Sizing up the competition

Jul 4 2008 By Diane Parkes

WHEN actor and dancer Daniel Crossley first saw Mary Poppins in London he was immediately keen to play the part of chimney sweep Bert but he thought it would elude him for one reason - his size. "When I watched it, I thought it was an amazing part to play," he recalls. "But directors generally have an idea of the person they want to play certain roles and physically I was very different from the two guys who had already played Bert.

"They were much taller so I didn't think it would come my way."

And how wrong he was as Daniel is now taking that part all across the country in a year-long tour. After premiering in Plymouth, the show opens in Birmingham next week where Daniel's previous acting experience includes the television soap Doctors.

Having ta ken parts in a string of musicals including Cats, Fame, Chicago, Fosse and Anything Goes, Daniel is more than at home in musical theatre. And he is relishing the challenge of Bert.

"He is just a really nice character," he says. "He is a bit like an MC or narrator because he is the link with the audience. The directors have really used him to keep the story going and I like that element of coming to the front of the stage and engaging with the audience."

Those who have previewed the show are sworn to secrecy but Daniel also embarks on a death-defying special effect which leaves the audience dizzy at the thought.

He admits being off the ground is not his favourite place.

"It is not that I am scared of heights but what I have learned is that you don't look down," he says. "Whatever is going on I just look straight ahead."

Even without the special effects Daniel admits it is an exhausting show.

"It is very physical for all of us really," he says. "You just have to keep on top of it, making sure you are eating all the right things, gett ing some sleep, drinking lots of water. I think the entire cast will have lost weight by the end of it."