The 1980s favourite Fame has returned to the stage and is coming to Hull New Theatre. Will Ramsey talks to Jodie Steele, who plays raven-haired diva Carmen, about the cult classic.
In an age when magazines and television shows are devoted to the cult of celebrity, one 1980s-inspired musical is proving to be strangely far-sighted.
Fame The Musical, based on the 1980 Alan Parker film, follows a group of wannabes at the New York School of Performing Arts.
Its latest revival, which arrives Hull New Theatre this month, also shows the darker side of trying to make a grab at fame.
The reality of chasing the dream is grimmer than most for the character of Carmen Diaz, who sacrifices everything, and anyone, she can to achieve notoriety.
Just ask Jodie Steele, who has taken the role of the dark-haired diva in the production.
Jodie said: "She is so hungry for fame she is prepared to do anything, but she is also the one tragic character, given what happens to her in the end.
"It shows what it can be like, in the way people lie to you, and, hopefully, for young people shows that the celebrity stuff they see in the magazines does not mean it is all good.
"Hopefully, they will see that is far from the most important thing."
Speaking to The Guide from Bristol, the latest stop on a tour that runs until November, the 23-year-old is fully into the role.
There have been a few physical adjustments for the young actress.
To play the fiery Latino character, she has had to dye her blonde hair a darker shade and get a tan. But there have also been deeper changes required to her own sunny disposition.
Jodie said: "I had to learn to morph my attitude on stage.
"I am quite cheeky, but the director had to remind me that Carmen is street-wise and hard-hitting, and that she is prepared to tread on anyone."
Jodie graduated last summer in musical theatre from the Guildford School of Acting.
Carmen marks her latest role, after appearances that include a London run of the musical Rent and a production of Footloose.
This is her latest show in what has been a continuously busy stint since finishing her studies.
Directed by Gary Lloyd, this new staging of Fame updates the style of the setting to the present day.
Jodie said: "We've set it in 2014, so people will be familiar with it, from the music in the charts to the clothes.
"It has also made it more truthful, as it has not hidden away from the themes of drugs and suicide that are within it.
"Gary has made it more hard-hitting and current."
The shows themes also chime with a time when the lives of young people, particularly young women, are saturated with images of the "perfect" body.
Jodie said: "I guess it does trouble me.
"At school, I was quite a hard worker and knew what I wanted from life.
"The problem comes when young girls look at celebrities and decide to go on diet pills to try to look like them.
"I get a lot of messages on Twitter from girls saying they want a body like mine.
"It is a worry they are more obsessed with other people rather than their own lives."• Fame The Musical is at Hull New Theatre from Monday, June 16, to Saturday, June 21. Monday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday 5.30pm and 8.30pm; Saturday 2.30pm and 7.30pm. For tickets (£19 to £32) call 01482 300300.
