Jason Donovan’s Amazing Midlife Crisis: Star talks ahead of Telford show

Entertainer Jason Donovan is planning to look back on every aspect of his career when he makes his debut appearance in Telford at the town’s Oakengates Theatre.

The star will feature on October 30 in Jason Donovan’s Amazing Midlife Crisis – even though he says he’s not really had any form of crisis.

Instead, he’s promising fans an in-concert-and-in-conversation evening, where he’ll play a few acoustic songs and then talk through every aspect of his career – from his earliest years in Neighbours through to tabloid scandal, his success on I’m A Celebrity and his run to the finals of Strictly Come Dancing.

He’ll also dig out a few exclusive props from some of the highpoints of his career, including his successful West End run in Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Jason said he was looking forward to visiting the area, having been warmly welcomed at Theatre Severn, in Shrewsbury, earlier this year when he starred in Million Dollar Quartet.

And he’ll even visit the area ahead of his October date, after bosses at Oakengates Theatre agreed that he could use the venue to rehearse his show.

Jason said: “I am really looking forward to bringing my Amazing Midlife Crisis tour to Telford on October 30. I can’t wait. It’s very different to my normal concert shows because there’ll just be a handful of songs alongside plenty of funny stories.

“I’ve enjoyed a remarkable career and consider myself very fortunate. People have stuck with me since my earliest days on Neighbours and this is a real show for the fans – they’ll be hearing stories they’ve not heard before and it will be a great evening’s entertainment.”

Jason said he’d thoroughly enjoyed his previous visit to the region earlier this year and been delighted by the audiences in Shrewsbury. He said: “I hadn’t realised how pretty the area is and how welcoming the people were, so I’m really looking forward to coming back."

“The shows in Shrewsbury were great fun and I hope to catch up with plenty of familiar faces when we come to Telford’s Oakengates Theatre.”

He said his new tour had come about after someone suggested he update his best-selling 2007 autobiography, by looking back at the things he had done in the subsequent 10 years.

And while he’d decided against writing another book, he liked the idea of a show that brought together stripped down versions of his biggest hits alongside stories from his life in showbusiness.

He was looking forward to conversations, acoustic songs, stories, a few laughs – his life through his eyes.

He said: “It just seemed far more connected than any written version of my life could ever be. One on one with an audience, actually talking to those people who really love me and know me so well, who are interested in my life and my story.”

He said the title of his tour had come about because he was passing through the age that some men experience a midlife crisis. However, the title was very much tongue in cheek because he had found happiness and harmony in his life.

“I’m not someone who strives to drive a fast car. I’m happily married, I’m not planning a divorce, unless of course my wife has other ideas, three incredibly warm and generous kids, great family, great friends and a career that I’m reasonably happy with."

OK, there are other things I’d like to try career wise, but I certainly can’t complain. I’m grateful and and I’m lucky.”

Jason added that like many people, he needed to take a look at his life and make sure things were kept in check. He had a tendency to work very hard because he wanted to make the most of the opportunities he had – but realised he needed to balance that with quality time in his life.

He said: “The show will be a celebration of who I am, what I’m proud of, what I care about, my career, my life, and the fans who have given me so much over a very long time.

“One thing’s for sure, all that really matters is family, health, balance, happiness, and the biggest of all, love.”

Jason added that he had plenty more ambitions and was looking forward to doing more serious dramas.

“You know, I’d love to do more TV drama, whether that’s something left field like a Breaking Bad or a House of Cards. I see myself as the Michael Keaton in Birdman." They’re the type of roles I’d love to take. That’s how I’d like to develop. The great thing about this business is that age – and I don’t want to sound sexist, because I’m not – is a good thing for a male, in some ways.

“Being a pop idol doesn’t work, because we get older. But as an actor, you gather respect as you age. And you also gain respect for the simple fact of still doing a good job, year after year. My catalogue of work speaks for itself. I go into rehearsal rooms and people give me respect and that’s great. That cast on Million Dollar Quartet looked up to me.”

He added that he still enjoyed big TV shows – like Neighbours, I’m A Celebrity and Strictly Come Dancing – and was delighted that millions of people had enjoyed watching him on them.The process of appearing in those shows was very different – with I’m A Celebrity and Strictly very, very different.

“Strictly was the polar opposite of I’m A Celebrity, where you sit around all day and do nothing. On I’m A Celebrity, there was no work ethic – it was the opposite to Strictly, where there’s a work process.

“The judges on Strictly know the hours that you put in and how hard you try. They know exactly what goes on. It all feeds back. And again, your currency goes up. That show was being watched by 12 or 13 million people. It was extraordinary. I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in something like that.

“There’s been rooms like the London Palladium with big West End shows like Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Priscilla Queen of the Dessert on those Saturday nights when you feel the electricity, when you know there’s something going on in the room that is quite exceptional.

“But when you go into the BBC on a Saturday night for Strictly…..Well, Wow. That’s a room. That’s a real room. I don’t think there’s anywhere in the country that is as exciting as that.” Jason added that he felt more connected with his fans than ever before, which was another reason why he was looking forward to taking his Midlife Crisis show on the road.

“I’m more in control of the fame thing than I’ve ever been. I’m confident in myself and I know how to deal with it.

“I think social media has become great for people like myself and entertainers because it gives us the control and essentially journalists only have second hand information. So we can now control everything. It’s great. It’s a wonderful tool.

“I think I’ve got about 170,000/180,000 followers on Twitter and that gives me a real platform to communicate with the fans.”

It does. And so will his latest show.