Performer dedicates Brighton stage homecoming to his grandmother

It will be his first time on the Brighton Theatre Royal stage, but also it will be his grandmother's first chance to see him in a show since his first show.

“Because of age and going to London, she hasn't been able to see me so this show is going to be for her – Patricia Chislett – and I hope to be able to show her around afterwards. I just love her so much. She is fantastic.

"And I'm so excited to be playing Brighton. I've never played Brighton ever and it's going to be a loud crowd because most of my family are going to be coming. My family has booked lots of dates and if we are selling well, it will be because of them!”

Aston has been with the show since last March and will be going through until next March: “I wouldn’t say that it's the biggest show I have ever done but it is certainly one of the most exciting and one of the most fun. Maybe I should be thinking about what happens next but at the moment I'm just rolling with the show!

“I was born in Brighton. I moved to London for university studies but as soon as I finished I moved straight back to Brighton. I'm quite a family person and I just feel that Brighton has got everything that London has got but everyone is just so much more friendly. Most of the jobs I've done have been in the West End but you can get back in 50 minutes. It's not a lot. If you were in central London going to north London it could take you 45 minutes so that time getting back to Brighton is really not bad.

"I graduated seven years ago minus the two years for Covid, of course. The day before Covid we finished a show called Mame.

"I t was good timing in that sense but then obviously nothing was happening when all the theatres shut down and everything came to a halt.

"At first I was just quite lucky. It was a chance to breathe in fresh air and it was just quite relaxing but after the first few months it was about mental health and so on.

"And then when everything opened up again there was still no theatres. And everything that we trained for was just completely impossible which was very difficult. But I was so lucky to have the family around me and to have that support and we opened an Etsy shop but I'm not doing that anymore.”

It’s his first big job post pandemic: “You have got all the amazing songs that everybody knows but it's also quite a touching story. It starts off with Cher now but we see her wondering what she is doing and why she's done it and what it has all been about but as her younger selves take her back she rediscovers it all. It is a lovely piece. And it is quite a feminist piece. She has relied on a lot of men she thinks but actually when she looks back on it she realises that she has been the driving force for it all the whole time.”