'I stepped into lead role with a few hours of prep'

A theatre actor stepped into a lead male role he knew nothing about - with only hours to prepare and his script still in hand.

Craig Mather was teaching his musical theatre class when he received a call on Thursday from a director to say that their lead had fallen ill.

The 37-year-old was presented with the 140-page script and asked if he could be on stage at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester the following evening.

He said: "I'd never read the play, I'd never seen it, never met the cast blah blah blah, and yeah, it was the craziest 24 hours."

Caroline - A New Musical is set on Radio Caroline, a rebel radio station that defied UK broadcasting laws by playing pop music from international waters off the coast of Clacton-on-Sea.

It is the first production launched by the East Anglian Touring Consortium, a collaboration between theatres in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

Mather explained that it was an actor-muso production, meaning the cast both act and play in the band, therefore covering roles can be a "bit more tricky".

The actor - who lives in Colchester but is originally from Stroud, Gloucestershire - had not performed in a musical for seven years.

He then completed three more shows over the weekend.

Mather said the cast would ordinarily get "four or five weeks" to rehearse a show, and it "was just not plausible" for him to learn it, so he kept a wad of script and notes with him throughout the performance.

"It was either this or the show was cancelled, so they wouldn't have seen anything," he said. "I think the audience was well and truly onside by that point.

"There was a couple of, you know, moans and groans. My wife was sat in the audience on Saturday matinee, and she heard someone go, 'oh no, what's this' in front of her, which was quite funny."

In the aftermath, he told the BBC that it was both an "absolute manic task" and also the "least nervous I'd ever been".

"I had no expectations because I wasn't cast in the role... it was me stepping in and essentially saving the show.

"It was just a whirlwind if I'm honest."

The musical theatre teacher returned to class on Monday to tell them about the weekend he had had.

"I was just telling them that anything can happen in the industry. It's live theatre and you have to be ready for anything and everything."

Steve Mannix, chief executive of Mercury Theatre, said: "We are incredibly grateful to Craig Mather who stepped into the role of Robbie at a moment's notice.

"We must also thank our entire company of actors, creatives, stage managers and technicians who worked alongside Craig to ensure that the show could go on.

"Part of the mission of the new East Anglian Touring Consortium is to champion local talent, and Craig is another shining example of the exceptional talent we're so lucky to have right here in East Anglia."

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