Earlier this year, Charlie Burn finished her starring role of Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan in the 2004 film) in the original West End cast of Mean Girls at the Savoy Theatre, where she worked with the creative team Casey Nicholaw, Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin. Whilst Charlie was in the musical, she attended the 2025 WhatsOnStage Awards, with Mean Girls winning Best New Musical, and last year, she was part of the Mean Girls cast performing at West End Live in Trafalgar Square. Charlie made her professional stage debut as Cosette in the UK & Ireland Tour of Les Misérables before the coronavirus pandemic caused theatres to close, and she reprised her role for the Staged Concert and full musical, both at the Sondheim Theatre, which marked Charlie’s West End debut. Further projects for Charlie since graduating from ArtsEd in 2019 on the Musical Theatre course include the International Arena Tour of Disney 100: The Concert. We chatted to Charlie about being part of the original West End cast of Mean Girls, her time starring as Cady Heron, touring with Disney 100: The Concert and making her professional and West End debut as Cosette in Les Misérables.

On 8th June, you finished your starring role of Cady Heron in the original West End cast of Mean Girls at the Savoy Theatre; how did you feel finding out you’d booked the musical and how was it being part of a major West End transfer?

I was completely over the moon when I found out I’d been offered the role of Cady Heron. Mean Girls has always been a dream show for me – I’ve loved the Broadway cast recording for years and I was obsessed with the movie growing up, like so many of us were. To not only be cast, but to be part of the original West End company, felt surreal – like winning the lottery! It was one of those moments you always hope for but never quite expect, and I’ll never forget that phone call.

What was Cady like to play and how was it performing the musical numbers?

Cady was such a joy to play – her journey from outsider to confident young woman was so fun to explore. Vocally, it was a great challenge too. Jeff Richmond raised a lot of the score for the West End, so it pushed me in the best way. Stupid With Love changed constantly during previews – Nell Benjamin would give us new lyrics almost daily! But we ended up with a version that felt really special and unique to London, which I loved.

How did you prepare for taking on the character, which was played by Lindsay Lohan in the 2004 film, and how was it bringing the story of Mean Girls to the stage?

Lindsay Lohan’s Cady is so loved by so many, including me of course, so I definitely felt like I had huge shoes to fill! I wanted to pay homage to the film but also bring parts of myself to Cady, which was encouraged by the team. Tina Fey was very involved in the creative process here in London because she wanted to cater the humour towards a British audience.

How was it meeting and working with the rest of the cast and creative team?

It was such a joy meeting and working with the cast and creative team, there was so much excitement about building something new for the West End. Getting to work with creatives like Casey Nicholaw, Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin was surreal – they were so passionate and involved, and it was amazing to see how much they cared about making the show the best it could be. I learned so much from everyone around me and felt really lucky to be part of such a dedicated, inspiring team.

What was it like attending the 2025 WhatsOnStage Awards at The London Palladium and collecting the award for Best New Musical, and performing with the show at last year’s West End Live?

Both moments were such highlights! Performing at West End Live was electric – the energy from the crowd in Trafalgar Square is something you never forget, and it was so special to share our show with that audience. And then attending the WhatsOnStage Awards at the Palladium… wow. Collecting the award for Best New Musical was such a proud moment for the whole company. To feel that kind of support from the public, who voted for us, made all the hard work more meaningful.

Do you have any favourite highlights from originating the role of Cady Heron that you can share?

One of my favourite moments was during our final show. I remember running forward with my gloves and buckets in hand sing my first song It Roars and just feeling so present and joyful. I felt so proud of how much we’d all achieved that year. And knowing I was the first person to sing that revised version of It Roars as Cady in London made it feel extra special. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.

Is there anything you think you will miss most about your time in Mean Girls in the West End?

I think what I’ll miss most is actually just getting to play Cady every night, I just love her and going on that journey with her every night was something I’ll miss. I’ll definitely miss singing the score too, it’s such a consistently high sing, and I loved the challenge of that. And honestly… my wigs! I had some gorgeous ones, but my Act Two wig was my absolute favourite – she was beautiful. I was gutted to take her off for the final time.

How did you find the experience performing on the International Arena Tour of Disney 100: The Concert and how was it working on a Disney production?

Oh my god! It was my biggest dream come true, as a huge Disney movie fan growing up, it felt like an absolute honour to be asked to perform such iconic music. The people I got to work with were utterly gorgeous and I think because we all felt so lucky and happy to be there, it just made the experience so joyful from start to finish.

Working on a Disney production was very surreal, I don’t think I realised how huge the scale of the production was! We had a 75-piece orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Keitel, which was impressive alone. Then to have a gigantic LED screen behind the stage playing the movie scenes for the audience like music videos felt even more magical. If you haven’t watched a Disney in Concert before, please book a ticket for the next time they’re in your town, it’s such a fun-filled night for any and everyone.

How different did you find Disney 100: The Concert to your previous projects and what did you enjoy about touring internationally?

It was drastically different, from being in a theatre to enormous, 12,000 person capacity, stadiums was the biggest culture shock for me personally. The only time I’d performed in a venue similar was when I was singing as part of the ArtsEd Choir at the Royal Albert Hall for various concerts held there. The echo around such a spacious arena made it a bit difficult to deal with the sound so we were required to wear in-ear monitors so that we could always have a steady stream of orchestra to keep us in time. I loved working with in-ears, I think it gives a performer more freedom in a way because you don’t need to watch the conductor for musical cues as often.

I love, love, love travelling so getting to travel Europe was a huge bucket list moment too.

Every city was unique and the audience had their own etiquette. Zurich was very polite and would wait until the last note finished ringing to applause, then you had Verona who sang every single lyric with us at the top of their lungs. A huge mix of ages in the audiences made it feel like a family affair. For some children, it was their first live experience with Disney music, which made it extra special to see them dancing up and down the stadium aisles dressed head to toe in their favourite character’s costume. It really felt like we were taking some Disney magic with us wherever we stopped off.

For your professional stage debut, you played Cosette in the UK & Ireland Tour of Les Misérables, how had the run been going before theatres had to close due to coronavirus?

We had a fabulous run in the UK & Ireland Tour, I loved that cast and have made some really special friendships from that job. We were plowing along up until Norwich where we heard the news that we would be quarantined with the rest of the country for two weeks… little did we know.

You then reprised your role for the Staged Concert and went on to perform in the full musical, both at the Sondheim Theatre, how was it having Les Misérables as your professional and West End debut and what are some of your stand-out memories from being in the cast?

Les Misérables is such an important show and to get to be a part of that family was something I’ll never forget. I just learned so, so much and every show I’d discover something new about Cosette and the world around her, and as an actor in a long run of a show, there’s no greater gift than to remain curious and play.

When you play Cosette, there is a lot of backstage downtime whilst the rest of the cast are on stage staging the revolution. I used to absolutely love making TikToks, going up to visit wigs and wardrobe, going down the stairs to hang out with the backstage crew and sneakily watch the show from the wings. The backstage culture of that show was so lovely and Cameron Mackintosh really looks after his company members so it’s a time I look back on very fondly.

How was it getting into character as Cosette, and what was it like seeing the audience response to the musical?

Although I didn’t completely relate to Cosette, there is an earnestness to her that I really loved exploring, she is deeply caring and very strong-willed. My favourite audience response was always in the epilogue scene where Cosette is consoling Jean Valjean before his tragic death. It’s a deeply sad and moving moment and always had me in tears every show. That small scene is downstage so we are very close to the first couple of rows of audience. It was a uniquely intimate experience to be able to hear sobs and see audience members embrace during JVJs final moments. Always a reminder of how important live theatre is and how much Les Misérables means to people.

Can you tell us about training in Musical Theatre at ArtsEd and was there anything that encouraged you to apply?

I didn’t know that much about musical theatre at secondary school, so my teachers encouraged me to apply to a sixth form called Thomas Telford. They specialised in performing arts and getting students to prestigious training schools for musical theatre. After guidance from my sixth form teachers, I trained up enough for drama school auditions. I then auditioned for and was accepted into ArtsEd as I wanted to go to a school known for helping performers become ‘all rounders’ and had a good reputation for lots of one-on-one time with students due to small class sizes. There they taught me how to dance from scratch, as I had almost no experience. The singing tuition is next to none and the acting course whilst I was there gave me so many tools that I’ve been able to apply to my professional career!

How did you get into performing and was it always something you wanted to do professionally?

I’ve been singing as long as I’ve been able to talk according to my mum! So it’s something I’ve always remembered being able to do. I used to go to weekend stage schools when I was younger into my teens where we’d sing pop songs and choreograph dances. Then I started to get involved in amateur dramatic productions with a Telford-based group called TACT, and my passion for performing and especially singing really grew!

Do you have any favourite theatre shows to watch, and which would you like to see that you haven’t done so as yet?

I have recently watched Stranger Things twice and thought it was such a spectacle!! The ingenuity of the lighting and set design is truly a new experience in London theatres.

Two of my favourite shows in town currently are Hadestown and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, both for the same reason… I think that live theatre should move you and they hit the nail on the head for me.

How do you like spending your free time?

I love reading fantasy and gardening, both probably painting me in a very Grandma-ish light I’m sure, ha! Coming from the country and living in London was always going to be an adjustment so whenever I get the chance I’ll be gardening or escaping into a book.

What are you hoping the next few months bring for your career and do you have any projects coming up that you can talk about?

I’m hoping for a break, it’s been a huge year personally and professionally, as well as being lucky enough to work consistently since graduating in 2019. My brain and body need some time to catch up with the past year. So, relaxing for a few months, spending time with my loved ones and travelling is my top priority right now. When the right project comes along, I’ll be eager to jump back into the industry.

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