There’s no shortage of sensuality in Moulin Rouge! The Musical, both in the choreography and the costuming, but it never strays onto the wrong side of seedy. How does it manage to pull that off? Yes, it’s very sensual. Sonya Tayeh, the choreographer, is incredibly innovative and she has beautifully crafted the story of Moulin Rouge. We always talk to the performers about how the power comes from behind the sensuality and having real ownership of yourself. And I think Sonya’s choreography helps us not only find the grit and fire of the sensuality but recognises that these are real people with real autonomy over their bodies, and they’re able to find strength within that.

Everyone in the show is a triple threat, incredible at singing, dancing and acting. But this kind of dancing, where the sexuality is ramped up, isn’t necessarily something they’ll have done before. How do you help new performers let themselves go and shed their inhibitions? The artists come from an incredibly diverse background, so there’s a real extended skillset within the company; all the performers have a beautiful base technique. But they also have that grit and underlying life experience that makes them feel they can apply themselves within the Moulin Rouge. In terms of building that up, they go through a six-week rehearsal process and a lot of Sonya’s movement comes from the power of the pelvis, and the flow of the spine. What may seem like hyper-sensual movement is actually a lot of articulation of the spine and pelvis. And of course, there’s a lot of intimacy work that goes on within the rehearsal process, to build trust within the company. And the only way to build trust is by having conversations, talking about what feels comfortable and right for an individual. Does it feel natural? Does it still feel like you have autonomy over your body? We talk a lot, probably more than any other job I’ve been on.

There are over 70 different pop, rock and musical theatre songs in the show, each with their own rhythm and style. Sometimes we only hear a few bars of a tune before it dissolves into another one. How is that for the dancers, having to keep up with an ever-changing beat? The score is so incredibly well-crafted that although we sometimes get these very quick snippets of songs, we also have a really clear through-line, and every song has been chosen because it serves the story. As a dancer, we actually thrive off the challenge of the different rhythms, emotions or feel that comes from the music. We also have a live drummer in the rehearsal room, as well as a pianist, which really helps.

Baz Luhrmann’s film is known for its vitality and fast edits, and in the stage show a lot of that quick-fire energy comes from the choreography. Do you feel like the movement takes on that role? The choreography plays a big part in telling the story, but it also brings us inside the Moulin Rouge, it takes us on a journey there. I think what’s so special about Baz’s film is the sweeping camera work and quick cuts, and we try and emulate that with different dynamics. Whether it’s driven by a word or a phrase in a song, we try and dive in on the dynamics within that phrase so it doesn’t feel like we’re just dancing for the sake of it, we’re trying to drive the story. And because there’s so much going on, whether that be lighting or costume or scene changes, it’s a full-on attack of the senses. The movement helps the audience focus, so they’re taking in the right information at the right time. 

You act as a kind of custodian for the show as it plays around the world. What’s it like to take this precious jewel and keep it shining as brightly as when it was first created? This is my fifth year on the show and I feel really fortunate to be able to do this job. Having been a part of it in a number of countries, each time we put up the production it has a unique heartbeat. No production is like the next; it’s not a carbon copy. You might see it in London and then in Edinburgh and it will be different because the people are different, and the people are what make the show. We pride ourselves on bringing everyone’s individual talents, abilities and personalities to each and every production. Through the casting process, we find people that have a certain energy and we often say that someone is ‘of the Moulin Rouge world’. They walk into the audition and you can’t help but see it, and then you watch them evolve within that world.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical is at Edinburgh Playhouse, Tuesday 22 April–Saturday 14 June, and then tours the UK until Saturday 15 November; main picture is taken from the Broadway production.