacob, the relationships are different and even some of the songs won’t be totally recognisable.

Without giving the game away, he explained: “People will go into the show going – Oh, it’s definitely gonna be this – but it’s not. We’ve got different relationships forming between different characters. So, it might not necessarily be the same two people that ended up coupling up, or some people that you think would couple up, just don’t couple up at all.”

Grease is showing at the Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday.

See www.atgtickets.com/shows/grease/bristol-hippodrome for tickets and more information.

The full interview with Jacob will be available to listen to on the Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines Podcast from Friday.

Main photo: Courtesy of Ambassador Theatre Group

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