Will Young on his return to the stage in Song From Far Away: ‘I find it kind of electrifying and fulfilling’

It’s been a decade since Will Young played the Emcee in Cabaret but now he’s back on stage in the one-man show Song From Far Away, about a gay man mulling over his life after the sudden death of his brother.

Written by Simon Stephens and Mark Eitzel, it played at HOME Manchester earlier this year and is now heading to London’s Hampstead Theatre.

Will’s own brother took his own life in 2021 but, as he tells Simon Button, it’s not painful for him to tell what is a very different story.

He also talks about why it’s taken so long for him to return to live theatre, his self-care regime, and how the music scene has changed since he came to fame as the winner of Pop Idol…

For people who don’t know the play, what’s it all about?

It’s about a Dutch guy who lives in New York but has to come back to Amsterdam because his brother died quite suddenly of a heart attack. He has to confront lots of different areas in his life that aren’t going very well. He’s gay and it’s a monologue but what’s interesting is that because of the way Simon and Mark have written it you meet a lot of characters within it.

Is it daunting being alone on stage?

No, it’s lovely because I’m very needy so all the focus must be on me. [Laughs] So that makes me really happy. But there’s a special kind of terror that’s very specific to doing a monologue and it goes in stages. The first stage is learning the frigging thing and that really is a genuine terror. You just think ‘I’m never going to remember it’. And then once you’ve done that the terror is stepping onto stage and just being on your own. It can sort of get a bit odd halfway through. I’m like ‘Am I still f***ing talking?’ But what comes with it is an amazing sense of control with an audience and that’s quite magical.

Is it hard for you to play a role that’s so close to your own experience? Or is it cathartic?

Yes, it’s about the death of a brother and yes, my brother died. But it wasn’t under the same circumstances and I’m not like the character in the play. I’m quite sort of free with my emotions but I think if you know the human condition I can relate to the type of person that he is. And with Simon and Mark being such good playwrights, I don’t really have to imagine it; it’s all there on the page. But no, I don’t really find it cathartic or sad, or emotionally draining. To be honest, I find it kind of electrifying and fulfilling.

This is your first theatre role in over a decade. Why the hiatus?

I guess the right thing needed to come up really and I think I probably lost a bit of confidence about finding roles after playing someone so layered as the Emcee in Cabaret in such a layered production. I think I’ve been really spoiled. My first acting job was with Stephen Frears [who directed Mrs Henderson Presents], and then I got to work with Rufus Norris on Cabaret. But this is a great play and now I’m focusing more on acting again.

Is there any new music coming or is that on hold for now?

I’m always writing music, so I think probably next year. But it’s nice to be able to have the time to concentrate on acting. I like to clear the diary for anything that’s going to come in.

Has the music business changed a lot since you won Pop Idol?

Streaming is obviously probably the biggest thing that’s changed but I don’t stream music. I still buy CDs. I’m not even quite sure how streaming came about really but that’s a big change, and obviously social media but I don’t do my social media because it doesn’t benefit my wellbeing. There are still a lot of people who like going to live gigs and that’s good.

Was acting always part of the plan?

I was going to go to drama school at age 12 after quite a famous producer saw me in a production and said I should attend, but I didn’t want to go at such a young age. So I think it was always there but then the music came first. Now the acting has kind of taken over for a little bit at least.

You’ve spoken a lot about self-care, what form does that take for you nowadays?

Exercise, being around people that I like and just trying to do things that I like doing. I think those are the three key things because if you do things that you like doing life is quite fun. I’ve been doing a lot of travel recently actually, which I’ve been really enjoying. I went to Paris, Amsterdam, New York, New Orleans Memphis, and Mexico.

You wrote eloquently about gay shame in your book To Be a Gay Man. Is there anything you’d like to add on the subject now?

I’m still horrified by how transgender people’s lives have become so politicised, distorted, and used to create fear in people. I think that’s quite terrifying, actually.

What do you want people to take away from seeing this play?

I want people to think I’m really good. I don’t want to get in the way of the story. If you’re a good actor hopefully you get out of the way to allow the story to shine. That’s what happens when, for instance, I see James Norton in something. After five minutes, I forget the other things that I’ve seen him in. So I suppose what I’d like is for people to forget what they know me for or what they’ve seen me in previously and really concentrate on the story.

Song From Far Away is at the Hampstead Theatre, London from 28 June to 22 July. Get tickets here.