“It’s like you are a footballer and playing for the top manager...he is the most powerful and richest producer in the world.”
Brian Conley is sharing what it means to be given the thumbs up by theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh.
“To have his nod of approval and for him to say ‘Brian, I want you to play Barnum,’ you think, ‘My God’. It’s special.”
Barnum – the story of America’s Greatest Showman – makes its MK stage debut next week.
“Sir Cameron is the only person that could tour a show this size,” Brian says, “It is a real spectacular - there are 28 of us in the company, 11 in the orchestra.
“It’s a lovely story about him and his wife too, the story of this man's dreams and how he came about with such wonderful ideas and became the most famous man in America.
"There is so much to it, and so many things you have to bring to the part - whether it be acting, comedy, singing, then of course you've got fire-eating, juggling, stilt walking..."
“When he died, Barnum was the richest man in America. Barnum turned the theatres into palaces and made them ornate so that he would get families in, and the middle classes in to see shows.
“Every beautiful theatre in the country is down to Sir Cameron," Brian says, mixing his Mackintosh’s with his Barnum’s, “Erm, I mean Barnum...although I suppose it is down to Sir Cameron too...”
Barnum is another plump theatrical role for Brian, and follows his star turns as Al Jolson, as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray and Fagin in ‘Sir Cameron’s’ tour of Oliver!
“...I know for a fact that if that hadn’t gone well, or they thought I was a bit too big for my boots they wouldn’t have asked me back,” he realises.
“It’s all about getting on.”
Brian says it’s a trait learned young: “I think it’s down to your upbringing, without a doubt,” he says, before giving me another example of that affable Conley way.
“I would say that my brother is the top stage manager in the country - for Ant & Dec, for Paul O’ Grady...he does Britain’s Got Talent, Strictly...he is a good people’s person.”
Brian, 53, is as comfortable on the small screen as he is on the live stage, and as happy singing as he is making us smile.
“I’m an all-rounder, an entertainer,” he says.
“I’ve always thought of myself as someone who, like Barnum, acts a bit, does comedy, sings...I’m not a comedian who just stands there and tells jokes.”
“It’s kept me ticking over for the past 40 years,” he says modestly.
And yet despite all the success, here he is walking the tight-rope on a nightly basis!
How long did it take to learn?
“Six months and I’m still learning,” Brian admits.
“Obviously you are not that high the first time you do it.
“You start on what they call a cheese cutter, which is only a foot off the ground, then you gradually progress and get higher and higher.
“You just have to do it,” he says, “It is part of the show and something every Barnum has to do. It’s also a wonderful metaphor for what is happening. He is having an affair and is walking a tight-wire....”
Brian is contracted to Barnum until September, and wheels are in motion for future projects.
A BBC television show is on the cards:I can't say too much about it, but it's a cracking show where I interview celebrities," he teases, "But there is a little bit more to it than that."
When Brian does get time off, he slots back into the role of father with ease.
"Lucy is my youngest and she is very much interested in this sort of world and might even go into showbusiness. Amy is studying event management and college," he says proudly.
But back to Barnum, and all of this stage action (“the first half is an hour and four minutes and I’m on for an hour and three, the second is 50 minutes and I’m on for all of that”) is making for a trim, fit fella.
“I’m the fittest I’ve ever been," Brian says.
He admits to the odd crafty fag, but is teetotal and is dead pleased with the results from his time on that wire!
"With the tight-wire you really have to work on your core strength. Mine is good,” he shares, “...and my leg muscles are phenomenal now!”
It’s a different picture from the fella who had to bow out of ITV show I’m a Celebrity early a couple of years ago.
Brian endured his own trials and tribulations which saw him removed from the wild and plonked in a hospital bed: “I still had three weeks of the most amazing holiday in Australia though,” he counters.
“We had Helen Flanagan and she didn’t really do any of the trials, so we ended up not eating at all. I ended up collapsing and wound up in hospital with malnutrition, dehydration and exhaustion.
“I’m fine now, because when I do Barnum, they feed me!”
That said, it's be easier to take away his food than take away his stage time.
"It's my vocation," he says, simply.
If I have a couple of weeks off I want to go and entertain someone.
"I go on holiday and enter talent competitions. Entertaining is something I have to do..."
> Barnum begins on Tuesday, with performances through to Saturday, May 16, 2015.
Showtime is 7.30pm nightly, with additional matinee performances on Wed, Thur & Sat, from 2.30pm.
To book call the box office on 0870 870 7652 or visit www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes
