Jessica Daley: Evita stand-in actor speaks of 'shock' phone call

Jessica Daley paid tribute to the cast and crew for seeing her through the experience

An actor who took the lead in a musical with just a few hours' notice has described the experience as "crazy".

Jessica Daley drove from Middlesbrough to Leicester to star as Eva Perón in Evita on Saturday after the original actor and understudy both fell ill.

She was left "genuinely shaking" following the call - which came shortly after she stepped out of the bath.

Original lyricist Sir Tim Rice said he intended to thank Ms Daley and hoped to take in the show.

Ms Daley had played the part of Eva before but in a different production

Ms Daley said she was at her family home during a break in another touring production and was sorting out clothes when she got the call shortly before 12:00 GMT.

"My initial reaction was shock," she said. "I was shaking, I was genuinely shaking.

"I was thinking 'can I do this? What is going on?'

"Then you just go into a state of, not panic, but shock and feeling overwhelmed and 'what do I need to do?' And 'action stations'.

"I was staying at my mum's house and I wanted to tell her but she had taken the dog out and left her phone at home.

"So I waited for her to come back and I said 'I'm going. I'm going.'

"So it was a bit chaotic and I leapt into action and the suitcase which is kind of half-full from the tour had everything thrown back into it so I shut it, put it in my car and hit the road."

While the scheduled performers are recovering, Ms Daley is still on standby

Ms Daley travelled the 150 miles to Leicester's Curve theatre, arriving at about 16:00.

"I walked straight into the building, straight on to stage, straight into rehearsals, singing through the score which I hadn't sung for four years," she said.

"So we just hit the ground running."

With such limited time and dealing with a different production of the musical, Ms Daley sang some of her part from the side of the stage.

"This production was completely different to the production I did," she said. "It is much more modern and has been re-invented.

"I had to be able to jump back in with the same character in a day and a very different set-up.

"It was just crazy but the cast and everybody was so accommodating and friendly and went with me, and it's a credit to the company that they accepted me."

'Superstar' performance

Chris Stafford, Curve's chief executive, said: "Watching Jess was absolutely sublime.

"She was a superstar. She wasn't just standing at the side singing it, which would be more than enough. She acted it, she was interacting, she was on stage performing the role of Eva.

"I felt really proud of Jess and also the phenomenal Evita company who really wrapped around her and made sure she was really safe and secure in our stage."

Ms Daley received a standing ovation for her performance and is on standby for Tuesday's show in case of any further problems.

She has also performed in stage versions of Billy Elliot, An Officer and a Gentleman, and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Lord Lloyd-Webber and Sir Tim Rice wrote the musical about the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón in 1978.

It was turned into a film in 1996 with Madonna in the title role.

Sir Tim said he had heard about the efforts to save the show and intended to thank Ms Daley and the production team personally.