In the thick of their success, Angelina Thomson and Lachlan Dearing are like ships in the night. The couple, who are both triple threats as actors, singers and dancers, are often juggling work and their personal lives while chasing the next project. It’s a common lifestyle for a performer, and one they’ve grown accustomed to. Fortunately, their worlds have now collided in show-stopping fashion with the revival of acclaimed musical Guys & Dolls.
“We’re in the kitchen at the same time, we’re tired at the same time, so it’s been a welcome adjustment,” Angelina tells TV WEEK with a laugh, adding they were moving house while preparing their auditions “surrounded by boxes”.
After meeting on stage in A Chorus Line in 2022, much of their relationship has been long-distance. While Angelina has starred in Home And Away as Kirby Aramoana since 2022, former Hi-5 cast member Lachlan has toured Australia in numerous productions, including Hamilton. Somehow, they make it work.
“The hardest part was that a TV show is on the complete opposite schedule to theatre,” Lachlan explains.
“Angelina would be up for work at the crack of dawn and I’d be going to work at sunset [as she comes home]. We’ve done a lot of long-distance and we talk on the phone a lot – it’s definitely stuck. We understand it and know what each other needs.”
In the upcoming live outdoor theatre show on Sydney’s Fleet Steps, Angelina plays Miss Adelaide, a 1950s nightclub performer who gets caught up in Manhattan’s underworld scene of gangsters and showgirls. Having been in Summer Bay for so long, it took time for the actress to reacquaint herself with theatre.
“I was a bit [nervous] coming back to musicals,” she admits. “At first, I was Miss Adelaide but, in my head, I’ve also been Kirby for three years, so it was a bit like, ‘Wait, what am I doing?’ It’s a different technique that I’m using. Guys & Dolls is far more vocal and physical.”
Meanwhile, Lachlan, who is part of the ensemble cast, was previously on stage every night as Samuel Seabury in acclaimed musical Hamilton.
“I was doing Hamilton at the time while auditioning for Guys & Dolls,” he explains. “It can be hard but, as a kid, auditioning for a show while you’re in one was the dream. So I just try to remember that.”
Having never seen the production on stage, the pair spent time trying to familiarise themselves with the history of the show alongside their co-stars, which includes Cody Simpson, Annie Aitken, Bobby Fox and Jason Arrow.
“I knew the songs but I’ve never seen it live, so this is a gradual falling in love with it,” Angelina says. “It’s written so well and the choreography is incredible.
“I did a dance eisteddfod to ‘Luck Be A Lady’ – I swear the choreography is better now than when I was a teenager!” Lachlan adds with a laugh.
As for what audiences can expect, the pair insist it’s unlike anything fans will have ever seen.
“Every version is different to the last,” Lachlan says.
The result for them isn’t just a beautiful connection to the characters and script but also to each other.
“This show is stretching us in so many ways but, looking in the room and seeing Angelina with the biggest smile on her face watching me… that for me is the highlight,” Lachlan enthuses, adding proudly: “And getting to watch her kill it in this show. It’s just incredible.”
Guys & Dolls is now playing at Fleet Steps, Sydney Harbour. Tickets available at opera.org.au
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