Ellie Clayton on performing in Fun at the Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp

Written by Brandon Lambert and Martin Landry Fun at the Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp is brand-new musical. It will run from 24th May to 22nd June 2024 at Southwark Playhouse in London.

It’s a hot, sunny day at the beach and everyone is gearing up for a competition that will change (or end) their lives forever: the legendary Beach Romp-Bomp-a-Lomp!!

Everyone wants to be King or Queen of the Beach, but who will get the crown? And will they all fall in love and live happily ever after? As the competition progresses through an increasingly deadly series of beach events, the biggest question of all is: can this show find yet another excuse to crowbar in a song?! YES!

Ellie Clayton plays Mary Joe. Her theatre credits include Scroogelicious (Theatre Peckham) and Magic Mike Live (Hippodrome). For television, her credits include CBBC’s So Awkward as series regular Claire; and for film, Still So Awkward Kids Camp.

The Artiscape interviewed Clayton about her upcoming performance.

Can you tell us about Fun at the Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp!!?

Clayton: Fun at the Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp!! is a comedy about two groups of friends, the gals and the guys, who meet at the beach to take part in a set of challenges in the hope to win the title of ‘Queen or King of the beach’ but things don’t really go as they expected. The challenges aren’t as easy as volleyball or plain surfing, there is always a twist…

You play Mary Joe. Can you tell us about this character you play?

Clayton: Mary Joe at the beginning is a sweet, naive girl who is fascinated by the male species. She’s the runt of the litter and takes being talked down to by the people around her, until she’s pushed to the edge, then she comes back for her revenge.

What, if any, have been the challenges for the team in putting this production together?

Clayton:We don’t really have a lot of rehearsal time… we have three weeks and then we go into tech, but I am sure we will do it! Another challenge is trying not to laugh during the scenes. The world our characters live in is hilarious to us, but we are trying to play everything with sincerity, which is hard when everyone is so funny.

What are you looking forward to in performing in the show at Southwark Playhouse?

Clayton:I’ve never performed at The Southwark before but love the type of shows that go there, so I am counting down the days until we can get in there and try everything in the space!

What do you think the audience will enjoy about this musical?

Clayton: I think audiences will 100% enjoy the music! Also, they will enjoy watching our characters go through serious life-threatening challenges and laugh at their pain… we all do.