All the world's a stage for prolific producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh as he tells Anna Millar about bringing Mary Poppins to Edinburgh, The Witches Of Eastwick to London – and Oliver to Tel Aviv
IT'S A brave man who takes on Communist China, flying nannies and Saturday night television. For Sir Cameron Mackintosh, though, it's all in a day's work. Indeed, as he runs through the day's to-do list – meetings, stage prep, scheduling rehearsals a
nd checking in on his half a dozen or so shows being staged across the globe as we speak – the New York Times' description of Mackintosh as "the most successful and powerful theatrical producer in the world" seems almost an understatement.
To put it in context for the non-musical-goer (apparently there are still a few of you out there), his most famous productions to date – Cats, Phantom Of The Opera, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon – have out-grossed multi-million pound film successes such as Titanic and ET. These hits continue to play to theatres around the world, pocketing Mackintosh a reported £400m. Not bad for a boy who started out as a stagehand in Drury Lane. So, what's his secret? "It's about having fun, picking the right projects and not letting your standards slip," says the 61-year-old with genuine modesty.
His new addition to the Scottish stage is a big one, and a self-confessed "labour of love". Mackintosh's musical staging of Mary Poppins, based on PL Travers' classic books, arrives at Edinburgh's Playhouse from award-winning stints in London and on Broadway. On a backstage tour in Birmingham, I get a sense of the sheer scale of the Mackintosh machine. Behind the scenes is as well choreographed as front stage, and the movement of the colossal dolls' house and chimney-top set is a jaw-dropping sight.
It has, says Mackintosh, been a long time coming. "I wanted to do it for years, 30 in fact, but the time was never right," he says. "Then finally Travers agreed to meet with me. She realised I loved the story, almost as much as her, and put her trust in me. Thankfully, it paid off."
A Mackintosh/Disney collaboration that he has been working on for a decade, his Mary Poppins mixes a sugary spoonful of familiarity from the Julie Andrews film with the darker, more biting characterisation of Travers' books.
The dream team speaks for itself. Richard Eyre, of Notes On A Scandal fame, is in the director's chair, with Julian Gosford Park Fellowes on writing duty, and enfant terrible Matthew Bourne choreographing. "Everyone loves Mary Poppins; it has that ability to attract the best talent." Mackintosh pauses for full theatrical effect before continuing. "Then you have me and Disney, two theatrical goliaths drawn together by this marvellous nanny."
Born in London to a Scottish father and Maltese mother, Mackintosh began his career in his late teens in London's West End before a musical featuring Elaine Paige singing a song about memory afforded him an unlikely career break. Cats was a collaboration with "rival" Andrew Lloyd Webber, and proved a huge critical and commercial success. Some years later Les Miserables, a musical take on the post-Napoleonic revolutions in France, put Mackintosh on the map in his own right. It was the longest-running West End musical in history, though it's about to be overtaken by Cats. Musical theatre may be more popular than ever, but Mackintosh has been riding the crest of his own wave for years.
It was television rather than the stage, however, that really brought him to the masses. For one so gregarious, Mackintosh admits he was reluctant to appear on the BBC's recent I'd Do Anything, the reality show hunt for an Oliver and Nancy. "I didn't really want to do it," he admits. "But I love Oliver. It's a show I've grown up with since I was in the chorus 40 years ago, so it seemed a natural thing for me."
While Mackintosh is quick to fob off the idea that such reality shows dumb down musical theatre, he admits they have their limitations: "It's horses for courses," he says after a reflective pause. "You can only do it for certain shows, where the rawness of the kind of person who would put themselves through that audition process suits the role. When they (the BBC] approached me about My Fair Lady, I said you are not going to get girls – unless we are incredibly lucky – who are able to do an hour of George Bernard Shaw. I've been doing Oliver for decades and most of the best Nancys I've had have come from nowhere. You want it to be a bit street; that's why I'd Do Anything worked."
Mackintosh's main focus may be on getting Mary Poppins to Scotland and starting rehearsals on the upcoming Oliver in London, but he still finds time to celebrate his native country. Last year he put his name – and sizeable wallet – to the Highland Year of Culture bid , and helped open The Sundowe musical in Inverness. And while he shrugs it off, the last decade has brought sizeable donations from Mackintosh to support the small village of Mallaig, where he holidayed as a child and still owns a home. "A great script from Scotland is something I would love to find for the right thing, but I have so much going on at the moment," he says. "Getting time off to go and visit my house in Mallaig, now that's important."
Besides, something else always crops up on that to-do list. Following Mary Poppins' Edinburgh stint, another of Mackintosh's projects will set up stall, this time a re-working of The Witches Of Eastwick, the film made famous by the role of Jack Nicholson, which will be played on the stage by Marti Pellow. "I'm delighted that it's having success (in London]," he says. "Marti is sensational in it. I think he's going to have a triumph in his home town, so I'm doing my bit for Scotland."
Then global domination beckons. Mackintosh recently won a near decade-long battle with Chinese officials to stage the first western musicals in Mandarin, and he already has his eye on neighbouring Asian countries and Africa, a so far untouched market. "I love it all," he enthuses. "I've just been sent the poster for a new production of Oliver, which is showing in Tel Aviv. Nothing gives me a kick more than seeing a show that I helped create being done in other places. It's a magical thought that when I'm gone the work will live on."
• Mary Poppins opens at the Playhouse on October 2
