Amanda made a song and dance of career after giving up acting
Jewish Telegraph, December 2024
Mike Cohen first interviewed Amanda Noar more than 30 years ago when she starred in the film I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle. She has since become an in-demand director and choreographer. As her latest production, Road Show, opens in London, Amanda once again spoke to Mike
AMANDA Noar had a highly-successful acting career — appearing on television, in films and on stage. But, as she told me: “I’m a very bossy person, and I like to be telling people what to do rather than being told what to do.”
She has now built an impressive reputation as a theatre director and choreographer. Her latest production is the Stephen Sondheim musical Road Show, which opened at Upstairs at the Gatehouse in north London this week and runs until January 12.
“I didn’t really know the show at all. It’s really not one of Sondheim’s better known shows ones,” Manchester-born Amanda said. “But because of that, it’s piquing everybody’s interest.
“Road Show is about a deeply human exploration of ambition, family, and the pursuit of the ever-elusive American Dream. based on a true story about Wilson and Addison Mizner, taking us on a journey through time, from the Alaskan Gold Rush to the real estate boom in Florida, all while delving into the relationship between two brothers who are equal parts rivals and allies. Very relatable themes, even for today.”
She added: “It’s quite a challenge because it’s a rarely performed piece.”
Amanda sees that as an advantage. She explained: “It’s good that people don’t have preconceived ideas. If this were Hello Dolly! or Fiddler on the Roof, there would be expectations. Instead, audiences can discover a fantastic story with Sondheim’s brilliant music and clever lyrics.”
Road Show continues Amanda’s association with Annlouise Butt and Isaac Bernier-Doyle who took over Upstairs at the Gatehouse last year from John and Katie Plews.
“I directed and choreographed their first Christmas show, and they’ve made remarkable strides with the theatre since then,” she said.
“Isaac is a Sondheim expert, and while Road Show isn’t your typical Christmas fare, it’s bound to resonate with audiences. Plus, we were fortunate to cast our first-choice actors — an incredibly talented group.”
People of a certain age will have first encountered Amanda in the 1980s and 90s.
She made her first TV appearance at the age of 19 in the 1982 school series Starting Out.
A year later, she found herself on the cobbles of Coronation Street.
But it was as Sally in the 1987 series Boon that her life changed.
The series starred Michael Elphick as private investigator Ken Boon.
In the second series, Neil Morrissey joined the cast. Amanda and Neil fell in love on set and married.
But after having a son, Sam, together, the couple divorced in 1991 — a year after they had starred together in the horror-comedy film I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle.
Further TV roles for Amanda included Lovejoy, Stay Lucky, Casualty, Brookside and Hollyoaks.
At the same time, Amanda was making a name for herself on stage.
She appeared in the West End revival of West Side Story, Gypsy in Swansea, Fields of Ambrosia in the West End, Fiddler on the Roof in Manchester, Chicago in Leicester, the UK tour of Godspell, Sweet Charity and Cabaret.
On the big screen, Amanda had roles in Out on the Floor, The Zero Option and The Frontline.
There was also the small matter of a “blink and you’ll miss it” appearance in Star Wars sequel Return of the Jedi.
“That is the job that keeps on giving,” Amanda laughed. “It’s unbelievable.
“I was doing the show Mack & Mabel at Nottingham Playhouse in 1981. And the choreographer, Gillian Gregory, said she was doing this film and do I want to audition for a dancing girl.
“Basically there were two costumes. One was a full leotard and tights, fully covered from chin to your toes.
“And then the second costume was see-through chiffon harem trousers and a boned bra top. And no one wanted to wear that costume. Gillian said, ‘If you want the job, put that costume on and come in’.
“Everything was basically covered but definitely more revealing than the unitard.”
Amanda, who has been married to Emir Avigdor since 1998, landed the role, but the dance was cut from the final film.
But there is a scene where she is placed next to Bib Fortuna, chief aide of crime lord Jabba the Hutt.
“He had all these tentacles coming out of his head and my job was to squeeze balloons down by his legs, which were attached by a pipe to balloons under his prosthetic head. So when I squeezed the balloons, his head pulsated.”
She continued: “I worked on the film for about four weeks. But they have this amazing fanbase, and they sought me out.
“I received an email asking if I’d do a Star Wars convention. I thought he was joking. I couldn’t believe it.
“Basically I now have a character name, which I never had in the film, they’ve made a doll of my likeness and there’s these trading cards with my picture on it as well.
“I keep doing personal appearances at various Star Wars conventions and meeting the most amazing people. I’m also seeing people that I worked with all those hundreds of years ago. It’s just great.”
She recalled how during filming, the main stars of the film — Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford — “were all very lovely and chatted to all of us on the set.
“My kids have Googled it and showed me there’s all these recently-discovered photographs.
“People didn’t have mobile phones then, so nobody was snapping away, but they’ve managed to find these pictures of me wearing my dressing gown on set, having a cup of tea or just lying around.”
It was probably inevitable that Amanda would be an actress. Her mother Rita Noar had also appeared in Coronation Street and was a mainstay of the Manchester Jewish Theatre Group, as well as being a member of the entertainment troupe The Sonny Warner Show.
Amanda’s father Michael also acted. He appeared in Hello Dolly! in which Rita played Dolly Levi.
“Acting was in my DNA,” said Amanda, who is founder of Impact Theatre Company.
“At the age of 10, I was begging her to let me audition for ballet boarding school, which I did and I got into, but I also passed my 11-plus for grammar school.
“My parents didn’t want me to go away. they wanted me to go to the grammar school, which I did, but I was really unhappy.
“At 11, I took the exam again, so at the age of 12 I went to Arts Educational School in Tring for boarding ballet.
“I wanted to be a ballet dancer, but then I quickly decided I preferred musical theatre.
“My mum probably warned me off acting, but obviously kids don’t listen to their mothers, do they?”
While Rita gained incredible nachas from seeing her daughter performing, there was one incident that truly stands out — having Chaim Topol lead the family seder.
“Listen, if my mum was still alive, she would tell you HER highlight of my career was when I was Chava in Fiddler on the Roof in Manchester in 1987, with Chaim Topol over Pesach,” Amanda said.
“One night after the show, they all came back to our house. We had a late night seder, and Topol took the seder, and she was beside herself with joy, as you can imagine.”
As for Amanda, she has many highlights including playing Anita in the West End production of West Side Story.
“It was fantastic,” she said. “I absolutely loved it, and I played that part in many productions of West Side Story. So that was a firm favourite.
“Also playing the title role in Gypsy was amazing for me because that part and the show is another of my favourites.
“ I also enjoyed my time in Brookside.”
In the popular Channel 4 soap, Amanda played Rose Finnigan from 1997 to 2000. Her character met a violent end, being shot dead in Portugal.
But with so much success, why did mother-of-three Amanda give up the limelight?
“It got to a stage where the business is really hard for actors,” she said.
“I kind of got over the bug of performing because I did so much and I was really happy with all the parts I had played.
“I could see my friends and contemporaries being let down again and again. They’d go to auditions, and then they get recalled, only not to get the job.
“I thought I could put on a show. Why don’t I just start putting on shows — which I did, and I found it really satisfying.
“Before Covid, I’d produced massive shows, they’d cost a fortune, and we’d go into a 400-seat theatre at artsdepot in Finchley, near where I live.
“I look back and wonder how the hell I managed to do these big shows, because they were huge, but since Covid, I’ve only produced smaller productions it’s more manageable, both financially and cast size.
“But I do find it very satisfying being on this side of things.
“However, If you’d asked my younger self, I would have said, ‘absolutely not. I definitely want to be on stage’.”
She added: “When I was performing in musicals, more and more I was being asked if I would choreograph or be resident director. So it was kind of a natural progression to go from on stage to the creative side.
“People would often ask me if I’d still like to be on stage. They’d ask if maybe I’d like to, for example, play Charity in Sweet Charity. Well yes, I would have done at one time, but now the appeal isn’t there for me. I prefer watching other people on stage.”
She added: “Directing allows me to use my performing background to guide actors empathetically.
“Age and experience have made me more understanding, though I’m still as daft as a brush!”
And working in smaller theatres adds to the challenge.
She explained: “The audience is right there, close up. They don’t miss anything. You can’t hide behind the distance between the orchestra pit and the audience.
“And the Gatehouse audience is on three sides, so it takes some getting used to. You can’t just play out to the front.”
While Amanda would not be drawn on her hopes for Road Show’s future, she would be quite happy for it to achieve the same success as last year’s Christmas show, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
“There were these rumours that we were going to go to China with it. And we did. I went to Shanghai for a month in August with the show, and we put it on there.
“So you never know what’s going to happen with these shows.
“The Chinese audiences absolutely loved it. It was a much bigger production. We had loads more in the cast. We put children into the cast, and we took our cast from London.
“The set was much bigger, and the costumes were more glitzy.
“It was the original production, but as if injected with steroids.
“The audiences were also very different. They were very animated, really showing their appreciation.”
Her most recent production was a week-long staging of classic puppet show Avenue Q — which was definitely not for children.
“We did it for a week, and it was completely sold out,” Amanda said. “It is such a popular show.
“The rehearsal process was just hilarious. We were hysterical most of the time. I never thought that I would say the words that came out of my mouth in the rehearsal process.”
The show also raised money for Camp Simcha’s The Care Necessities ‘Hug from Home’ project.
Amanda’s impressive CV also includes Stephen Schwartz’s musical Working, which she produced, directed and choreographed.
“I produced that at the Gatehouse pre-Covid,” she said. “I’ve known the show for years, and I am absolutely passionate about it and, again, it’s a very relatable piece. Because it’s about people’s jobs, it can be adapted to fit the changing times.
“It received very good reviews, and was very popular with audiences.
“A friend suggested I write to Stephen Schwartz to see if I could set up a meeting.
“And I was like, ‘yeah, right, he’s really going to answer me’. Anyway, I sent an email, and. he did answer me, and we had a meeting.
“It was just before The Prince of Egypt opened at the Dominion Theatre in the West End.
“We had the most fantastic meeting. He was so wonderful and enthusiastic about my ideas.
“And meeting Leonard Bernstein was another highlight.”
Amanda can also boast involvement in America’s Got Talent.
“I’ve had some strange requests through my career as a director, and this is one of the strangest,” she laughed.
“I received a phone call from a magician called Martin Hart. When I say magician, he doesn’t perform, but he creates these amazing illusions, and he had been asked to create illusion acts for Penn and Teller, and America’s Got Talent.
“For him to create these acts, he needed help with their performance skills. So that’s how I got involved with that, which has been very odd in a way, because while I’m helping them with their performance skills, I’m still not allowed to know how things are done.
“So it’s a very weird process.
“I love all these surprising turns that happen in life.”
Tinyurl.com/NoarRoadShow
