Q&A with Victoria Jones

Ahead of her performance at the Marina Theatre on Friday 3rd March, we caught up with Victoria Jones as she prepares to portray Cilla Black in the exciting show Cilla and the Shades of the 60’s.

Victoria grew up in a musical environment in Liverpool and from a very early age she was a fan of Kylie Minogue. By the time she was 15 she was performing Kylie tracks onstage in a cabaret-style act. Victoria has since worked alongside comedians and actors in a number of shows including the hilarious Escorts – The Musical and she famously unleashed her wild side in the cult rock theatre show Vampires Rock.

In 2014, Victoria began her tribute to the late, great Cilla Black in her one-woman show, Liverbird. Victoria not only has Cilla’s trademark looks and accent she has the voice to match so she was a natural choice for the producers of ‘Cilla and the Shades of the 60s’ for the new 2017 touring show where she will be joined onstage by The Shades.

1. What do you enjoy most about performing Cilla and the Shades of the 60s?
I've always adored 60s music as the songs of that era had such a raw sound which I love. I really think I was born in the wrong decade! Performing as Cilla gives me the opportunity to celebrate the fashion and sound of a generation of women who made a real difference in the music industry and across the world.

2. Coming from Liverpool, do you feel a special connection to Cilla?
When I travel around the country being a red headed Scouser I always get compared to Cilla... or Sheridan Smith! I do feel a connection there, she too was a bold girl from a working class background who just loved to perform.

3. Which songs do you know the audience will join in on?
The biggest audience reaction we get is for You're My World. At that point in the show they’ve been through quite an emotional journey and it is such a powerful number. I absolutely love singing it as it was the first Cilla song I ever performed. Plus it's one of my dad's favourites!

4. Who’s your current favourite singer
I love the raspy, power house voices of Lulu and Tina Turner but my favourite current artist has got to be Sia. She expresses so much emotion in her vocal performance and seems to have a never ending range, I really appreciate that she writes all her own songs too.

5. Tell us a fun backstage story
Where do I begin on crazy backstage stories? As most of us have worked together for a long time we've accumulated a lot!! We did once get asked if we could do a Spice Girls medley and we thought ‘yeah, why not’. What they didn’t mention was that it was at a funeral!

6. What are you most looking forward to on the tour?
I'm really looking forward to the tour as I can do what I love doing while being on the road with some of my closest friends. Each song is a pleasure to perform, I don't just feel like a singer, I get the opportunity to use my acting skills too.

Also appearing in the production as The Shades, are Anna Slater, who has worked in some of the most prestigious live music venues in and around London as a lounge singer, Nicola Twardowski who is a professional singer, dancer and choreographer from South Yorkshire and Emily Clark, who has performed as the young Dolly Parton and as the lead rock goddess in Vampires Rock.

Tickets for the show, which starts at 7.30pm, cost £19 for adults, £17 for concessions and £16.50 for Privilege Card holders.

Call the box office on 01502 533200 or click here to book your tickets!