When Peter Land, newly arrived in England from New Zealand, attended the first meet and greet with his fellow cast mates of Cameron Mackintosh’s revival of My Fair Lady, he could never have known that would be the day he would meet the woman he would spend the next four decades with, Gillian Lynne.
“I was 25 and very intimidated by all the big stars in the room, Tony Britton, Liz Robertson, Dame Anna Neagle,” explains Peter, “I looked so right for the part of Freddy, but the thought of singing in front of these people terrified me.”
“I was actually backing out of the room; I was trying to escape, when in walked Gillie, exactly as you would imagine her, blonde hair and black lycra, she looked incredible. She knew immediately I was trying to leave because I was embarrassed, she took me downstairs and I rehearsed with her all day. She staged the song ‘Show Me’ between Eliza and Freddy, and I thought ‘who is this genius?’ I don’t know if she thought the same about me, but that’s the day we fell in love.”
Now, approaching a year since Dame Gillian passed away, Peter is organising the third event that will celebrate the incredible life and career of a true theatrical legend, “I did the funeral and a memorial, now I’m organising To Gillie, With Love, this will be a celebration of her life and all the wonderful things that she achieved.”
To Gillie, With Love will be staged at The Gillian Lynne Theatre on 2nd July, and is packed with the biggest names from the world of dance, theatre and the arts, all coming together to remember the woman who played such an influential role in their careers, “In over 92 years of her blessed life, she knew everybody, so everybody knew me,” says Peter, “it meant I could just pick up the phone and ask people personally.”
With such a prolific career like Dame Gillian’s, getting people to agree to perform on the night wasn’t a hard sell for Peter to make, “people jumped at the chance, they were saying yes before they had even checked their schedules! That’s the effect Gillie had on people, she was such an influence on their lives, now they just want to say thank you to her.”
Peter admits the difficulty wasn’t getting people to yes, it was choosing who to leave out, “I’ve got people flying in from all over the world to take part, Richard O’Brien is flying in from New Zealand, and Sierra Boggess is flying in from New York, she will be reprising her role as Christine from Phantom of The Opera and Love Never Dies, she’s such as gifted soprano, it will be very special.”
“New Adventures will be there because Sir Matthew Bourne wanted to do something for his first patron, two principal dancers from Birmingham Royal Ballet will be dancing Gillie’s choreography from Miracle in the Gorbals, and Sergei Polunin is performing something very special indeed, the only other way you can see him dance this is on YouTube!”
Of course, given Dame Gillian’s enormous reputation for choreography, dance is well represented in To Gillie, With Love, but Peter reminds me she was awarded her Damehood for services to musical theatre, “so that’s all covered too, Half a Sixpence, Kiss Me Kate – Hannah Waddingham will sing ‘So In Love’ – and of course Phantom and Cats is in there too.”
With countless celebrities taking part, was Peter himself tempted to perform? “I was going to sing ‘Lily’s Eyes’ from The Secret Garden in the second act, but then I thought how ridiculous, I will just be far too emotional, so I have asked the wonderful Peter Polycarpou to take my place, and I know he’ll do a marvellous job.”
Peter confesses that he feels enormous pressure, “I just want it to be right for Gillie, I feel like the gatekeeper of her legacy, she was such a perfectionist and that’s why her work has lasted so long, and she has passed that on to all of these performers.”
To Gillie, With Love is also the night that The Lynne and Land Foundation will be launched, “we planned this before she died, and she was adamant that my name was in there. Gillie was very interested in young performers and their progress through the really difficult world of theatre, and she very much wanted to make sure that if there was something we could help with, it would be to help people in drama school maintain their training by paying for a scholarship.”
“We’ve already been able to award the first scholarship, ahead of the official launch, to a very talented actor/dancer/singer who also happens to be from New Zealand, and who had just hit a brick wall in terms of funding. I think Gillie would be very pleased with our first recipient of the scholarship.”
The Lynne and Land Foundation will continue to award scholarships, and Peter is determined to stay involved, “I am one of the trustees, and I have some really good patrons involved in the foundation. All of them I’ve chosen because of their expertise, we will be able to give out yearly to youngsters that need help.”
Peter says tickets are selling fast for To Gillie, With Love, “I think it will be an emotional night for everyone, because everyone loved Gillie, but I hope there will be far more tears of joy than of grief. It’s also going to be extremely popular, because I don’t think anyone will ever have the opportunity to see this many world class performers all under the same roof, on the same night, ever again.”
“It’s hard work, of course it is, but I know Gillie would be extremely proud of me and what I’ve put together for her. I can hear her saying ‘keep on going,’ that’s what she would always say to people to motivate and inspire them, so for my darling Gillie when it comes to this special night and The Lynne and Land Foundation, I’m just going to make sure that’s what I do, keep on going.”
To Gillie, With Love is at The Gillian Lynne Theatre on 2nd July. Tickets to this magical evening organised by Peter Land are on sale here.
