Joe grows into Jack

29 Jan 2014

A former RGS Worcester pupil has made his professional stage debut in Jack and the Beanstalk at the City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds, following a year spent at the Royal Academy of Music.

Joe Vetch, who is also an accomplished musician and singer, left RGS in 2009, and won the plum role of Jack for the 60-performance run and then a second job on the same day, adding up to a breath-taking start to his new career. “I thought panto would be a simple way to start my professional career, but a West End show does 8 per week, we do 12, and you end up spending most of your time either on stage or looking after yourself for the next one.

“Another thing I thought would happen is that it would get easier through the run. You do become more efficient on stage and discover what works and what doesn’t, but rest has been sparse, so it mounts up and you need to be more switched on than ever to make the show happen when you’re tired. An audience can tell an actor flagging in energy from a mile off.”

Reviews have been excellent for both the show and Joe’s own performance. The Stage described him as ‘highly skilled’ and the Morley Observer as ‘charismatic’. When the run ends, Joe will feature in the UK tour of Threepenny Opera which is a musical by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht featuring the song ‘Mack the Knife’. The show visits the Birmingham REP at the end of March.

In an industry known for a paucity of work for new entrants, Joe Vetch has clearly made a terrific start. His parents still live in Worcester.