WHEN one unsuspecting couple reveals a doubtlessly priceless masterpiece at a automotive boot sale, they uncover their dream discover is about to show into their worst nightmare… as a result of beneath the respectable veneer of the rarified world of fantastic artwork lurks a darkish underworld of deception and homicide.
Curtain up and enter stage left – sports activities presenter and Strictly Come Dancing champion Ore Oduba! The broadcaster turned thespian has waltzed his method into the newest Peter James stage adaptation, Image You Useless, at the moment on a UK tour till the tip of July.
Ore portrays the suave however dangerously devious artwork collector Stuart Piper, who is set to get his palms on the portray. And the possibility to play “a dastardly spoilt brat who thinks he’s superior to everybody else” is clearly one he relishes.
“I placed on these beige trousers and I park my very own life on the stage door,” he laughs. “As an actor, he’s a personality you possibly can actually get your tooth in to and I hope the viewers take pleasure in him.”
Crime fiction followers can be very aware of the author’s DS Roy Grace, who has to this point appeared in 21 books. The troubled Brighton-based sleuth is the favorite fictional detective of royal bookworm Queen Camilla. And TV audiences can be aware of ITV’s smash-hit sequence Grace, based mostly on the books and starring John Simm because the sleuth.
However Image You Useless has by no means been seen on stage or display screen… till now. James was impressed by the real-life masterpieces of Brighton-based artwork forger turned professional copyist David Henty, upon whom one of many play’s most important characters, David Hegarty, is predicated.
Image You Useless can also be Ore’s first play – and it’s a great distance from the 39-year-old’s authentic plan of a profession in sports activities broadcasting.A proficient athlete in his youth, Ore was a rugby prop, a hockey goalkeeper and a eager tennis participant and cricketer. He studied Sports activities Science and Social Science at Loughborough College and graduated with a level in 2008. However like a Peter James villain, there’s multiple aspect to Ore Oduba.
“At college, you’ll both discover me on the sports activities subject or the stage,” he says. “I used to be all the time first to volunteer for a college manufacturing and truly received a college drama award at 13.Nowadays although, I’ve stopped planning issues.
“I didn’t get the large anchor job for the 2016 Rio Olympics that I’d wished, however then the identical yr, Strictly got here alongside – so when one door closes, one other opens…”
It was collaborating within the BBC Saturday night time dance competitors that made Ore realise the place he really felt happiest. “Being on that Strictly stage with [professional dancer] Joanne (Clifton), with whom I’m nonetheless nice associates, standing within the highlight, I remembered one thing that had been within the shadows.
“I felt actually alive and at house on the stage. After I’d received, which was a shock, I went on vacation to Malaysia. I used to be sitting on a seaside pondering, ‘Just a few individuals on the planet have ever received this and so if I don’t take advantage of this now, if I don’t do one thing courageous…’ I knew TV roles weren’t going to be plentiful and that the panorama was altering and I wanted to adapt.”
Returning to the UK, the presenter started spending time on the Pineapple Dance Studio in London and did some vocal teaching. In 2019, he made his musical theatre debut in Grease as Teen Angel. He has since appeared in Curtains The Musical, Cinderella and The Rocky Horror Present. But regardless of not being a skilled actor, Ore has by no means suffered from stage fright or imposter syndrome. Neither is
he particularly daunted by becoming a member of Image You Useless, after it had already opened to rave evaluations.
“I’ll not have been to stage college, however I bought the function on advantage and if somebody provides you that chance it’s a must to see it as a blessing and settle for you deserve it,” he says. He breaks right into a chuckle. “A minimum of with a play, I don’t have to fret about hitting these notes.”
Image You Useless is Ore’s first foray into the murky world of crime fiction. “I are inclined to hearken to audiobooks and podcasts moderately than learn as I normally go to sleep after I learn. However after I learn the script on a prepare from Northampton to London, I remained awake – I used to be completely hooked. I used to be audibly gasping and laughing and didn’t see the end coming.”
