Matt Henry on playing Nigel in 'The Devil Wears Prada'

Olivier Award winner Matt Henry speaks to London Theatre Magazine about becoming Miranda Priestly's right-hand man in The Devil Wears Prada in the West End.

High fashion, fabulously funny one-liners and a cracking story based on the tell-all tale of a junior assistant finding her way on the world’s most lauded magazine title, the film The Devil Wears Prada has been magicked into a spectacular stage musical. And it’s been graced with a star-studded cast of creatives, including an original musical score by Sir Elton John, Vanessa Williams as Miranda Priestly and Matt Henry as the iconic Nigel. We get the inside track from Matt ahead of the show’s opening at the Dominion Theatre in October.

How did this role come about?
The show has been in incubation for a while. I was brought on around Christmastime – Jerry [Mitchell, director and choreographer] had reached out to tell me that he had this show, he couldn’t tell me exactly what it was, but said “Matt, you’re going to love it – the character that I want you to play, when I heard the songs, all I could hear was your voice singing them”. I was intrigued, and then he sent me Elton John’s demos! I couldn’t quite believe it... cue some frantic researching, I found out it was The Devil Wears Prada – amazing! I’d loved working with Jerry on Kinky Boots so had absolutely zero hesitation in saying yes.

Were you a fan of the film?
I’ve always been a fan of the film. The line that gets me is when Miranda virtually whispers “Emily... Emily, why do I always need to shout your name?”, which encapsulates the comedy. The world of fashion is close to home too. My husband works in fashion and used to be a model, so I was always going to fashion shows in Paris, Milan and New York to watch him walk for some great labels like Calvin Klein, Dior... I also somehow ended up working on Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model as the catwalk coach. That’s when I learnt to walk in heels, so when Kinky Boots came along it was second nature to me!

Did you know that Vanessa Williams was playing Miranda?
Oh my goodness... they wouldn’t tell me at first. I kept asking “oh, who is going to be Miranda Priestly?” and they kept saying “oh we can’t tell you”. On the first day of the read-through I walked in and it’s Vanessa Williams, and I’m like “Of course! This makes SO much sense”. What she brings is so wonderful, it’s amazing to watch her work and I’m just in awe of her.

Where does your inspiration for Nigel come from?
I believe to really get to the heart and the truth of the character you can’t mimic anybody. So for Nigel, I’ve built a real person... thinking about who the leading black men in fashion were at the time, so André Leon Talley [editor at- large of US Vogue at the time] and in the present day we have Edward Enninful, so I looked into their lives and how they came up and what fashion meant to them – inspiration from the real world.

The humour in the film is quite cutting – how do you find playing that?
What’s so wonderful is that the humour and the sass and how it’s delivered – I don’t think it’s ever really cutting or mean or malicious. It’s so slight that you’re kind of left thinking “did they just say that?” It’s such clever writing that the audience are just in fits of laughter. And it’s so true to fashion... it really does set itself in the world of fashion and also what fashion means to these people. As in, if you’re going to be a part of this, then you need to get onboard, you can’t just be half-hearted, you’ve got to commit. I think that’s why Andy goes on that journey of discovery, and realises that she actually wants to be a part of this world. She then becomes one of us, in that sense.

What can audiences expect from the show?
The show follows the film, and there is just so much comedy in it. It’s sometimes so slight and Jerry is perfect at eking that comedy out – he makes every beat hit. It’s also a total spectacle with five fashion shows within the show, including an incredible Met Gala number – the costumes by Gregg Barnes (and also Pamella Roland) are insane. When we get to the Paris show, the girls are just stunning. Stunning. People will just be in awe at the costumes. In fact, a woman came up to me after the Plymouth show and said “right, I’ve decided after watching the show that I’m going to get rid of all my clothes and start again”. So, we’re doing something right.

And, of course, an Elton John soundtrack…
Yes, Elton has cleverly written for each character... so we all have a different sound, a different nuance and genre with our music. So we’re able to use that to move the story forward or bring about an emotional moment in the piece. That’s what is so clever about Elton’s music – I mean, he’s the writer of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” – one of the most iconic songs in musical theatre! He’s also allowed us as performers to make the songs our own – we’ve had the incredible opportunity of him being on hand in a working relationship.

What would you say the essence of the show is?
The show is about choices; I think in life we all make choices. Nigel’s had to make a choice. Miranda has to make a choice in the show, and Andy has to make a choice if this is the world she wants to be a part of. So, I think that’s the message of the show. It’s uplifting, but at the heart of it is: in life, sometimes we make the wrong choice, sometimes we make the right choice, but we have to make a choice to be able to move forward. You learn from the bad ones, and the good choices will propel you forward and makes you feel fulfilled and happy.

The Devil Wears Prada is at the Dominion Theatre from 24 October. Book tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk