With Allie Dart in the original cast of Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019, she is now part of the transfer at The Other Palace as Sebastian & Others, with the show running until Sunday 5th April. Alongside Allie, the cast includes Sam Buttery as Ursula, Julie Yammanee as Ariel, Blair Robertson as King Triton & Others, James Spence as Eric & Others, Freya McMahon as Ensemble, Jacob Whawell as Ensemble and Kelly Sweeney as Offstage Understudy, and Allie won a 2024 Offie Award for Supporting Performance in a Musical for her portrayal of Sebastian & Others. Last year, Allie was in the world premiere of the Mischief Theatre Company production The Comedy About Spies at the Noël Coward Theatre in London’s West End, where she understudied the roles of Janet, Elena, Lance and Sergei. Amongst Allie’s further projects, she performed as Kate/Harry in Homo Alone (the adult pantomime version of Home Alone) at The Other Palace in 2024, and she covered the roles of Jenny and Lauren in 2:22 A Ghost Story at the Apollo Theatre for her West End debut, before taking over as Lauren for a limited run. Allie answered our questions about playing Sebastian & Others in Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch, winning an Offie in 2024 for her portrayal of the characters, being part of the world premiere of The Comedy About Spies and her time in Homo Alone and 2:22 A Ghost Story.

Can you tell us about Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch and who do you think the musical will appeal to?

Unfortunate is Ursula’s retelling of The Little Mermaid. We go back in time and see how she became the ‘villain’ we all know and love. It’s a camp, hilarious and empowering new musical with a banging soundtrack and the hardest-working cast in London.

It’s a laugh a minute and has something for everyone. I honestly think it appeals to anyone who wants to escape the world and let go for the night. Disney fans and haters will both love it!

How does it feel to be transferring with the show to The Other Palace until Sunday 5th April and reprising your roles of Sebastian & Others?

I feel so excited to be at The Other Palace! It is a great venue for new musicals to flourish, so it seems like the perfect place for our show, and I can’t wait to get the London crowds back – they are usually quite rowdy, which is perfect for Unfortunate. We had such a great time over Christmas at The Lowry in Salford, and I’m really glad the time with the show got extended. We weren’t ready to say goodbye just yet.

What is Sebastian like to play, and how is it telling the story?

Sebastian is a Disney legend! He’s loyal, quick-witted and constantly panicked, which is really fun to play, especially with my castanets in hand. That sequin jacket is also a work of art!

What do you enjoy most about performing alongside your fellow cast members – Sam Buttery (Ursula), Julie Yammanee (Ariel), Blair Robertson (King Triton & Others), James Spence (Eric & Others), Freya McMahon (Ensemble), Jacob Whawell (Ensemble) and Kelly Sweeney (Offstage Understudy)?

This cast is exceptionally talented, but also so kind and warm. They all bring it every night on that stage and are still making me giggle every day! It’s not a calm show – we’re all running around, changing costumes, wigs and accents every five seconds. You need to have a strong team around you to handle that full-on environment, and this cast and crew are the best team. We all have each other’s backs, and everyone is so passionate about giving the audience a great show. Our new cast members, Julie, Jacob and Kelly, are superhuman and have slotted in so well with very limited rehearsal. Their work ethic and humour have been invaluable, and I thank them for being so amazing.

How did you find the experience being part of the original cast at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and how was it seeing the audience response there?

We had so much fun creating this show. It started off as just another one of our musicals we were making together as Fat Rascal Theatre. We didn’t know if it would be more or less successful than the last. When you’re making a comedy, you do it so often in an empty rehearsal room that you start doubting yourselves, but that first performance was electric. As soon as Ursula – then played by Robyn Grant, our writer/director extraordinaire – stepped out, the crowd went crazy, and we all breathed a sigh of relief. Then the run sold out, and all of us were elated.

The first version showed was small, slick and simple. We told the story with five actors, a load of props and quick changes. But if people liked it on this small scale, then I was so excited to see how it could expand.

Was there anything that originally drew you to Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch and how has it been developing the show over numerous runs?

Previously, we had just done a Beauty and the Beast gender-swapped parody, and I really enjoyed that. It was fun calling Disney out on a few things and reinventing characters that people already know and love, so because of that, Unfortunate already appealed to me. Dan (Foxx) and Robyn had written a hilarious script, and getting to be a part of bringing their vision to life and helping it grow has been an honour. Every time the show has come back, there are new jokes and new characters, which have kept it fresh and brought new challenges for me as well, which I’ve loved.

Also, the undercurrent of Unfortunate is self-love. It’s all about empowering audiences and making them realise that you are perfect exactly as you are! I am passionate about that message, so anything that can try and hammer that home… I’m in!

What are some of your stand-out highlights from working on Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch over the years, and how was it winning Supporting Performance in a Musical at the 2024 Offie Awards?

Selling out at the Edinburgh Fringe twice was such a huge achievement for me, as I’ve been going there as a performer and an audience member since I was very young. There have been some hilarious times on this show. Early on, we did a run at the Birmingham Hippodrome studio space over Christmas. After the show, we would join some corporate Christmas parties in costume, and that will always stay with me. I’ll never forget Ursula and Triton tearing up the dance floor, tentacles and trident flying left, right and centre.

The Offie was a true surprise, and I was blown away, to be honest. It still makes me smile when I see it on my shelf.

Last year, you were in the Ensemble of The Comedy About Spies at the Noël Coward Theatre in the West End; what was it like being in the cast of a world premiere of a Mischief Theatre Company production?

Spies was a very special production for me. I have been a fan of the Mischief crew since the beginning and had always wanted to work with them. I saw the workshop performance of the show and was desperate to be seen for it, so I felt very lucky when I was cast. It was such a great experience to see how a show of that scale can go from script to stage, and all the adaptations in between.

We understand you understudied Janet, Elena, Lance and Sergei – what was each character like to learn and perform?

It was fabulous to cover four completely different characters, but it was very hard work. Making sure you’re ready to go on for anyone at any time is a big undertaking. I was very happy to be covering two of the male parts though. If I were to go on, then they would be changed to female characters, which I loved. Lance is athletic and strong, and Sergei is bumbling and hilarious, so to have a woman playing either of them was very exciting!

Can you say about your time in Homo Alone (the adult pantomime version of Home Alone) at The Other Palace in 2024 as Kate/Harry?

It was camp Christmas chaos. We had a lot of fun, and the audience was insane. Again, a show where we were running around backstage, creating the whole world with just four of us on stage. One of my favourite Christmas movies was ruined forever – in the best way.

What was it like covering Jenny and Lauren in 2:22 A Ghost Story at the Apollo Theatre in the West End, and how was it taking over the role of Lauren for a limited time?

2:22 was my West End debut, and I felt very lucky and excited to be part of that show. The script is fabulous, and the two female parts are juicy and complex. To get to learn both was such a treat! I had so much fun stepping in as Lauren – she’s messy, funny, and that whole process taught me a lot.

How different did you find 2:22 A Ghost Story to your previous projects, and how was it reading the script?

It was super different to anything I had done in a while, so I was very nervous coming into rehearsals. It was also my first cover job, so I didn’t know what to expect really. It’s a big production that had been going on for a while, so in my mind, there wasn’t any room for mistakes. Stylistically, it was different too – I often do larger-than-life comedy characters, so coming in to do a straight horror play really made me knuckle down and try to absorb as much knowledge from those around me as I could. I loved the experience and will cherish it forever.

Your further shows have included The Hounslow Arts Centre’s pantomime Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast: A Musical Parody and Tom and Bunny Save the World, can you say about some of them?

Beauty and the Beast and Tom and Bunny were also Fat Rascal shows – fast-paced, comedy musicals made with my best friends. We toured the country, driving the van and staying in hostels. It was such a great time I’ll never forget. Full to the brim with laughs!

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

I’ve been performing since I was young, starting with classes, Stagecoach, and school plays. It was always something I found a lot of joy in, but I never really thought I could do it for a living. I always thought I’d go to uni and do something science-y, and that would be it. Then I was 16 and started attending Pineapple Performing Arts School and meeting professional performers. That’s when my eyes opened, and I never looked back really. Every time I talked about theatre or performance, I would light up. Now, it’s the only thing I can see myself doing.

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 love Come From Away – what a show and what a story. I also love the classic farces like Noises Off. I am also a big fan of Frantic Assembly and would love to work with them one day; their mix of physicality and storytelling is so impressive. There’s so much theatre I want to see. Off the top of my head, Harold Fry and Paddington!

How do you like to spend your free time?

I recently moved to Hertfordshire, so I love a relaxing dog walk in my free time. Get me to a National Trust estate or a canal. Some proper green therapy. Also, of course, I love going to the theatre or the cinema, switching off and escaping into a story. I also love to cook when I’ve got time to try a new recipe and be messy.

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