Mica Paris tells Katherine MacAlister about her latest musical role

Mica Paris, the famous soul singer, loves testing herself, trying out new things, challenging her preconceptions and confronting her fears, although some experiments work out better than others. “I like to try everything once and if I make a twit of myself I won’t do it again.”

Now leading the cast in Love Me Tender, she is relishing her new role on stage, belting out Elvis numbers night after night, but admits other projects have been less enjoyable.

She hated starring in the recent Celebrity Masterchef, despite being a great cook, and didn’t enjoy her stint on Strictly. “I couldn’t wait to get voted off,” she admits, “because I really didn’t enjoy the competitive side of things, always trying to be better than everyone else, and I hate judgements,” she explains.

But surely to make it as a great singer (Mica is one of the UK’s most respected female artists with a career full of Top 10 hit singles and albums worldwide) aren’t those the very attributes that she needs to make it on a national and global scale?

“Not at all. If you are good enough you will break through regardless of everyone else on the scene.

“There is room for all of us,” she says. “You don’t have to take other people out to be successful.

“ That’s my philosophy anyway. If it’s your time nothing can stop you.

“And while I get asked to do lots of things, I turn down most of them, except when I got the script for Love Me Tender and knew I had to do it,” she says.

“Because it’s a belter of a show and it’s hilarious.”

Based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, and set in the 1950s Midwest, Mica says Love Me Tender addresses serious issues like segregation and race in a light-hearted manner – the musical being set to an Elvis soundtrack, much like Mamma Mia was set to Abba’s greatest hits.

“Sylvia runs a bar,” Mica continues “where she hears everyone’s sad stories. And Sylvia and me are a match made in heaven. It’s quite uncanny playing someone so like yourself.

“But Love Me Tender is also a romantic comedy and I think that people need a bit of a laugh at the moment with everything that’s going on in the world. “So it’s good to know the audience will leave the theatre feeling elated. and what’s life without a bit of romance?”

The perfect part then? Mica pauses for a while while she thinks about this: “I’m not an actress who sings, I’m a singer who acts, but I’ve been doing this for 28 years now and as a soul singer, I sing a lot about love. I don’t know any other way.”

She adds: “I never worry about making a comeback either – as long as you have something to share, you’ll be fine.” So why does this energetic mother-of-two think the show works so well?

“It’s just a fantastic show and people have being going absolutely nuts about it. The audience comes and dances, laughs and sheds a tear and then leaves on cloud nine. It’s a real feel-good musical,” she says.

“Besides,” she adds with her usual honesty, “I wouldn’t be banging on about it, if it was rubbish. If I didn’t enjoy it I wouldn’t be here.

“It’s as simple as that.”

Love Me Tender is at the New Theatre, Oxford, until Saturday.
Call the box office on 0844 871 3020 or atgtickets.com/oxford