WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHERE?: The Theatre Cafe RUNTIME: 25 minutes

WHEN?: Available 8/10/20 from 8pm until 15/10/20

SETLIST: He’s No Good (The Life),  Heartless (Prince Of Egypt), So Much Better (Legally Blonde)

Williams stars this weekend in Hair The Musical: An Outdoor Concert in Norwich and, if you can’t catch up with her there,  she takes part in the Theatre Cafe’s Night Cap series.

• Read on for reasons including how to buy a ticket for this Night Cap event

Williams first came to our attention in her 1st leading role in The Life at Southwark Playhouse alongside the legend that is Sharon D. Clarke. We described Williams then as ‘a name to watch out for in the future’.

Speaking to Taylor-Mills, artistic director at the Turbine Theatre, she explains she grew up in Mitcham, Surrey, occasionally pretending it was in south London: ‘The Life was my first lead role and it was the first time I thought this is where I’m supposed to be and what I want to be doing.’

Her 1st choice of song is from that show and we’re once again moved by her rendition which pivots around the title: ‘He’s No Good but I’m no good without him.’

We next saw her, again with D. Clarke in Caroline, Or Change at Hampstead Theatre, saying ‘there are fantasy sequences in Noah’s basement featuring a radio consisting of a Motown-inspired girl group (including Carole Stennett and T’Shan Williams, also reviewed elsewhere on this site) which thrill.’

We next saw her in Heathers at the Other Palace and singled her out once again saying: ‘We’ve written about T’Shan Williams before and she’s definitely one to watch out for.’

She says: ‘When I first got it I thought it would be a nice summer filler and I had no idea it would transfer into town. I was aware of the song Dead Girl Walking because a lot of my friends had sung it but I didn’t know much about the storyline.’

She doesn’t choose a song from that show but does pick another of composer Larry O’Keefe’s from Legally Blonde: The Musical.

She was the Heather in green in Heathers and reveals she’s auditioned for Wicked before and would love to play the leading role. ‘You are going to be an incredible Elphaba,’ says Taylor-Mills.

She’s sanguine about not being cast saying: ‘It might be something you really want but it might just be the wrong time.’

She chooses to sing a song from The Prince Of Egypt, a musical she championed years ago on social media.

Of the future she’s upbeat saying the response to COVID-19 ‘showed how resilient our industry is. I’m proud everyone’s stuck together and it’s been wonderful to see people being so kind to each other.’ But she does wish black history could be better taught in schools.

You can see Williams in Norwich  alongside monstagigz favourites Layton Williams and Jordan Luke Gage.

At this Night Cap she was accompanied by Lee Freeman on piano and you can buy tickets for the series at the link below. The link is available for up to a week for multiple views.

• Picture via Facebook courtesy the Theatre Cafe Tickets
• Have you seen any of these shows? Let us know what you thought in the comments below