Big Interview: Faye Tozer Steps into exciting role as iconic Disney villainess

Playing the iconic villainess, Faye is particularly relishing getting into Cruella’s OTT range of outfits and black-and-white wigs. “We did a [publicity] photo shoot and I had a really fun day of getting dressed up as Cruella already. I did feel like I looked a little bit like Michelle Visage,” she laughs, referring to the Ru Paul's Drag Race judge and close friend to Steps, who collaborated with them on their 2021 single ‘Heartbreak in This City’.

When we speak just as Faye is about to start rehearsals, one of the key challenges of the role that she’s anticipating is finding her “Cruella voice”. “I think that is going to be a really fun process. I’ve played an Evil Queen in panto a couple of times, and so I feel like it’s going to go that way."

Because of her Evil Queen experiences, she’s also well versed in giving a good, rich cackle, which is something Cruella is infamous for. “You have to have good [vocal] stamina – it can be quite challenging to keep that sort of energy up. So yes, I’m prepared for that as well.”

Another task Faye has on her hands is to convincingly depict Cruella’s contempt for canines – a particular stretch for her, given she is a “huge dog lover” with two rescues of her own, Lelu and Korben. Indeed, Faye says one of the draws of the job is that they’re going to be touring with a real-life Dalmatian puppy, who will have a cameo in the show.

Meanwhile the story’s leading dogs Pongo and Perdi will be played by puppets, who have been created by the same team that brought the title character to astonishing life in National Theatre hit War Horse. This is another element of the production that particularly excites Faye: “I’ve actually got a little bit of a personal interest in [puppetry], because growing up, I was a huge Jim Henson fan and when I was in the band, we actually went to Jim Henson’s workshop. If I wasn’t going to be on stage, I would have loved to do something with puppetry so I’m really excited to meet [puppet designer] Jimmy Grimes and spend a bit of time with him.”

Faye has long had a successful musical theatre career, which has run in parallel to her performing with Steps. Over the last 20 years, she has appeared in a whole range of shows from Me and My Girl to Everybody’s Talking about Jamie, but a real turning point for her came when she played silent movie actress Lina Lamont in Singin’ in the Rain, first 10 years ago and then two times subsequently.

A hugely funny role, it showed she was a natural comedienne: “It brought me so much joy, and the reviews were fantastic. I think [with that character] it was me letting down my guard and saying ‘I am allowed to be here’ and proving lots of people wrong. It’s given me the strength and confidence to go for more exciting character roles and not just your princess, or fairy godmother.” She loves the brand new challenges that theatre throws up, just as Steps gives her the consistency she craves too: “Through our ups and downs, we’ve come out the other side and they’re my family,” she says.

Steps have now been together on and off for a remarkable 27 years, and Faye says they could never have imagined enduring so long when they were thrown together back in 1997. “To be honest, when we did the audition to get into the band, it was a one single deal, and I think we were all thinking about what the next job was going to be after that.” In fact, the love for them has only got stronger and stronger: if they were seen as a bit of a novelty act when they started out, nowadays the old snobbery around their kind of out-and-out pop music has disappeared, and they are widely recognised for the brilliant all-singing, all-dancing artists they are. “I think before everybody was closet Steps fans, and they didn’t shout about it,” says Faye, “but now we’re over that hurdle, it’s just amazing to have so many people want to write songs for us, whereas they wouldn’t have touched us with a barge pole back in the 1990s.”

With four number one albums and 14 top 10 singles to their name, there’s not much they haven’t achieved – but one outstanding ambition Faye has for them still is to play Glastonbury. “That’s one I would really like to do, but you have to be invited, so we’re waiting for our invite!” Certainly, given their history, and the size of their fanbase, they would seem like a perfect booking for the famous Sunday afternoon legends slot at some point in the near future.

Also on the horizon is Steps’ very own musical Here and Now, which is premiering in Birmingham in November. As Faye explains, the band have long wanted to make a show around their back catalogue, and have been very hands on in the creation of it, alongside writer Shaun Kitchener. It’s set to use their songs to tell a story of love, friendship and, of course, tragedy at a seaside superstore.

“It’s got so much heart and soul, but it’s very, very relatable,” says Faye. “And of course, when the songs come in, it’s a little bit tongue- in-cheek, but that’s what makes it brilliant.”

However while Faye is riding high professionally, both in and outside Steps, the last few years have not been plain sailing. A couple of years ago she lost her dear mum Dorothy to cancer, while she has also had to deal with the onset of the perimenopause which, she explains, affected her “quite drastically”.

Among the symptoms she experienced were hormonal anxiety, joint pain, and brain fog – “it was quite scary because I thought I wouldn’t be able to remember my words on stage” – and she only put two and two together after reading Davina McCall’s book Menopausing. Now, Faye says she is in a much better place thanks to the treatment she’s having, but she is keen to use her platform to help spread the word about the condition. She said: “What I’m trying to do is just shout out about education, what support is out there, and how you can make your journey easier if you’re struggling with symptoms that are impacting your daily life.”

Looking ahead, after 101 Dalmatians, Faye will be back in panto at Christmas, this time in Woking opposite panto royalty Christopher Biggins and Sooty (“I’ve worked with [puppeteer] Richard Cadell and Sooty before, so they’re old friends. How funny you can say that!”).

And beyond that, Faye has plenty of acting ambitions, from starring in a period drama to generally doing more TV – as well as more plays and musicals, of course. “Now is a really exciting era for me, because you get a sticky patch [with casting] in your 30s and early 40s I think, but for females of my age, there’s more interesting character roles to do,” she says.

As for Steps, can fans expect them to be around for a long time to come, or would they ever call it quits?

“The musical this year has been such a wonderful project to have, and we’ve chosen to take a little bit of time out for ourselves, which is important because it keeps us inspired, but we’ve got a few more tours in us yet,” reassures Faye. “We still have such an incredible fan base, so we’ll keep doing more while we still feel fresh and good about it!” Here’s hoping for another 27 years.

101 Dalmatians is touring the UK and Ireland and will feature at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from August 20-24.