The most swellegant party of the year is packing up its champagne flutes and heading on tour. Fresh from a sell-out run at the Barbican, the lavish 1950s waterfront estate of Tracy Lord is moving lock, stock, and barrel to Salford, arriving at the Lowry’s Lyric Theatre on Tuesday 22^nd September for a limited two-week run.

Ahead of their arrival on the Quays this autumn, we sat down with Helen George and Freddie Fox to talk about living out childhood musical theatre dreams, and bringing Cole Porter’s timeless toe-tappers to Greater Manchester audiences.

Are you looking forward to performing in Salford?

Freddie Fox: Yes, so much, we’re there for two weeks as well, which is really nice. I’ve just done so many things in Greater Manchester over the years. It’s a really special place in my heart, because it was my 1st proper, professional job I shot there. I made one of my best friends on that job so, I feel like I’m sort of, you know, going back home. I love it, I love wandering around the Northern Quarter. I think it’s the most stupendous city. It’s a great place, a really great place to do theatre.

Watching the show we really felt that you embodied the part of Mike Connor perfectly it looked like you were having so much fun on stage.

Freddie Fox: Thank you, I’m loving it, when I get to sing “You’re Sensational” to Helen, it changes subtly every single show. Sometimes it’s funnier and lighter, sometimes it’s more sort of sexy and sometimes it’s, you know, more sort of vulnerable.

Helen George: Yes, yes, it does, it does change every night. Yeah, we were quite fun and flirty tonight, weren’t we? You were making me laugh, we just have so much fun.

Freddie Fox: We do. But also, Helen gives me so much support, she has this extraordinary voice, you know, for someone who hadn’t done a musical before like myself, to feel like I was supported by someone I very much admire, was very, very, very, very nice and very helpful.

It’s certainly not a small role for your first.

Freddie Fox: I’ve been building up to it a long time. I had to choose the right one. You don’t want to just do a six-month run of something that you get bored with in 2 weeks.

For you Helen, you’ve done other big, lavish musicals, what particularly drew you to this?

Helen George: I went to see Guys and Dolls when I was five or six years old at The National, and that American songbook, that era of musicals, it completely stayed with me, it’s still right in my mind. I know all the words to all the songs even now because of that early experience. And so, this feels very, very similar, similar era, similar style. And the part of Tracy Lord is so wonderful. It has these songs that everybody knows and recognises that, you know, it’s an opportunity to make my own. And I just love it.  

We’ve seen you in The King and I, dancing in that stunning yet incredibly heavy dress, how does this role compare?

Helen George: Oh, yes, it was about 10lbs! It was a lot of fun. With Tracy it’s nice to sort of discover a part that is completely different and free, and gets drunk, and is irreverent, and, you know, is just silly, and I think, we have so much fun on the stage, and it’s not often that I have the chance to play fun characters.

That comes across so well to the audience too, we had so much fun just watching.

Helen George: I feel like I’ve reverted back to before I had children, I feel like it’s really been so beneficial to my life as well. I feel like I’ve got my silly back, which feels really nice.

And you exude that, both of you. You could tell you’re having a ball with it.

Freddie Fox: This is fun to do, it really is. And we worked a lot to get it right, changing things, putting things in. So, we were trying to find the sort of ultimate, um, hand-picked, bespoke version of the show. And so, there’s a lot of tightening the scripts and a lot of focus on the pace and the laughs.

Helen George: Also, it’s such a good cast, everybody is just really fun and wants to have a nice time. I think everybody was like, let’s just make it funny, and enjoy ourselves. It’s light on its feet.

You must see that at the end when the lights come up and you’re greeted by that wonderful reaction from the audience.

Freddie Fox: Yes, it feels great, because we’re splattered every day with such terrible news about this, that and the other thing. And so, the great thing about live theatre, in particular, is it is the most human of mediums, you know, and it is the greatest way to remember you’re alive on this earth and you’re here to have a good time and, you know, forget the bad stuff for a bit. You’re transported somewhere where you’d really like to be.

The choreography is beautiful, we remember your Strictly days Helen, did that experience help?

Helen George: I haven’t danced in years, and then I came in, and Anthony, the choreographer had watched my strictly things and was like, she can dance a bit and put lots of choreography in. Yeah, it’s really nice to dance again and there’s bits of everything in there too.

The enjoyment you’re all clearly having with this, that must make it easier knowing that you’re going on tour with it.

Helen George: I think, because we’ve all got our lives in London, we don’t actually get to socialise together, I haven’t really been out for drinks. with anybody. So, it would be nice to hang out, it will be really nice to do those sorts of things. I also think changing it up in every single city keeps it fresh, there’s always something else to look forward to, something new to get used to and then boom, you’re off and onto the next one.

It will be interesting to see how audiences react differently as well in different cities.

Helen George: Yes, further north you get, the the louder it gets, it’s the escapism we all need right now, absolutely.

The “swelleget, elegant” party opens at The Lowry on Tuesday 22^nd September and runs until Saturday 3^rd October tickets are available here.