Why one member of The Addams Family can't wait to return to Milton Keynes

Everyone’s favourite kooky family are back on stage in Milton Keynes this week - with one cast member in particular looking forward to it.

The show tells how Wednesday Addams is all grown up and has a shocking secret that only Gomez knows. She’s fallen in love with a sweet young man from a respectable family. With his cherished Morticia in the dark, will Gomez manage to keep his daughter’s secret until the two families meet for a fateful dinner?

The musical comedy comes from the writers of multi award-winning hit musical Jersey Boys.

Bedfordshire-based actor Cameron Blakely plays the eccentric Gomez - and he gave us the lowdown on the altogether ooky show.

What’s in store for audiences who come see The Addams Family?

A lot of quirkiness, a lot of laughs and a lot of miscommunication. In a way it’s like a dark farce. And I think everyone needs a bit of escapism at the moment, after the year and a half we’ve all had, and this show really provides that.

Are you excited to be so close to home when performing in Milton Keynes?

I’m very excited to be performing in Milton Keynes again. To be so close to home and around familiar surroundings is wonderful. Also, the audiences at Milton Keynes are so appreciative and fun.

What’s your favourite thing about Bedfordshire?

My favourite thing about where I live is being out of London. I like the peace and the feeling of being in the countryside - lots of beautiful parks and greenery.

Gomez is such an iconic character. How do you put your own stamp on him?

I was always a great fan of Raoul Julia, who played Gomez in the movies. I wanted to make him quite Spanish, as he was in the films, and to make him like a matinee idol romantic type. It’s such a great role because it has everything. And the way the composer has written the score it’s different for each character, so Gomez gets all the sort of Latin music – very melodramatic and romantic with a Spanish feel to it.

Do you have anything in common with Gomez?

I do secretly quite like growing a moustache in a retro 1970s way. I got quite attached to it when I first did the show in 2017 and didn’t get rid of it for about a year afterwards. With Gomez’s romanticism, I’m quite similar to him in that sense, as am I when it comes to his passion.

The Addams Family is full of great musical numbers. Do you have a favourite to perform?

There’s one called Happy/Sad, which is a lovely reflective song that Gomez sings to his daughter. It always makes me think of my daughter Noelle, who turned eight in August. When I first did the show, I remember I got this big lump in my throat and really struggled not to cry.

It began life as a cartoon in the 1930s, became a TV show in the 1960s, a film franchise in the 1990s and a musical in the noughties. Why do you think it has endured for so long?

People inherently like Halloween and the macabre, plus there’s this mishmash of very odd characters in the same family. There’s also the darkness and the fun the Addams family have around graveyards and moonlight. I think viewers are fascinated by the juxtaposition of light and darkness and how it’s completely flipped. It’s just fascinating and there’s so much dark humour you can get out of that.

What’s the one thing you couldn’t be on the road without?

Because I have to stay in shape for the tango number it would have to be my resistance bands. There’s a five-minute tango at the end of the show looming, so I’ve started training and running again - which my body hated at first but once all the blisters have settled down, I’ll be fine…

Will any friends and family be visiting you in when you perform at Milton Keynes Theatre?

I have just finished panto in Tunbridge Wells. I know a few cast members there are hoping to come and see the show. I’m very excited that my daughter will be coming to see the show again - Noelle saw it the last time we were at Milton Keynes and loved the show.

The Addams Family is on at Milton Keynes Theatre from Tuesday January 11 to Saturday January 15. Visit atgtickets.com/MiltonKeynes to book.