Sam is the fresh prince at the Lyric

Sam is the fresh prince at the Lyric

17 December 2014

A TIMELESS tale of magic and wonder is brought alive on the Lyric Theatre stage this season — with Comber man Sam McKee centre stage. Sam is playing the prince in one of the greatest fairytales battling good and evil — Sleeping Beauty.

This is the 23 year-old’s first job back home after a busy period following training at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

His theatre credits to date include The Despondent Divorcee, Mildred and the Midnight City, The Beatles — Yellow Submarine Tour, Cabaret, Spring Awakening, Richard II and Into The Woods.

He has also recently appeared in Casualty for the BBC.

“It was really good, first working for the BBC,” said Sam. “I was in a car crash and didn’t wear by seatbelt. It didn’t end well.”

Turning to Sleeping Beauty, Sam said: “I never went to pantomimes when I was younger, it is quite a leap forward for me doing fairy tales.

“It has been going really well, I am definitely encouraged myself. We have had some really nice audiences and we have had quite a few schools in, from P1 right through to AS-level.”

Sam’s prince isn’t the average vain and chivalrous type he hopes, with efforts to make him “a bit more human”.

“It has been quite interesting,” said Sam. “He just wants to see outside and do a bit of adventuring. He doesn’t seem to be looking in the mirror too often.”

Sam counts among his career highlights to date a period spent working with Andrew Lloyd Webber.

“It was a workshop to rework the Woman in White,” he said. “That is when I really thought, I am getting somewhere.

“In terms of future plans I think I really imagine myself in a musical. I love singing, and would maybe like to get into a West End show.

“My family and friends have been down to see me at the Lyric and are just very happy to have me home for a while.

“We are running to January 4 and you can have 11 shows a week. You definitely get your sleep.”

But for Sam the end result is worth the effort.

“We have worked really hard to have a show that is really magical,” he said. “We have got actual close up magic, lots of effects.

“It is not just jokes for the dads. It is a real fairy tale. We want it that anyone who comes really believes they are seeing fairies and princesses and kings.”

Sleeping Beauty runs until January 4. To book tickets telephone 028 9038 1081 or visit http://www.lyrictheatre.co.uk/book_tickets.