Defying the bullies to become a star of the West End

A self-confessed “skinny boy doing ballet” as a child, the Birmingham performer, now treading the boards in the West End, had suffered mercilessly at the hands of school bullies.

Mentally and physically, it could have broken him – he had one visit to A&E with a suspected perforated ear drum after one particular incident. It was a cruel situation which nearly discouraged him from doing what he loved.

“At the time it was horrendous,” recalls the 23-year-old. “I was doing ballet and other boys didn’t necessarily understand why I wanted to do that rather than football or rugby."

"It was, emotionally, over that time, very difficult. There were prolonged periods of berating of me, attacking my character and anything I showed interest in.

"One time, in year eight, two boys took a thick Spanish dictionary each and simultaneously smacked me around either side of my head. It resulted in a suspected perforated ear and some time in A&E.

"The worst part, for me, was there were people I was friends with who, instead of siding with me, knowing it was wrong, decided to side with the bullies, probably wanting to be left alone themselves. I cried so much. It was hard. I felt lost.

“There was a period where I was really considering packing it all in. For a few weeks I didn’t go to dance classes.”

Fortunately, Andy’s love for performing overcame all else and he is now doing what he was seemingly born to do.

He recalls: “When I was about three, there was a TV show called Brum. I loved it and watched it religiously.

“I learnt the intro to it, the song and dance. My mum Wendy took me to Stagecoach in Sutton for the first time. I was there for 14 years.

"The woman who runs it, Joy Thomas, is like a second mum to me. She helped me a lot and introduced me to National Theatre.

"And Joy's daughter Lizzie worked so hard to help me get into the best drama schools. She was so supportive and gave up her own time to work on the audition pieces and dances.

“I did several tours as a kid, playing Chip in Beauty and the Beast. I was in Joseph at the Hippodrome, Jekyll and Hyde the Musical and Quadrophenia, which made me fall in love with the music of The Who. Joy introduced me into the world of that. Every experience was amazing.”

Andy’s extra-curricular activities also included, from the age eight, doing ballet as Arabesque in Sutton, where he fondly remembers being supported by "Miss Michelle", adding: “I was the only boy with 300 girls!”

It was after switching school, moving to the BOA Academy in Birmingham, having had a successful audition, that Andy thrived.

He was with like-minded students – “It was such a refreshing place to be, surrounded by people wanting to do the same thing and having the same dreams.”

He reflects: “It went from being a hobby to being a focus and the friends I made there are friends for life.

"It was an amazing transition from the world I knew to being in this new place where people didn’t discriminate against me as they had done at secondary school.”

On leaving BOA, Andy went to Bird College, Conservatoire for Dance and Musical Theatre, in Sidcup but left soon after and instead went to “The training was good but it wasn’t the right place for me,” he says. “My family wanted me to stay but, against the advice of everyone, I dropped out.

“I reauditioned and got a place at Guildford School of Acting, graduating after three years with a BA Honours in Musical Theatre in 2020. The rest is history."

It wasn't quite though. Enter the pandemic – a worrying time for all, not least those in performing arts, both established performers and those new to the industry.

“I went from graduating in 2020 into an industry that collapsed overnight due to Covid” he says. “I was working in a warehouse near Tamworth – Euro Car Parts in Dordon.”

Auditions followed and, thankfully, Andy's talent attracted interest – he landed a role in the Grammy, Tony and Olivier award-winning smash hit musical Jersey Boys at the Trafalgar Theatre in London.

“I had three days to move to London," he recalls. "I was off and hit the ground running. There wasn’t any time to think about it. It’s been a crazy ride. I’m thankful and overwhelmed by the opportunity.

“The industry is still not back to what it was before the pandemic and there are even fewer jobs going, so I was really lucky to have even the chance to audition for it.

“I’d watched Jersey Boys on tour at the Alex in Birmingham and it was always a show I could see myself in but you never dream it’s going to happen one day.”

Andy is a Swing which means he covers several roles in the show – Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Barry Belsen, Hank Majewski and Joe Pesci.

“You might not be on for every show so sometimes I’m sitting in the dressing room, on standby in case someone breaks their leg or gets ill halfway through the show,” he explains.

“You have to drill it into you until you know it. It’s funny because I missed the swing workshop when studying as I was in pantomime at the time so I went into this blind really.

“But it’s a lot, scarier at the beginning. You watch the rehearsal process and you are sat there trying to make a record of what every single person is doing, from picking up a prop on one line, to walking over to another part of the stage for something else.

“We have spikes on stage – bits of tape which tell you where to stand at a certain point or where to place bit of step.

“There are 300-400 bits of tape and you have to know what each means and what each is marking. It’s crazy and a lot of mental work. Having done it for six months or so, it all subconsciously goes in.

Of all the roles in the show, Andy admits playing Frankie Valli was “surreal”.

“It’s a fantastic show and story – beautiful in the way they have tied the songs together. It was amazing being Frankie, he obviously has such a different sound.

“That was a special moment but it's funny because you blink and the whole experience is over.

“Ultimately, all it comes down to is going on stage, saying lines and singing songs, walking about a bit. It helps to look at it in that way because it is big and scary.

“You are in front of 650 people. Everything you do is judged but you have to use the adrenalin and get the job done."

“It’s been amazing so far and for the rest of time, it will be ‘Andy Smith played Franki Valli in the West End’, no matter what happens.

"I’m lucky to be doing what I do every day. I'd love a long career and Book of Mormon is another show I have my eye on, it has amazing songs and dance routines.

"But I don't just want to stick to theatre. There's a lot I haven't experienced. I want to do TV, film, radio and gaming.

"The dream would be a Disney film or a TV series like Peaky Blinders. It's a journey and wherever I end up will be great."

A far cry from those days when he was nearly put off doing what he had always wanted to do.

"I look back now to the bullying and I’d say to others going through bullying, it will end," he reflects. "You go off into the big wide world, the world is your oyster. You make the most of your opportunities and you live life to the fullest.”

Jersey Boys opened to rave reviews at the new multi-million pound reinstated Trafalgar Theatre in July last year.

From the streets of New Jersey to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the show is packed with hits including Beggin’, Sherry, Walk Like A Man, December, 1963 (Oh What a Night), Big Girls Don’t Cry, My Eyes Adored You, Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got), Bye Bye Baby, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Working My Way Back to You, Fallen Angel, Rag Doll and Who Loves You.

At the Trafalgar Theatre, it is staged by the original Broadway creative team, led by the Tony Award-winning team of director Des McAnuff and choreographer Sergio Trujillo, with scenic design by Klara Zieglerova, costume design by Jess Goldstein, lighting by Howell Binkley, sound by Steve Canyon Kennedy and projections design by Michael Clark. The orchestrations are by Steve Orich and the music supervision and vocal arrangements by Ron Melrose.

Jersey Boys is produced by the Dodgers and Trafalgar Theatre Productions, with BB Investments, Kevin Kinsella, Pelican Group in association with Latitude Link and Eilene Davidson Productions.

For more details, call the Box Office on 0333 009 6690 or visit trafalgartheatre.com/shows/jersey-boys