My Last Show... At Drama School: Evita Khrime Talks 'Big Fish'

Italia Conti closed out their 2023 spring season of shows with the musical production of Big Fish, written by Andrew Lippa and John August and based on the 1998 novel by Daniel Wallace. The musical explores a father-son tale as we, the audience, follow William Bloom in his quest to discover who his father, Edward Bloom, really is beyond the fantastical tales he has told his entire life. In doing so, William hopes he can repair his fractured relationship with Edward. In his director’s note for Big Fish, David Willoughby explains that Edward Bloom is blessed with “the ability to charm anyone” and tell “the most wonderful stories that we truly want to believe.” Much to the delight of the audience, David and his team managed to create a production that exudes the charm and vigour possessed by its protagonist. This Conti production was excellent and brought the power of storytelling to the forefront while highlighting the significance of the moments we can leave behind for our loved ones.

In this instalment of My Last Show... At Drama School, Evita Khrime, who played the role of Girl In The Water (The Mermaid), recounts her unique experience in her final production. She discusses learning patience during the rehearsal process, using her acting through dance to tell a story, the emotions of her final show, and much more. Enjoy!

What was your initial reaction to being put in Big Fish?

“It was definitely a challenge being in that specific show, knowing that the other show was Sweet Charity, because I always thought I was a Sweet Charity gal. You know, dancy dance. But because I had done Flashdance in the first term, I feel like they [Conti] wanted to challenge me and put me in Big Fish. In a part that doesn’t speak as well – to showcase a different quality of my dancing and, my acting through dance because I had not done that.”

How familiar were you with the show?

“(Laughs nervously) I could have been more familiar, considering they told us we would be doing Big Fish in our second year.”

Was it harder to get excited for Big Fish because you thought you’d be in Sweet Charity?

"Yes. Although, once we started doing music-related work on the show, and I listened to the soundtrack, by myself, I loved it! Andrew Lipper knows. Wild Party, Big Fish - wow!”

You play ‘The Girl in The Water’ – the magical mermaid – in Big Fish. I know you initially had reservations about the character, but as the rehearsal process developed, how did your tone change to playing the character?

“Yeah, it was not that I was upset about it. When I got cast as The Mermaid, and I saw the cast list, I was like, “Oh my god, of course, of course I’m a mermaid.” I didn’t know that it was a nonspeaking part, and I didn’t know that she was not a part of the ensemble. So then, when we started the rehearsal process, and I was not in any numbers as an ensemble member, I was a bit taken aback. Because the start of the rehearsal process was a little slow until it finally started to pick up, and then my journey and my storyline made more sense when I saw all the points coming together.  

“After a specific point, where we had enough of the show set, and I could see my journey, obviously having created a back-story for my character, which was when Edward tells a story in his fantastical, whimsical way – I’m a mermaid. But in reality, I was just a foreign girl he met in like a pond, so I was a part of the community. And that’s what my ensemble track was; it was the human version of me that Edward made into this mermaid – because my back-story was that we did fall in love.”

What were the biggest challenges of playing a character, where you have to convey a certain aura but without any words?

“Well, the costume added to it. That tail, oh my god. I don’t think you understand - watching the videos back without the tail and me doing the lift, it was like, ‘Wow, that looked good’. The tail just made it look so much more complicated and so much more elegant like I was in actual water. But beyond that, it was the challenge of having to act through my dance. Obviously, I’ve done acting through song and straight acting; I guess I really had to push for acting through the dance and using my face as much as I could. Having a back-story and a clear narrative in my brain, so I know what I want to show and how I feel about Edward.”

Did you also have to be quite selective when you use your facials because you were getting moved around and we couldn’t see your face sometimes?

“Oh, absolutely, and there were specific moments in the music, like certain pings, where that was my reveal, and we had to time it with Tok to come on stage.”

It was successful.

“Thank you (laughs).

It’s a very emotional show. Knowing the meaning and soul of the show now, what does it mean to you?

Editors note: Evita became a little emotional when thinking about this question

“Just put asterisks, tears, asterisks. You know, just that. Honestly, by the end – I’m a very family-orientated person. Without my family, I wouldn’t be here doing Big Fish. I wouldn’t have gotten to the end of Conti without the support of my family. Big Fish being the last thing that marks this journey at Conti, it’s like this full circle moment. I feel like it has taught me a lot of things as well...”

Patience? (Laughs)

“Oh, a lot of that. I mean, I guess if you look at it in a professional way, it has taught me how to be more professional. I was struggling at the beginning of Big Fish, but then getting out of that and getting myself into a good space to do it and to be part of the ensemble with everyone and kind of be one energy. That’s what Big Fish was all about. So, I guess I also learned how to do that and not let my life affect it, and I guess that is what we have to do when we go out in the professional world.”

Unfortunately, before opening night, you had to do some last minute cast changes. Also, you had some technical issues. What was it like adapting to these situations?

“I mean, it only made us stronger. When the people from the other casts swung in for us, we were so beyond grateful. If anything, it made us want to be better. It lit a fire under our butts, quite literally because we knew we were down people. We knew that the other people had to also do their shows, so we got it if they wanted to save a bit of their energy in some shows. So we were like, we have to make this work for everyone.

“With the show stops, I mean, I’m not gonna lie, Tanni (Tanesha) handled that like a queen. She didn’t even flinch. If anyone could have handled that, it was Tanni. Even though she said to me afterward that she was so upset about it. But I couldn’t tell. Not from the monitor, the wing, not from anywhere.”

You couldn’t even tell from the audience.

“Exactly.”

Finally, what will your lasting memory of this show be... tears? (Laughs)

“A lot of tears (smiles). I literally cried every single last show. Like at the end of the show, I was just in tears. And the final show, I just couldn’t stop crying for like an hour after we finished. And I didn’t think I was going to cry that much either. When we were doing runs of it or when I was watching the other cast do it, I would always get emotional because I was watching. Being in the wing and doing all the transitions and just running around, especially during the last three numbers, where the climax is, the death scene into the funeral into all of that. It was hard to stay connected and be in the moment then...”

Because you’re thinking about the end?

“Yeah, because I’m thinking about the end, let’s just go, go, go. So I was not as invested in the story. But that last show, as I ran on, and I sat on the thing for the last time, oh my God, I balled. Tok cried. I saw a single tear run down Tok’s face, and that was it. I feel like if anything, and I don’t know how to say this in a not-too-cheesy way, it’s emotional experiences like these that bring people together. And I guess Big Fish is all about that. All about people being together.”