insideKENT Magazine Issue 40 - July 2015 | Page 27

laugh. When any kind of opportunity came along,
they could take it and justifiably honour it.
S: The most difficult thing is to make it look easy.
When we walk on stage, it's like a switch that
goes on – the American accents come out and
we're off!
G: Having fun is the biggest thing.
Aside from the track list, are your
performances scripted or impromptu?
G: There's a certain amount of stock lines, but
you'll never see the same show twice! We've
done a version before that was more scripted,
but now we have the ability to do what we want
to do.
S: It's almost like scenes that we trip into; Mark
might say something, I'll see where he's going
with it and carry it on – and then it changes
direction again. It depends on the audience too;
it's a very interactive show so it's a part of the
whole thing.
Dean played a subtle drunk on stage –
'played' being the operative word. Mark,
how difficult is it to act as though you're
drunk but pretend you're sober, as he did?
S: He actually gets drunk!
M: That probably has helped a few times! Dean
wasn't a broad drunk, although I'm sure there
were times when he enjoyed a drink with his pals.
But it's the subtleties he played, which show how
clever and brilliant he was with it. His daughter
told me it was apple juice in the glass – he would
have one scotch and soda at the end of the show
and then he'd be gone. He didn't hang around
and party afterwards like all the others did; he
was off playing golf in the morning without a
hangover!
You mentioned Dean's daughter. Do you
have much to do with the families?
M: I've met his daughter, Dina, a couple of times
and I've met his son. His son has actually been
in the UK a couple of times on tour, so I was
interested to see what he said about his dad and
if there was footage of him I hadn't yet seen.
S: I've met Frank's daughter, Tina, the youngest
of his three children.

You all started at the Theatre Royal
Haymarket in the original Rat Pack – Live
from Las Vegas cast. Why did you decide
to break off and start your own, personal
show?
M: I think we hold the record for performing in
the most West End theatres – nine in total. We're
10 years older and wanted to develop the act,
as the originals did. You've got to move forward,
and we've gone from black and white to colour.
There's some brilliant stories surrounding
the Rat Pack. Do you have a favourite?
M: There's a good one and I'm sure there's an
element of truth in it. The guys played Vegas and
after finishing the show Frank, who is holding
court at a table of girls, asks 'where's my pal
(Dean)?' After finding he'd gone up to bed for an
early night, Frank gave one of the girls $1000 to
'go and show Dean a good time'. She went
upstairs, knocked on the door and explained why
she was there. With that, Dean gave her $1000
and said 'now go downstairs and tell Frank I was
great'. And that sums up Dean Martin – the myth
and the man are very different, whereas Sinatra
would have done it and asked for two girls!
S: Frank once gave the concierge at Vegas'
Sands Hotel $200 to get his car, and before
driving off he asked the guy 'what's the biggest
tip you've ever had?' He replied 'previous to this,
$100', and when Frank asked who gave it to him,
he said 'you did last week, Sir'! Frank was very
generous but you wouldn't want to cross him.
If you were granted the power of time
travel, which iconic Rat Pack concert would
you attend?
S: I would love to have sat in the front row of The
Main Event, Frank's big, live concert in Cadogan
Hall. Anybody who was anybody was in that
audience.
M: Vegas 1960 when they were filming Ocean's
11 – that was the time to be there.
You're performing at the Leeds Castle Open
Air Classical Concert on 11th July. Is this
your first time in the Garden of England?

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M: We've played Chatham a few times, and my
father in law is from Herne Bay!
G: I've been to Whitstable a few times and
Canterbury a couple of times.
M: I actually filmed in The Maze here at Leeds
Castle a couple of years ago. We're really looking
forward to performing here; it's lovely.
The last private owner of Leeds Castle was
Lady Baillie who, in the 1920s, would travel
from London to host huge weekend parties
with many high-profile guests. How do
you feel about playing a venue with such
a colourful past?
M: Leeds Castle is gorgeous!
S: You've got to be careful what you sit on and
touch.
G: It's almost a shame the concert is outside, as
although the Castle makes a wonderful backdrop,
there's so much to see inside. We feel privileged
to get to see some of the rooms today!
S: You wouldn't be able to fit 10,000 people in
here.
G: Well you could, one at a time.
M: It's been on our bucket list; we've done
Blenheim Palace, Kew Gardens, Kilworth House,
Audley End House etc, so we're very much looking
forward to ticking Leeds Castle off too.
So when you're not 'Rat Packing', how do
you spend your time?
M: Stephen, you sail your boat up and down the
Thames!
S: I do. I enjoy a bit of gardening and drifting up
and down the river, as well as working on the
solo Frank side.
G: I'm a horticulturalist and run my own garden
design comp