As ‘Jamie Sinatra’ he’s a familiar face in the pubs, clubs and casinos of the Thames Valley, entertaining audiences with his Rat Pack tribute act. But now Jamie Trick, the real man behind the microphone, is preparing to take on a very different persona – that of Jesus Christ in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar.
“When I heard Basingstoke Amateur Theatrical Society was going to stage JCS I knew I had to be in it,” says Jamie. “I’ve been absolutely obsessed with the show since I saw the DVD of the West End production when I was 14. It’s such an honour to finally play my dream role.”
In fact you could say Jamie’s life has been building up to this performance. The actor who played Jesus in that London production was the brother of Jamie’s friend Michael. Jamie also worked backstage on the touring version of the musical when he was at university.
“But a big moment for me was performing Jesus’s song 'Gethsemane' at a charity night at the Grand Theatre in my home city, Swansea,” says Jamie. “It’s such a powerful song. It demands so much vocally and emotionally.” Indeed, Basingstoke audiences are in for a treat - his performance of the song creates goosebumps.
Jamie juggles singing with running his own recruitment company for social workers. He’s also a dad to two-year-old daughter Eva with wife Charis. But his biggest challenge hasn’t been managing his time, or even losing a bit more weight before appearing topless on stage.
“Put simply, how do you portray the Son of God?” asks Jamie, himself a Christian. “He isn’t just any other character. I’ve been reading Biblical texts and studying other productions. Our director Ray Jeffery has very clear ideas too. It’s been a fantastic experience. The entire cast are so committed to making this a truly stunning show.”
Six peformances of Jesus Christ Superstar run from Tues 13th - Sat 17th May 2014 at the Haymarket, Basingstoke.