Currently, Pete Gallagher is playing The Monster in the regional premiere of Mel Brooks’ production YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN THE MUSICAL at Hope Mill Theatre, which runs until Sunday 30th November before the musical heads to Liverpool Playhouse for a limited Christmas run from Wednesday 3rd December to Saturday 3rd January (cast to be announced). YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN THE MUSICAL is based on the 1974 film starring Gene Wilder, and Pete works with a cast including Ore Oduba as Dr Frederick Frankenstein, Jessica Martin as Frau Blücher, Julie Yammanee as Inga and Rhiannon Chesterman as Elizabeth Benning, and he is directed and choreographed by Nick Winston. In 42nd Street at Kilworth House Theatre earlier this year, Pete played Abner Dillon, and prior to this, he toured with Fisherman’s Friends and also had a run in Toronto. Pete originated the role of Danny Driscoll in the world premiere of Only Fools and Horses the Musical at West End’s Theatre Royal Haymarket, where he worked with Paul Whitehouse and was resident director, and amongst his many theatre projects, Pete’s characters include Caiaphas in the Arena Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, Jud Fry in Oklahoma!, Sid / The Inventor in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and his director credits include the first UK Tour of Spring Awakening. Having performed in pantomimes, Pete has worked numerous times with John Barrowman and Shane Richie, and on screen, he played King Maxwell Piercemont in the 2024 web series My Very Royal Romance, which he filmed 50 episodes for in five days, and he voiced regular character Moon in the CBeebies animated series Sarah & Duck. Pete, alongside his writing partner Rob Dawton, is writing a family musical about loss, grieving, loyalty and car washes, which they are hoping to debut next year. Speaking with us, Pete told us about playing The Monster in Mel Brooks’ YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN THE MUSICAL, his time as Abner Dillon in 42nd Street and performing in the world premiere of Only Fools and Horses the Musical.

You have recently opened as The Monster in the regional premiere of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN THE MUSICAL, what are you looking forward to for continuing your run at Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester?

The laughs! Mel Brooks is a comedy genius whom I have loved for many years and this is a chance for me to feel live audience reaction to the man’s brilliance. I am such a fan of his work, it’s a privilege to be allowed to monster it up in this production. Especially as no one outside of London has seen the stage version before – what an honour for us!

For those unfamiliar with Mel Brooks’ 1974 film starring Gene Wilder or the musical adaptation, can you say about the musical?

It’s actually a very faithful adaptation to the era and the genre. The film is a stunning homage to the old black and white horrors of the 1930s with Boris Karloff and all of the imitations that those movies spawned. Mel spent a long time getting the look and the sound right so that it wasn’t a cheap rip off but more of a loving reflection. However, in true Brooks style, there are comedic twists and turns along the way – look out for the ‘wrong brain’ and the ‘man about town’ performance!

How is it getting into character as The Monster and how have you prepared for taking on the role?

I should say – but please don’t tell anyone – that I have played the character before in a stunning adaptation for Polka Theatre by a then-unknown author called Philip Pullman! We studied real tissue, which was slightly macabre but fascinating, as we were determined to get the (eg) colours right rather than do a green, ‘bolts through the neck’ horror movie version. That led to a slight fascination with the book and subsequent adaptations, so I am somewhat au fait with the character. In this version, however, I have a chance to forget much of the serious message of the book’s message to humanity, focusing rather on the laughs that can be gained from a man with (perhaps) ideas above his station! It is, at once, a brilliant and utterly foolhardy idea to play creator!

How has it been meeting the rest of the cast, which includes Ore Oduba as Dr Frederick Frankenstein, Jessica Martin as Frau Blücher, Julie Yammanee as Inga and Rhiannon Chesterman as Elizabeth Benning and being directed/choreographed by Nick Winston?

I couldn’t have wished for a nicer cast! After a while in this industry, you kind of get used to the fact that all the young ones stick together as (quite rightly, by the way) they are the next generation and keen to make the most of every opportunity and share information, and many already know each other. Old fools like me have often given up the physical stuff for sedate, gently-written plays about sitting around and discussing life. If only I were that sensible!

The creative team are sensational and every one of them has been incredibly patient with an ever-keen performer who hasn’t tapped for 40 odd years! I’ve worked with Nick previously in panto so can only assume he knew enough about me to trust that I would persevere and get everything right eventually! I like that in a director! And a person, to be honest…

What are you enjoying most about playing The Monster in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN THE MUSICAL and how is it telling the story?

He is so adorable! He sees everything through new eyes and it’s only when others are horrible to him that he reacts. Oh, and to fire! But who wouldn’t be scared of fire the first time you saw it? And working with such lovely, kind and genuinely funny people has made the process wonderful.

Why would you recommend booking tickets to see the production at Hope Mill Theatre and who do you think it will appeal to?

It will appeal to anyone who has a genuine and sometimes silly sense of humour. Some of the jokes are more subtle and some are right in your face, but there’s something for everyone. If you have even a vague notion of the story of Frankenstein, you should enjoy it. Having said that, even if you have no knowledge of it at all, you’ll still find it thunderingly funny, because it is – it’s Mel Brooks’ genius at play all over a manic stage.

Earlier this year, you played Abner Dillon in 42nd Street at Kilworth House Theatre, what was the musical like to be part of and what was Abner Dillon like to play?

I suppose I should really be grateful for this, but I have been cast younger than my years for so many years that I was beginning to wonder whether I would ever be cast as an old dude! So to land a part like this, just a short while after saying to my brilliant agent ‘PLEASE start putting me up for old dude roles!’ was thrilling. He’s such an old, Deep South, couldn’t care less millionaire who thinks he knows everything. He’s not on stage a lot but when he is, he’s a joy. I tried to instil him with a little Foghorn Leghorn. I hope that came through!

How was it touring the UK with Fisherman’s Friends and taking the show to Toronto?

What a blast this was! A story with a bunch of older actors in the leads, playing real-life dudes who landed a million dollar recording contract for warbling on a beach on Sunday nights, and honestly couldn’t believe their luck! The story is heart-warming and inspirational, and is so close to what actually happened that it’s also very much rooted in reality. We got to know the real Fisherman’s Friends (group) quite well over the length of the tour and had a blast with them too!

What are some of your favourite memories from originating the role of Danny Driscoll in the world premiere of Only Fools and Horses the Musical at the West End’s Theatre Royal Haymarket and how was it being the resident director?

This was a tough one for me because they had a long rehearsal period, for which I wasn’t available, and I only joined at the end of it. By that time, they had experimented and created a superb piece and I hadn’t really been a part of it so I felt a little like I was playing with someone else’s toys! But, the cast were lovely (and magnificent!) and welcomed me warmly when I joined. Just the chance to work with comedy legend Paul Whitehouse made everything worthwhile! The run was mind-blowing as I’m not sure any of us expected that reaction! The fans are truly bonkers!

Being resident director was quite hard as I had to step out and deliver any notes as subtly as I could but I think I managed it ok. I preferred taking covers through their parts and preparing for the inevitable when actors were off and covers had to step up.

How did you find the experience performing on the Arena Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar as Caiaphas?

That was really something! In less than a year, I did four shows one after the other; fringe, arena, fringe, arena! It was so odd! I was cast as the lead in Howard Goodall’s The Winter’s Tale at the Landor fringe theatre, then did panto in a 3.5k-seater Glasgow arena theatre with John Barrowman and The Krankies, followed by The Fix at the Union fringe, then finally the biggest arenas in the country with JCS and its all-star cast! My mind didn’t know where it was! From an audience of just 40 to 20,000! But what an experience! It was produced as a rock show so we were treated like a band and constantly delivered food and beer or wine! I loved it! And the chance to work with Tim Minchin and the lovely Mel C (among others) was wonderful too.

You have worked on many other theatre shows including Oklahoma! as Jud Fry, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Sid / The Inventor and The Wizard of Oz as Tin Man, and directed productions including the UK Tour of Spring Awakening, can you say about some of these projects?

I have been lucky enough to have had a wide and varied career, which is a bit strange considering I’m a 6’7” bass-baritone – you’d imagine the parts would be few and far between but it really seems to have worked in my favour. There’s not many of us that fit that physical bill and so I suppose it makes me memorable to casting folk.

Oklahoma! was amazing – I was 25 years older than the other two in the ‘love triangle’ but it seemed to work somehow! Chitty was a circus of course, which is exactly what you want! I was fascinated by the research into that show – discovered so much about Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl’s film adaptation (he created the Child Catcher specially for the movie) and then discovering Higham House near Canterbury… Google it, their story is fascinating!

And directing the first UK Tour of Spring Awakening allowed me to work with possibly the most wonderful cast ever assembled! The talent was ridiculous and we took some chances with the story as it is so brilliantly ahead of its time (written in 1890/91 and first performed 1906!) but they all paid off. Wow! What a show!

Over the years, you have performed in numerous pantomimes including eight years with John Barrowman and four years with Shane Richie, do you have a favourite aspect of performing in pantomimes?

Because of my height and voice, I invariably end up playing baddies… but that’s usually the best part in the show! We get the best character, the best songs (usually an angry/arrogant rock piece) and hardly any tiresome costume changes! Ha! It’s lovely being right-hand man to someone as big as John or Shane as there’s an immediate respect from the audience that I was chosen for the part in such a big show. With JB, we turned what was an exhibition centre, the Glasgow SECC, into the first arena panto with a capacity of 3.5k! When we looked at the stage from the back of the highest seats, you could hardly see it! I can remember joking to Jeanette Krankie ‘It’s about a £5 taxi ride all the way up here!’ and she replied, brilliantly funny as always, ‘It’s ok for you – these seats are so far away that they’ll not see me at all!’.

What was it like filming as King Maxwell Piercemont in the 2024 web series My Very Royal Romance?

This was the UK’s first vertical series, which seem to have crept up on us with no warning. They’re filmed ‘the other way up’ – vertical instead of horizontal cameras – and are designed specifically to view on your phone or tablet, not traditional widescreens. Each episode is 60-90 seconds long (“…the focus length of the TikTok generation…” we were told!) and we filmed 50 episodes in five days. That was an amazing schedule and experience. You just had to know what you were doing as there was no time for mistakes! I did another one straight afterwards for the same production company.

How was it voicing regular character Moon in the CBeebies animated series Sarah & Duck?

This is the one that has achieved me more affection than anything else! So many young people grew up with Sarah & Duck (it’s one of the BBC’s biggest ever exports now!) and its repeated all the time, so new generations know it too. I’ve been recognised more than once by my voice, and not only by children! The deputy head in a school I did some work in recognised me the moment I spoke to him as he watches it with his kids all the time! It’s an amazing kids’ concept – if you haven’t watched it, you should!

Where does your love of performing and directing come from and how did you originally get into the industry?

I was led to believe there were no dramatic links in my family, but it turns out my dad’s cousin is Andrew Davies, who adapted Pride & Prejudice, House of Cards, Tipping the Velvet etc. for TV. His father Wynford was a great drama teacher and exponent by all accounts and so it would appear that all that, mixed with my mum’s side’s natural singing talents, somehow combined in me. My overwhelming love is storytelling, so every time I see a spark and think a wider audience should see it, my pencil hand starts to twitch. That’s what happened with The Brothers Lionheart in Sweden and then when I first read Fanny Hill, which, weirdly, cousin Andrew also adapted for the BBC! Perhaps we even have the same tastes!

I am currently working on a wonderful family musical that deals with loss, grieving, loyalty and car washes! My brilliant writing partner Rob Dowton is responsible for that idea – look out for it next year.

What are some of your favourite theatre shows to watch and how do you like to spend your time away from your career?

I think I’m an odd one out here – I don’t spend my spare time at the theatre really, although I try to keep abreast of what’s happening. I liken it to plumbers going home and not talking about boilers every evening – it’s my job and I love it but I’m not defined by it.

The funniest play I have ever done was Moonlight and Magnolias in Scarborough. Utterly brilliant premise, story and delivery. I’d go and see that any day of the week! As far as musicals go, I think Guys and Dolls is perfect – the brilliant book’s humour, the amazingly colourful characters, the ‘larger than life’ size of everything about it while still retaining real heart is what MT should be about. And the songs – wow!

Having said all of that, my free time is spent doing things I love – I’m a big football fan (but not a bore about it), I love writing and music – but my first love is to my family. I have three wonderful children of 26, five and two and if I could, I would just love to spend all my time with them and my partner! I’ve seen enough of life now to know what’s important, and they’re the most important thing in the world.

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