At 14 Jess Folley won the Voice Kids; three years later she was back on TV and was part of RLY the group that won X Factor - The Band. Now at just 21, she’s starring in the world premiere of Burlesque the Musical in Manchester - oh, and she’s also written some of the songs for the show. “I know it’s mad, it really shouldn’t work like that,” she laughed.
Jess Folley in Burlesque the Musical (Picture: Johan Persson) The musical is based on the hit movie which starred Christina Aguilera and Cher. It’s the story of Ali, a young girl who heads to New York in search of her mother and discovers the underground club scene which allows her to find out where she really belongs. Jess is playing Ali - the Christina Aguilera role from the movie.
“I try and distance myself from the scale of the show and the expectations of the show,” she said. “I’m going to show up, do my job, eat, sleep and go and do it again tomorrow. I’ve very much had that mentality from the outset because it’s really hard when you start analysing how big a scale it is and what people’s expectations are of it and how big the brand is.
“It doesn’t always seem helpful to think of all those things, that could be too much pressure. “For me, it’s just really exciting.” Jess is starring alongside Broadway legend Jackie Burns who plays Tess, the nightclub owner who takes the young Ali under her wing.
Jackie holds the record as Broadway’s longest running Elphaba in Wicked and has also st.