George Stiles and Anthony Drewe

When did you know the show was going to work?
Anthony: I think we had a pretty shrewd idea in September 2003, which was when the first proper read through was held in London. After about 10 days of rehearsal, this took place in front of an invited audience of about 150, including a lot of the Disney personnel - including Michael and Jane Eisner, as well as most of Cameron's office and the press and marketing people.
George: The first preview in Bristol was pretty amazing too - the audience went crazy for every number and then leapt to their feet at the end - it was such a relief to know that 2 years of work (and 40 years of waiting for Dick and Bob Sherman!) had paid off.

"Poppins" has a wonderful cast. Was it a conscious decision not to use marquee names?
Anthony: We have always said that, with a title as well-known as "Mary Poppins", the title is the star of the show. I know a lot of rumours went circulated about who might play Mary and Bert, but all along Cameron and Tom did not want big star 'turns' as they felt that might overburden the show - artistically and, I guess, potentially financially too. I think we have ended up with an amazing cast - and I now find it difficult to imagine anyone other than Laura Michelle Kelly and Gavin Lee in those roles. Likewise David Haig and Linzi Hately have created two wonderful characters, as George and Winifred Banks, with far greater depth and personal development than in the film version.

Would you agree with the statement that Cameron Mackintosh is the last great creative musical producer?
Anthony: No, I think he has been absolutely at the top of his game for a couple of decades, but I don't think he will be the last. If anything, his success has opened the eyes of many young producers (or wannabe producers), who hope to emulate his achievements. Hopefully this will mean that we will see some more young producers rising through the ranks in the next few years.

Through the grapevine I've heard rumours saying "Poppins" will replace "The Lion King" in Scheveningen. Can you confirm or deny this?
Anthony: I can do neither. I know there is talk of the show being recreated in several locations around the world - but I do not yet have any details of where and when these will take place.

What is your stand on the astronomically high ticket prices for musicals?
Anthony: I know the ticket prices seem high. In London they are getting close to - or even matching - the prices on Broadway, which I always thought were outrageous. I also know that putting musicals together costs a vast amount of money, and producers have a commitment to their investors to recoup their costs within a sensible and achievable time frame. You can spend £50 on a meal in a restaurant in London quite easily, so I think £49 for 3 hours of entertainment is not disproportionate. I would also say that Cameron has done a fantastic job in refurbishing both the Prince Edward and Prince Of Wales Theatres in London (and intends to refurbish more) which at least means that the seats are more comfortable, have a far better view of the stage, and the decor is much more luxurious - so you get a better deal for your money in those theatres.

You've invested a lot of time and energy in passing on your knowledge to new writers. I know, because I've been one of many to benefit from this. Why is this so important to you?
Anthony: George and I have been writing together for 22 years now. When we started out there was no one giving any guidance on how to write for the musical theatre. We were extremely fortunate in that we met people like Cameron, Tim Rice, Johnny Stirling (managing director of Warner Brother Music Publishing), Biddy Heyward (who once looked after Andrew Lloyd Webber), Stewart Trotter (Artistic Director of the Northcott Theatre) and Jill Fraser (Artistic Director of the Watermill Theatre) - who , without actually telling us how to write, encouraged us enough for us to keep going. Cameron was instrumental in helping us get our shows produced (starting with JUST SO at the Watermill in 1989), and by having our shows performed, so we learned how to become better writers. There is nothing as good as practical experience to teach you how to write. If we can now pass that knowledge on to young or new writers, as best we can, we feel we are putting something back into the system that has been so generous to us over the years.

Do you agree that good new musicals are still being written, but just not shown?
Anthony: Absolutely. In fact George and I have just been involved in the judging process for the next Cardiff Search for New Musicals and there were several good and interesting new shows in the final selection - some of which are ready for staging. What we need in the UK are more theatres prepared to take a gamble on a new show. George and I have been fortunate to have several of our shows performed in the USA, where new musicals are welcomed with open arms. Many regional theatres in the States, which have the benefit of a vast subscription base to their audiences, make a point of putting a brand new show in the middle of a season, which also has a suitable number of popular crowd-pleasers like The Student Prince or Carousel. In this way, audiences are being introduced to new shows, and are made to feel that they play an important part in the development of new shows. In America, HONK! was first seen in a small regional production at Nyack in upstate New York. Now, there have been over 760 productions of HONK! in the USA.

One of the new projects you're working on is "Soho". Can you tell us something about it?
Anthony: It is a bit different for us. We wanted to write something that was more contemporary and that was an original story. SOHO or SOHO CINDERS (as it may be called) is partly satirical and is extremely loosely based on Cinderella, but is set in an internet cafe in Soho. There are one or two obvious analogies with the fairytale - the internet cafe is run by two rather unpleasant sisters, but the Cinders character is a young gay guy. The 'Prince' is an up-and-coming politician who has just announced his engagement to his long term friend and PA. We have written most of the songs, and I have written the book as it stands, though I am hoping to find another writer to collaborate with me on that. George intends to work the songs up and record them later this year, and we are thinking about releasing a "concept album" before the show actually comes to fruition - which is something we have never tried before. It seems strange writing a show that centers around Old Compton Street in London, which is exactly where MARY POPPINS is playing every night!

Sounds like a departure for you storywise. Will it also be musically different from your other musicals?
George: I'm very excited about recording the numbers later this spring. I think we've got some stuff that sounds very "new" for us. It's great when you feel you've hit a new "seam" of ideas.

Thank you so much for your time and these insightful answers. "Mary Poppins" is currently playing at the Prince Edward Theatre in London.