Currently, Nathan Salstone is making his London theatre debut as Aaron Elliot/Clowes in LIFELINE The Musical at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, which is running until Saturday 2nd May. The London premiere of the new Scottish musical is inspired by Scotsman Sir Alexander Fleming, and is written by Robin Hiley and directed by Alex Howarth, with the cast including Alan Vicary (Alexander Fleming), Kelly Glyptis (Amalia Voureka) and Maz McGinlay (Jess) and it has a live six-piece band and a chorus of real-life nurses, doctors, vets, dentists and scientists, and Nathan previously recorded the concept album in 2024. Prior to making his London theatre debut, Nathan had earlier this year finished his run as Moon Boy in the world premiere of WONDER with the American Repertory Theatre, which is based on R. J. Palacio’s best-selling children’s novel of the same name which also had a 2017 feature film adaptation. In 2024, Nathan portrayed Frederick Fleet in Titanic at the New York City Centre, and he was in the Ensemble and understudied Anthony and Tobias in the Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, and Nathan worked with a cast including Josh Groban as Sweeney Todd and Annaleigh Ashford as Mrs. Lovett, and he made his Tobias debut in May 2023. Further theatre projects for Nathan have seen him originate the role of Andrew Lynch in KNOXVILLE at Asolo Repertory Theatre, be a Swing and understudy Orpheus in the 2021/22 National Tour of Hadestown, and he made his Broadway debut in 2018 in the original Broadway cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Nathan is also a music artist and released his single Laundry Day last year. We caught up with Nathan about playing Aaron Elliot/Clowes in LIFELINE The Musical at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, his time in the world premieres of WONDER and KNOXVILLE, performing in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and being in the cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for his Broadway debut.
How does it feel to be making your London theatre debut in LIFELINE The Musical at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, and what are you enjoying most about your time in the UK so far?
I’ve always dreamt of performing in London. Having studied drama in the States and seen plenty of National Theatre Live productions in the cinema, I was aware that the arts were rich and alive here. It’s a dream come true to be immersed in the culture that is one of the original birthplaces of theatre, and to be working alongside those that continue to uphold it.
Can you tell us about LIFELINE The Musical and how is it being part of a new Scottish musical inspired by Scotsman Sir Alexander Fleming?
LIFELINE is an important piece about Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and our current global health crisis, told through the personal lens of Sir Alexander Fleming and his colleagues, as well as Jess Irvine – a fictitious modern-day paediatrics doctor – and her life and friends.
While the show tackles a very serious, greater subject matter, it takes on a pure life of its own – allowing audience members to fall in love with characters, to laugh, cry, and tap their feet along to the infectious music.
How is it taking on the roles of Aaron Elliot/Clowes and what is it like working on the full production of LIFELINE The Musical, having recorded for the concept album in 2024?
It’s a daunting and unique privilege to be portraying these two roles in the show – one in each timeline – both establishing deeper relationships with both Dr. Fleming and Dr. Jess.
Robin Hiley’s music particularly influences the differentiation of the worlds, and the brilliant choreographer Leanne Pinder has been incredibly insightful in specifying these characters’ differences. I wish I could go back and re-record my vocals on the album after all the depth I’ve gained performing the show on stage.
Was there anything that originally drew you to the musical, which is written by Robin Hiley and directed by Alex Howarth, and what are Robin’s songs like to perform?
I’ve always had a fascination with theatre that tells a story through folk music. When Robin and I connected back in 2024, we both shared our love for acoustic and folk and storytelling. Singing Remember and Climb On in the studio with him felt like a melding of those favourite worlds.
We hit it off immediately, and I practically begged him to let me continue with the show.
What has it been like meeting your fellow cast members including Alan Vicary (Alexander Fleming), Kelly Glyptis (Amalia Voureka) and Maz McGinlay (Jess), and how is it performing alongside a live six-piece band and a chorus of real-life nurses, doctors, vets, dentists and scientists?
To be the only transplant American in the cast, in a new country, alongside people that had prior connections and relationships, I was really quite anxious about meeting everyone at first. But that was instantly squandered on day one when everyone so generously took each other under their wing and got to know one another without hesitation or judgement.
Having that core basis from our small rehearsal room seamlessly extended to the 70+ people we added (crew, band, chorus, etc). It’s a fascinating case study on how having one like-minded agenda with a group of strangers can immediately bond you.
Why would you recommend booking tickets to see the London premiere of LIFELINE The Musical – running at Southwark Playhouse Elephant until Saturday 2nd May – and who do you think it will appeal to?
I wholeheartedly believe this piece can appeal to everyone. Whether you know about the science or not, this show can cut to the core of human relationships – co-workers, friends, family, loves… you name it.
It’s a story that spans over a century, yet simply speaks to coming together in times of crisis. Plus, did I mention the beautiful music?!
In February, you finished your run as Moon Boy in the world premiere of WONDER with the American Repertory Theatre; how much did you know about R. J. Palacio’s best-selling children’s novel or the 2017 film adaptation before booking the role, and how was it telling the story of Wonder?
I love WONDER. Sharing this story of kindness and empathy on stage, with music by the childlike and imaginative A Great Big World and a script by the poetic and utmost empathetic playwright Sarah Ruhl, was one of the most grounding and magical experiences.
Telling this simple tale of acceptance and humanity felt like a form of protest in a day and age where division is all around us – especially in America.
Can you tell us about portraying Frederick Fleet in Titanic at the New York City Centre in 2024?
Performing in Titanic was a pivotal moment for me – looking around a room of my childhood and current stage idols and being amongst them.
New York City Centre Encores! is a fast and furious process of putting up a fully staged concert version of a show in two weeks. It felt like a theatre summer camp for Broadway, where everyone showed up prepared, played around, and purely enjoyed each other’s talents and company.
What was it like being in the cast of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and how was it performing in a Stephen Sondheim musical?
Sondheim’s work is a beast like no other. The precision and detail written in every note and word is so intentional, and the goal of our production was to pay proper homage to his creation while also breathing a piece of today’s world experience into it.
Adding to that the creative team, the cast, the massive orchestra… It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I think we all felt that.
Do you have any favourite highlights from working on Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on Broadway that you can share, and what was it like understudying Anthony and Tobias?
I made my Tobias debut in May of 2023, just after the Tony nominations had come out. Josh Groban (as Sweeney Todd) and Annaleigh Ashford (as Mrs. Lovett) were both nominated. I approached them both before the performance and asked if there was anything they needed from me. I’ll never forget the two of them just asking me to stay alive, to play around, and to be okay with things being a little different.
There can be an expectation as an understudy to perform that role as it is done nightly, and it differs how you’re going to play it as the understudy depending on who you’re performing it with. The graciousness and spontaneity of those two performers was lightning in a bottle, and for them to encourage me to bring myself to the table was a gift like no other.
How was it originating the role of Andrew Lynch in the world premiere of KNOXVILLE at the Asolo Repertory Theatre?
This show was a new mountain peak for me. Originating a Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, Frank Galati and Josh Rhodes show, with cast members Jason Danieley, Paul Alexander Nolan and Hannah Elless, and music direction and orchestrations by Tom Murray and Bruce Coughlin… legends on legends on legends.
The main thing I took away from this show was that these people I just named had the resume and every right to come in with ego or status, and yet no one did. It was the most gracious room of collaboration and creation I’ve ever had, and I’m still baffled and wholeheartedly grateful for the entire experience. (Shameless plug to check out the KNOXVILLE cast album!)
What are some of your stand-out memories from being a Swing and understudying Orpheus on the 2021/22 National Tour of Hadestown?
Meeting the bright, beautiful light that is composer Anaïs Mitchell, and watching her joy and gratitude to see her show continue through the country was so powerful.
It was a really impactful time to take the show through America. We were one of the first tours to come out post the COVID shutdown, and in a time when masks were mandated state by state and politics were at the forefront of the nation. There was a lot of division resulting in differing audience responses depending on where we were.
How did you find the experience making your Broadway debut in 2018 in the original Broadway cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and how was it seeing the fan response to the production?
I didn’t know too much about the Harry Potter world and fandom other than having seen the movies as a kid. We had stage door lines down all of 43rd Street almost every night for the first year of our run on Broadway.
At the end of the day, it was a deeply moving play about family and reputations, and it was really meaningful to be part of the continuation of a world that had meant so much to so many and furthering the stories of these characters so many had fallen in love with. (And, for what it’s worth… this took place a few years prior to you know what).
You are also a music artist, and released your single Laundry Day last year, can you tell us about this side of your career?
I’ve been writing since I was young. I stumbled into it as an accidental form of catharsis from sitting at the piano or with a guitar and allowing feelings and thoughts to come out through melody.
I think of it in alignment with acting, in that the goal is always to tell a story and bring real human complexion to the forefront of whatever I’m doing. A great piece of advice I was given as an actor and a writer was to share the ugliest, most truthful parts of yourself to allow others to be seen – and I try to live by that.
Where does your love of performing come from and how did you get into acting?
I grew up in a household with my two older sisters and my mom. Not having the father figure to do the “sports thing”, as many boys my age did, I followed in my sister’s footsteps at the age of six performing in a children’s after-school theatre program.
Getting to form a community with other outcasts like me, find my voice and escape reality helped me find a softer, empathetic perspective at a young age, and I never looked back.
What are some of your favourite theatre shows to watch and which would you like to see that you haven’t done so as yet?
This is kind of a non-answer to the question, but I just love art that makes an audience think. I think it’s one of the most fulfilling experiences to have a group of 200+ people in a room watching the same show, and each of them takes something different out of it.
To me, it’s not about “good” or “bad” – a successful show is one that keeps people conversing over post-show drinks and the following day.
How do you like to spend your free time?
You can almost always find me with a cup of coffee and a guitar nearby, or walking through a city or a park with folk music (or a musical) blasting in my ears.
I’m proud (and sometimes ashamed) to say that I really do live and breathe music and art, and I feel lucky to get to immerse myself in it.
Follow Nathan on: