Iconic Corrie actress takes on Florence Foster Jenkins in Glorious!

Wendi Peters one busy performer, and is well known to TV audiences, having starred in Coronation Street, Doctors and Bad Girls. But if you a regular theatregoer you may have seen her in the likes of Oh, What a Lovely War! White Christmas, and April in Paris.

She has played a variety of roles and many of them have required her to be in good voice, for musical theatre. But her next role requires her to sing badly, as she is playing Florence Foster Jenkins in the musical Glorious! which is at the Hope Mill Theatre later this month.

You may recognise the name from the Stephen Frears film version starring Meryl Streep, or when Maureen Lipman played her in the West End version.

Interview with Wendi Peters

We caught up with Wendi to find out about her thoughts on Manchester, this quirky character and the challenges that come with playing her, and moments in her career that fill her with pride.

You have worked in Manchester many times, what do you like about the place?

Manchester just feels like I’m coming home. I was brought up about 30 miles northwest, near Blackburn, near Clitheroe, and I remember always coming into Manchester for shopping and to the theatre. My mum used to bring my sister and I to the Palace or the Opera House to see all the big musicals. So it really does feel like coming home, and obviously having worked there for four years on Corrie it’s very familiar.

What did you know about Florence Foster Jenkins before you got the part?

The only real information I have was I had seen the film when it first came out in 2016 with Meryl Streep, and I went to see that not knowing much about Florence and absolutely adored the film. I haven’t purposely watched it since I was offered the part because I want to put my own interpretation on it, but I just remember this outrageous character based on a true woman and was fascinated by her. So obviously now I’ve done lots of research and looked into it since I got the part!

What are the most challenging aspects of this show for you?

Oh my goodness, where do I start? It’s full on, there’s only three people within it, so it’s very wordy. Florence is an absolute tour de force. She’s clumsy, she’s fast speaking, she’s outrageous, and on top of that, being the worst singer in the world, I’m having to learn some arias in different languages which is tricky, and then I have to learn to sing them quite badly!

Do you have a favourite show that you have worked on, that has never left your memory and why?

I have lots of favourite shows, but one that always sticks in my mind is a play called Hatched and Dispatched at the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park, London. There were eight of us in it and we performed in quite a small space, just a 90-seat theatre, I love intimate spaces, and we all just got on. We were playing a family, an extended family, and we truly did get on like a family. We still have a Whatsapp group and we meet up every few months for drinks or dinner.

What do you love about the character of Florence?

I love her self-confidence, her outrageousness, her really not caring whether she knows or not what other people think of her. She just has this joy of singing and loves what she does.

What was the last thing you saw on stage that you enjoyed and why?

I haven’t seen much recently because I’ve been very busy with Panto and then straight into this, but before Panto in November, I went to see a brilliant new play called Burnt Up Love at the Thimbra Theatre in West London, and it was written by and starred Shea Walker, who is the son of a good friend of mine, Anne Mitchell, who I’ve worked with, and it was, again, only three people in it, and straight through, no interval, but just some beautiful, beautiful writing and amazing acting.

Is there anything in your great career that makes you particularly proud?

Lots of things make me proud, but the one thing I think more than anything else, straight out of lockdown, I was in a musical play called You Are Here, that reopened the Southwark Playhouse, and we opened on May 17th. I remember the date because it was the first night you were able to perform again after lockdown. It was a huge role for me. I had 18, 19 songs, and it was about a woman called Diana, who walked out on her husband the night of the moon landings and tried to find herself. It was really challenging and beautifully written, and I’m really proud that I was able to do that show, but also what was within the show was a real challenge for me.

Why would you recommend that audiences come and see Glorious?

Well, it’s fun! You are going to have a wonderful, fun evening learning about this character, about Florence, and her joy for life, but it also has wonderful heart because everybody within the play, her audiences adore her, whether for the right or the wrong reasons, and it’s very funny. Very, very funny. So get down to the Hope Mill and see us.

Tickers for Glorious! at Hope Mill Theatre

Glorious! Is at the Hope Mill Theatre from 27th February – 30th March and tickets can be booked here.