Simone Waters speaks to Melody Thornton, who’s starring in The Bodyguard at the Edinburgh Playhouse.
EDINBURGH welcomes a constant stream of visitors throughout the year. Coming from across the globe, they flock to see Auld Reekie’s beautiful architecture and soak in its long history.
One of the city’s most recent arrivals is the American singer, TV personality and Grammy Award-nominee Melody Thornton. With some knowing her as a key member of bestselling girl group the Pussycat Dolls, she is now back on stage to reprise her role as pop star Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard. Yet, while she describes her main priority being to give the Edinburgh audiences “electric and exciting” shows, Melody also plans on playing the part as tourist.
“Whenever I am here, I am usually working a lot – this might be the most I will have time in the day,” she explains when I ask about her possible itinerary. “I might be able to see some things this time, so where should I go?”
Of course, I recommend the iconic castle and I mention the honours of Scotland. The crown jewels and the prospect of the stunning buildings on the hill seem to catch her interest and she quickly says she wants to visit.
However, I am no native either and this city is at times just as magically foreign to me as it is to my fellow American. We realise quickly we both share a love for the Scottish people and Melody says: “They are so lovely and kind here in Scotland. When I smile at people on the street, they smile back.”
This warm welcome by the Scots hasn’t just been shown while out and about, but also in the reviews and reception of the show in which Melody has taken centre stage. “I think it is going well,” she states. “I have seen a couple of nice comments online, but I try to not pay attention to the commentary. For me it is the energy in the room and if people seem to have had a nice time, then I did my job.”
I saw the show the night before and after telling her about the laughter, tears and dancing that the audience displayed during the performance, Melody says: “It’s important to me to feel like I give Whitney Houston and her music credit. I want to pay her homage with this show.”
It is not easy work all the time however and the singer describes it as “tough at times”. “It’s a big show and it’s hard. My focus is almost like an athlete’s mindset rather than just having fun,” she continues.
Still, she is quick to add how happy she is with putting in the hours and her strong determination. “I am having fun, I love to sing, I love to act but my focus is what people are going to walk away with. The best show I can put on for them is if I stay really disciplined.”
The first Scottish stop for this production of The Bodyguard was Glasgow and, with the tour hitting stages across the UK for the foreseeable future, Melody will be spending plenty of time surrounded by the British culture. Already snapping up the colloquial way of speaking here, she goes on to ask me about what the chippy situation is.
“I am supposed to have my chips a certain way, right?” she questions. I mention the infamous chippy sauce popular in Edinburgh but, having been in Scotland for some time now myself, I take the opportunity to recommend the cheese and gravy combination.
“It’s not the white sausage gravy we are used to,” I clarify and instead compare it to the brown gravy we have during Thanksgiving. With us both on the same page, Melody exclaims: “Ah, perfect, well I am going to have a chippy then!”
While this star might get to keep her natural American accent for her role in the musical, Melody says that some of the countrymen and women she knows who have crossed the pond for work have experienced dialect contagion. She describes: “I have been conscious of my southwestern country accent that I have. So, when I go and say something in my accent, it’s almost like I feel: ‘Go you! It’s still in there y’all’.”
Speaking of differences between the US and the UK, Melody has noticed that accents aren’t the only thing that is contrasts between the two nations. “The audiences are definitely different,” she says and explains how her castmates have told her about variations between areas.
“They would say that people are louder here or more reserved there, but in America you always get the same response.” Instead, she says: “They just clap when they are supposed to clap and there is no dead silence after you cracked a joke.”
With the production of The Bodyguard sweeping across some of the UK’s biggest theatre venues, the songstress isn’t one to feel out of her depth. “I always learn something new,” she says. “There is something interesting that happens to people no matter where you go in the world, and it is just naturally human.”
Now hopefully inspired to take on a portion of chips, explore the castle and continue rocking the stage, I wish Melody good luck for the rest of her tour. While one of us might happily stay off the stage and watch instead, we can both boast a love for the Scots, their friendliness and of course their country.
Melody Thornton is playing Rachel Marron in hit musical The Bodyguard at Edinburgh Playhouse until tomorrow.
Plus, read more news and reviews on Scottish Field’s culture pages.
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