Pictured: Elaine Paige in December 2024
Eva Perón in the first production of Evita, singing hit Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, and originated the role of Grizabella in Cats, along with the song Memory. A nominee for five Laurence Olivier Awards, the 76-year-old has also recorded 22 solo albums and presents BBC Radio 2 show, Elaine Paige on Sunday – now in its 20th year. The slowing down of her musical theatre career has been “a bit sad really”, she reveals, saying she doesn’t do it anymore because “a boundless energy” is needed for performances. For around 40 of those years on stage,“I was in the theatre every night of my life except Sundays,” Paige says.“It’s taxing. “You get to a certain age and you physically can’t do it anymore and – as much as I miss it – you have to accept it and find something else to do.You see these young people singing and dancing at their utmost, they’re at the peak of their powers. And I sit there and watch it and think, well there was once [a time] that I could do the same thing, those days are gone, and you just have to accept it. “You have to let things go and move on, because in each period of ones’s life there’s something new to come and experience and enjoy. The days of performing, it was my entire life, it is no longer – I’ve done that bit and now I’m onto something else. Look forward, always look forward.”
WELLBEING Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige at 76: In my head I’m in my 20s – sometimes I’m rather childish By Lauren Taylor, PA
West End legend Elaine Paige may be in her mid-70s but says she feels as young as 25.
“The thing about getting from 40 to 70-something is that you actually don’t feel any different in your head. Sometimes I’m rather childish. Mentally, you always stay young,” says the stage star and singer.“I feel 35 or 40…. 25 maybe! I do know a little bit more now, I’m a bit wiser.
“Of course physically it’s a battle, because you wake up every day with another ache or pain.”
Paige stared in her West End debut in 1968 in the musical Hair but made her name with career-defining roles such as
Her hugely successful radio show – which celebrates the
72 | mccarthyholden.co.uk
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs