The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- tabithacatlin
- Apr 22
- 12 min read
The Ambassadors Theatre
Interview with Philippa Hogg
Following the recent great success of winning THREE Olivier awards, and one of them being this years 'Best New Musical' this post is all about the award winning show 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'. I was lucky enough to have a conversation with cast member 'Philippa Hogg': all about the show and her experience. She has been with the show since it's birth in 2019.
If you don't know the musical, then you need to get in the know! It's based on the story 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who also wrote 'Great Gatsby'. The piece is set in a small, Cornish town where everyone knows everyone! The world changes when the Button family give birth to Benjamin... who was born in his 80s. The audience follow him as he ages backwards, falls in love and navigates his way through life avoiding his peers finding out his secret. However, 'time and tide waits for no man'. It's stunning musical that reminds you of the importance of living life in the moment, treasuring those rare memories, because you only get one life to enjoy.
Just before speaking Philippa Hogg, I went along to the Ambassadors Theatre to see her play Elowen Keene and this lady is talented! Hogg has been with the cast of Benjamin Button from the very start at Southwark Playhouse Borough 'The Little' in 2019. She played Elowen at the very beginning. Did you know before 2025's Best Actor John Dagleish played Benjamin from ages of 80 - 19 when the lead is an old man he was actually played by a puppet?!
Here's what Philippa and I talked about:
Q: Since being in the show from the beginning, how has the piece progressed?
A: In many ways, but the most obvious way is the size. It started with a cast of five, one stage manager who did EVERYTHING, Lucy Rees who is still with the production to this day. We made it for 'The Little' in Southwark Playhouse Borough. The process felt like the five of us in the show were in the right place at the right time, we were put together in this show and became like a family. The process was incredible, but short! The show was put together really quickly, and we had a 1/2 weeks at Southwark Playhouse, then a week in Bude in Cornwall. The week in Cornwall was so special, we were taking in the seaside surroundings, and it felt like we were making the piece in response to what we were experiencing. There was this beautiful night where towards the end of our time in Cornwall we had a bonfire on the beach, had take away and beers on the rocks. We still reminisce about that night now, it feels so Benjamin Button.
It was a BEAST of a show for a cast of five. In 2019 James Marlow was our Benjamin and he was the central figure of the show, the four of us did everything else and this meant even more multi-roling. We also used puppets to play the children Locryn and Lowen, created from bits of scrap from the beach; like buckets and spades. Tied together with rope and old Benjamin was also played by a driftwood puppet! Elowen was also played by two actresses! So, I played Elowen in the first half and Rosalind Ford played her in the second half. The heart of the 2019 production is still in piece to this day; Benjamin is still the central figure, and everything is a vessel to his story. Hats off to our writer Jethro Compton and music and lyrics creative Darren Clark that have ensured that at every stage of the creative process they maintained the heart of the show. When a show gets big and the budget increases, the excitement of the Westend and production value increasing it's so easy to lose the roots of the show and the magic. It's still there for us.
In 2023, we performed the show at Southwark Playhouse Elephant with the size of the cast we have now. Some of the people that performed in the show then are still in the cast now! The production we performed at Elephant is very much what the show is now. There are still a few changes, like Benjamin is no longer a miner! Then, we had Benjamin working in the mines. The fisherman family in the show were miners and in the story the mines collapse. Interestingly, the bomb scene in the show now was from the 2019 plot. The story now is this mash up of the 2019 and 2023 show. It's like Clark and Compton put together our best bits and it's great, because the two of them as creatives will never rest. The show is constantly being work shopped and trialled. It's so great that we can bring back these moments from the 2019 show and not lose them. As the fisherman family are now, rather than miners, they work at sea and it's so great to route the show with this sea theme. It really works.
Q: What do you want the audience to take away from seeing the show?
A: Big question! I would love the audience to feel like we have just told them a story that is about them. Theatre is the best when it feels personal and universal. For them to get the message that if they feel they are an outsider, that they don't fit or no matter how unusual they may feel that their life is precious, and their presence is vital. It's a celebration of people being different. The other thing is the importance of time. I want the audience to leave with the reminder that the small moments and memories are important, special and truly magical. Something to treasure. My boyfriend's sister came along to see the show with her husband and best thing he said was after the show he just wanted to go home and hug his daughter. That's the feeling we want the audience to take away, to treasure life and the people around them. This is life, it is magic, and you need to hold on to it.
Q: What is your favourite song to perform?
A: My answer always changes. At the moment I love 'Will you go', there's something about the country feel of it that makes my heart sing. The wind aspect of the movement, that comes organically to the choreography from the feel of the song. I really enjoy it. Sometimes it's 'Rolling away', which is controversial, because for a lot of the cast it's a 'strap in it's the halfway point and we're tired'. It's such a fun number and it rockets along, with lots of different stages.
Q: Will we get a cast recording on Spotify?
A: It's coming! Don't worry...
Q: What is your favourite audience reaction? In the show and after
A: One of my favourite audience reactions in the show was one night at the end of act 1 after 'Shipping out'. It goes to black out and there was one woman who just shouted out 'WOW' and we were all on stage trying to remain quiet and still. It was such a visceral response and like she didn't know she had done it. There have been so many audience reactions that have felt so special.
There's been a few that have felt poignant, some people have reached out and told us personal stories, particularly about healing from grief. How the show seems to be cathartic for people who are grieving or have experienced it in their life. It brings it up for them in a hopefully healthy way. That's how theatre and art is powerful, because it allows you to have a channel to experience and work through things in your own life, without it being about you. Those reactions have been special and unique.
My personal fave is my sister, who is my best friend in the WHOLE world. She was sat in the middle of stalls in one of my first ever Elowen shows and at the end there were a few people who were standing, then for the encore everyone sat down. My sister carried on standing all by herself and danced in the middle of the stalls for the whole number. That's something I will never forget.
Q: How do you manage singing, dancing, acting and playing instruments?
A: It takes time. It's not something you can go in head first! We build it up. First, we rehearsed just the singing. Then, the music and after that, in rehearsals we put the singing together with the instrument playing. The biggest shift is playing the instrument with the choreography. For a lot of the rehearsals, when we were learning choreography, we would have music stands around the room and we hadn't memorised all the music yet. so, we would run over to our scores to check parts. It's kind of about choreographing your instrument and your breath to your choreography. Just like if I am playing a sharp, quick section of music on my violin, then I have to think where does my foot stamp come within playing the music? If you remove the violin, the playing the violin movement becomes a dance in itself.
The difficult moments are when you are playing, singing and dancing three different rhythms. That's when it becomes a bit like the Disney film 'Soul', when the character goes into this 'zone' when they are playing music. When you rehearse the singing, playing and dancing enough each bit of your body knows it enough and the three can't co-exist without each other anymore. There's a moment in 'Western Wind' where my violin part is completely counter to what I am singing and what my feet are doing. If you asked me to do one of these parts without the other in this song now, I wouldn't be able to do it. Basically, it's about building up so your muscle memory in each part of your body is so tight that putting it together is natural. It's interesting, because each company member has different skill sets that go together easier for some people. For instance, some people find playing and narrating easy, but others find it virtually impossible. But those people who find that impossible find singing and playing easy. It is so interesting, everyone needs different amounts of time on each thing and it's personal how each individual finds a way to make it work for them. It is satisfying when you feel every element of your skill set is being utilised all at once. It is crazy and you find yourself looking at your cast members appreciating how talented they are.
Q: Where did the inspiration for the pub in the show come from?
A: Compton and Clark would know the answer to this! I'm not sure. I don't know if it is a specific pub, but it is routed in the traditions in England, Scotland, Ireland where people do just sit and play in pubs. If you go to any folk sessions across London, it feels a bit like the Pickled Crab. It comes from the feeling in pubs when live music is being played, particularly folk sessions. It is that feeling on those nights where anyone can join in and there are instruments on the wall, you can just pick a fiddle off the wall and join in. It's the ancient tradition of folk music being passed on orally, that people can just sit down, listen and play along. The song 'When ere she looked at me' is a song that has that feel to it. The landlord starts singing and everyone eventually joins in singing, dancing and playing.
Also, it's come from towns having pubs that are the life and soul of the community. Where everyone goes on a Friday night and everyone goes for a Sunday roast. Where everyone knows each other, the regulars and the drunk at the bar. Everyone knows THAT pub. To have that as Benjamin and Elowen's first meeting place is so universal for people to understand, because they know what that space feels like.
Q: You play the role of the mother, how did you adapt the emotionally demanding role and manage the emotions it explores?
A: It's a challenging one, because it happens right at the start of the show! It's a really brave piece of writing to have the song 'The Kraken's Lullaby' and that moment happen at the beginning of the show. The audience have just fell in love with Benjamin, his cheeky personality and we're given this false sense of security that the show will be a comedy and jolly all the time. Then, you meet the mother.
My way into the mother's character has come from various places and it continues to grow week by week. There are two things I will mention. One is considering people who have longed for a baby and struggled to conceive. When that moment finally happens for Roger (The dad character) and Mary (The mother character) the result they are left with is so far from what they wanted. The pain of that is so impossible to bear, the way I see it is that she channels her grief of the thing that she wanted so badly isn't possible for her and a huge element of self-hatred. She puts all of this emotion onto Benjamin and blames him. Two, the other side of it is the folk lore element and I lean into that more. The song 'The Kraken's Lullaby' is so mythical and it's about the uprising of a monster that could take over the shore. The idea of what have I given birth to? I lean into this element that the land and the shore that the mother lives on has taken over her body and she feels she is a danger to those around her. A very heavy subject.
Q: How do you then go from playing that role and coming straight back on stage as one of the jolly strangers in the ensemble?
A: We have had a lot of great support from applause for thought, a group that help with mental health in the arts. They are a brilliant company. We've worked with them on moments in the show similar to the mother's scene. They have given me some great techniques for de-roling. It happens live in front of the audience. Then straight after, I take the costume off and I am literally de-rolled from that character. We have some techniques that involve breathing, at the end of that sequence I stand at the back of the stage, I focus on the place where that scene has happened and do these breathing exercises that let the image of that place filter away. It's such an important thing, as an actor, to fully land in the truth of that moment and then let it go.
Q: You have played Elowen in the past and now you cover the role when needed, what is it like stepping into that different role and moving your daily roles to the side?
A: It's interesting in this show. Some of the tracks are different to mine, some people will do parts of their regular track alongside their cover role. For me, I step up into Elowen's entire track and this helps me, because I switch my brain into a doing a different role. I love it, because you see the show from a different angle. It's so fun to be next to and work with different cast members in moments. There is so much to discover.
When I first stepped into Elowen in this run, having not played her since 2019. I had this bizarre night that I realised that 7 years ago me is still so within this character. We kind of created her character when the five of us were making the show. It's deep rooted in me and yet I have 7 more years of life experience to bring to the role. The merging of me 7 years ago and me now was just crazy to witness going on inside myself. It was really nice to hold on to some of the old ideas, but then change my understanding of other lines after 7 years! It's a rare treat to have the opportunity to revive a role 7 years on. It's so cool. I do miss my ensemble role though, so it is lovely to get back into it and be at the heart of the ensemble. I have the best of both worlds, and I am so lucky.
Q: What makes the show special in your personal opinion?
A: For me, it's the themes that run through the show about nature, the moon and the sea. I spent a lot of my childhood in Cornwall. My connection to the sea and that particular coastline is strong. Being able to live and exist in that world every night feels really right. It feels like I'm sharing a piece of me every night. Which is an incredibly unique opportunity as a performer. To exist in this world that is both magical and mythical as well as real is right up my street basically!
Q: Have you got a favourite line in the show?
A: I think it is in 'Shipping out' when I say, "His head of grey was now a sea of brown, the wrinkles and creases of his face had smoothed, like lines in the sand being levelled by the tide". It feels like a beautiful coming together of how unique Benjamin is and how he is connected to that part of the world.
A huge thank you to Philippa Hogg for sharing her experience in working on the fantastic show 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' and Raw PR for organising the interview. If you are intrigued and want to go and see this magical show; it is showing at the Ambassador's Theatre until August 2025. You do NOT want to miss it.
Click HERE for tickets.
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