Noah Thomas Is the Lead of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie on the West End, and He's Still in College

Noah Thomas was appearing in a drama school production of Guys and Dolls when he was tapped to become the third person to star as Jamie New, an aspiring drag queen, in the hit British musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie from Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae at the Apollo Theatre. Thomas is succeeding Layton Williams and John McCrea, who originated the role in 2017. Thomas is coming in at a good time; RuPaul's Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio is playing his drag mother on stage. And at the age of 20, Thomas is also this show’s youngest leading man so far, making him closer in age to the show’s protagonist Jamie, a 16-year-old who wants to go to prom in a dress. Below, Thomas talks about balancing the show with his final year at Mountview drama school.

What’s it like to be six weeks into the career opportunity of a lifetime?
The whole thing is very weird because technically I’m still meant to be at university studying and there I am on posters all over the tube and it’s very surreal. I’m just trying to make the most of it because when is this going to happen again? When else am I going to get to lead a company at 20 years old in something very special? It’s such a great feeling: I feel very, very privileged.

How does someone go from a Mountview drama school production of Guys and Dolls to landing one of the most demanding parts in town for his West End debut?
When the open call came, I was in my third and final year at Mountview sharing the role of Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls and getting used to the full-on fat suit needed to make that role happen. So there I was thinking about being at college and content and gearing up to move into the industry when I got a call that [the Jamie casting people] had requested to see me and that I had six days to prepare the material they wanted: three songs and three scenes.

All of this while prepping for Guys and Dolls?
[Laughs] I think my audition was on a Tuesday and we opened Guys and Dolls the next day! The Jamie producers hadn’t found what they wanted, and myself and another guy from my year were numbers 210 and 211—by that point it was just the two of us. I was the last person of the day and sang the material through and came back again the next day to have a workshop on Jamie. But only in hindsight did I realize that this was more of a rehearsal than an audition: I had the job there and then, all the while thinking that I was just happy to be there for the experience.

How are you juggling this with your college degree?
I’m not a campus student anymore: it would be virtually impossible to do that and be in a show in the evening where I never leave the stage. Luckily, they’ve let me do this as part of my degree: I get marked on this show, which means I get to graduate with my year.

So there will be one performance of Jamie packed with Mountview assessors?
[Laughs] I’d really love when they come if they were to say I wasn’t that good and to fail me! But, seriously, this opportunity is what our college is all about—our training is all about consistency and being able to reproduce the same thing every night and being the healthiest performer you can be. Mountview’s philosophy is that I should be prepared for whenever they come.

Did you know this musical prior to auditioning for it?
I saw it in previews with John McCrea and again a few months later. I remember John giving an incredible performance. I loved the music and the script and what it stood for in terms of representing the LGBTQ community. And it was cool to see onstage all kinds of kids that looked like the class I’d been in at school in east London—girls in hijabs, black kids, white kids, Asian kids. I found it very easy to connect with all those things.

Are you excited about the upcoming film version of the show, due for release October 23?
I think the show really deserves it and the creatives behind it deserve a break like that. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the full thing. I’ve met Max Harwood, who plays Jamie in the film and he’s ridiculously talented, so lovely!

Are you eyeing other particular roles once this ends?
You know, I tend to have check points rather than dream roles. I don't get my hopes up for things because the way I see it, a lot of my dream roles probably haven’t been written yet.