Musicals star on why emotional new Glasgow show has her in tears

Proper, pen-to-paper, stick-it-in-an-envelope-and-post-it, old school, snail mail letters.

This may sound strange, given that Carrie is arguably one of the most recognisable social media stars of her generation, and an accomplished vlogger and Instagrammer, with gazillions of followers across multiple platforms.

However, it is true.

“Oh, I LOVE a letter,” she sighs.

Carrie is coming to Glasgow with her new show (Image: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall)

“I had a boyfriend when I was 16 who was from Hong Kong, and every summer he’d go home for the holidays and we’d write to each other.

“Social media did exist, I just loved writing letters.” She pauses. “I still have them all in a little bundle.”

Carrie adds: “It’s the personal touch, the idea someone has taken the time to write something just for you.

"The world is so fast-paced - messages come up on your phone and you have to reply to tweets instantly, and it’s so quick...so we just wanted to give everyone one night where they can slow down for a bit.”

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Carrie’s new show, Love Letters, is all about letters – ones she has written, others people have sent her - and it is also all about love.

“I did a show last year which was me telling stories from my career that I hadn’t told anyone before, and the set list of songs changed every night depending on what songs the audience voted to hear,” she explains.

Carrie Hope Fletcher (Image: Carrie Hope Fletcher)

“It worked really well, so we thought we’d do it again with a different theme. Love letters is about writing letters to the people we love – not just romantic love but love for friends, family – and also to the things we love.”

She laughs: “Like Disney, for me.”

Having just had a baby girl, Mabel, with husband and fellow West End star Joel Montague six months ago, it’s a safe bet maternal love will feature in the show.

“I need to watch, as even just mentioning my daughter sends me into floods of tears," she sighs. "And I look like Kermit the frog when I cry, so that’s not great.

"Motherhood is incredible. I’ve never had anyone depend on me before. I could do what I wanted, go places on a whim..."

She adds: “I love what I do, and am lucky to be able to do it, but now Mabel comes first in all my decisions, career-wise.”

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Now 31, Carrie grew up in Harrow, north London. Her mum was a learning support teacher at a primary school, her dad worked at a Kodak factory. Inspired by her brother Tom (of McFly fame), she attended weekend classes at Sylvia Young Theatre School and landed the part of young Éponine in Les Miserables at the age of seven.

Roles in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins followed, and she “learned on the job”, she says, soaking up everything she could from her co-stars.

"My brother used to say I sounded like a trumpet as I had this big, belty voice," she laughs.

"I grew up listening to Michael Ball and Lea Salonga and Frances Ruffelle, so it was a case of trying to replicate that when I was younger. It took me a very long time to learn how to turn the volume down."

Since then, Carrie has played some of the most famous roles in musical theatre, including the original Veronica in Heathers, Wednesday in The Addams Family, the older Éponine and Fantine in Les Miserables, and the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella.

That production was beset by problems, including having to temporarily close due to Covid and public spats between the cast and composer.

Despite this, Carrie looks back fondly on her time in the show.

"Originating any role, especially in a new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, is a really exciting thing," she says.

"I will always try and take positives from it as I think no job will ever be as hard as that one. We all got through that as a collective and we know nothing will ever be as difficult as that."

Carrie as Calamity Jane (Image: ATG)

Next year, Carrie will headline the UK tour of Calamity Jane, which comes to Glasgow in the summer.

“It’s a big challenge, but I am so excited to be tackling a role in an old school musical, which is something I haven’t done before,” she says. “It is so beloved, and a title character, which is a terrifying amount of pressure, but I can’t wait.”

For now, however, she is concentrating on letters, and love.

“I can’t wait to come to Glasgow,” she says. “I’ve performed in the city a couple of times, but I have never had much time to spend exploring.

“I need to come up for a holiday. I’m definitely doing that.”

Carrie Hope Fletcher: Love Letters is at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on October 9.