The queer singer Brit singer-songwriter and actor WILL YOUNG had his ‘breakthrough’ in 2002 after winning the inaugural series of the ITV talent contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the worldwide Idol franchise. His double A-sided debut single “Anything Is Possible” / “Evergreen” was released two weeks after the show’s finale and became the fastest-selling debut single in the UK.
Alongside his music career, Young has acted in film, on stage and in television. For his performance in the 2013 London revival of the musical Cabaret, he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. In January 2022 he appeared in the third series of The Masked Singer as “Lionfish” and in May issued the compilation album 20 Years: The Greatest Hits.
Now he has returned to the stage in Manchester in this major new production of Song From Far Away , a one-man play by Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens and Mark Eitzel. In it, Young plays Willem living in NY, who receives a phone call telling him it’s time to go home to Amsterdam to his estranged family and forgotten relationships. As he reflects on his life, unwilling to face the future, he finds himself reaching out to the brother he has lost.
This emotional play is an unforgettable story and a personal letter to those left behind and has particular significance for Young who lost his twin brother to suicide in 2029,
He has been getting some excellent reviews for hos performance: The Mancunion wrote
Song From Far Away is self-aware, thought-provoking, and existential. It is as wonderfully performed as it is written and designed, with Young singing a very different song to those he sang in Cabaret – all while reminding us why he is an Olivier nominee.
Song From Far Away runs at Home, Manchester until March 11thLabels: 2023, Home Manchester, Mark Eitzel., Simon Stephens, Sing From Away, Will Young
