Charlotte Chalkey and Aaron Rahn have only recently graduated from drama school, yet already they are both starring in the West End of London. They are performing on Shaftesbury Avenue but they are not appearing in Les Misérables or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
They are working at the latest branch of the fast-food chain Leon and, while their job is to prepare and serve food, they are also singing for their supper. Everyone in the branch is a would-be musical theatre star and they serve up songs from Follies, Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz and other shows, along with fish finger wraps and superfood salads.
The inspiration is clearly Ellen’s Stardust Diner in New York, where the waiters are all actors hoping for their big break. Sadly, Chalkey, whose repertoire includes I Dreamed a Dream from Les Mis, wasn’t in the day the show’s casting director is rumoured to have visited. Everyone hopes that producer Cameron Mackintosh – who also popped by – will be back, and not just for a breakfast pot.
I hope so, too, but I do wonder whether an agent or casting director who spends their life watching hopefuls would choose to eat their lunch with someone singing songs from Cabaret in their face.
What was clear when I visited is that this very public form of audition is probably the hardest gig these young hopefuls will ever face. It must be agony to strut your stuff when your potential audience are more interested in chatting to each other or stuffing their faces. One oblivious customer interrupted a singer mid-number to ask for something before realising his mistake. Another man walked in, appeared aghast at the concept of fast food combined with live entertainment and left. Maybe showbiz will prove less good for business than Leon anticipated.
Some of the performers’ voices are much stronger than others, and there is clearly still uncertainty about whether they should just sing or really act out a song, and how to negotiate the space, particularly when the place is heaving.
But every crowd has a silver lining and while none of the singer/servers has yet been signed for a West End show, some have got Fringe gigs out of it. The fact that they are singing in public on a regular basis means they are always audition-ready. In an over-crowded profession, most would be pushing burgers anyway. The Shaftesbury Avenue Leon encourages them do it with stars in their eyes.
