Nina Söderquist's TV interview - a translation

I understood almost nothing of this interview apart from 'Monty Python', 'Spamalot' and 'coaching' and said so in a comment of this video in YouTube. A kind, Swedish, fellow-YouTube user (who prefers to remain anonymous) came to my rescue and offered me a rough translation. So hear it is, (almost) unedited, for all you non-Swedish-speaking-Nina-Söderquist fans:



Presenter: You never have the time to sit down and watch what you are doing.
Nina: No.. and they are not allowed to film it. So This is never seen.
Nina: That was from the premiere so I do it better now, I hope.
Presenter: You are home in Sweden for a short visit. You come home in the morning yesterday and tonight you are on stage again.
Nina: You don't have much free time. What do you do when you are free.. I try to see London. Many people visit me and I have a short and a longer tour in London that I show them.
Presenter: I don't know how many newspapers I've seen you in.. star overnight.. a new musica star is born.. How has it been during this time?
Nina: It's very breathtaking.. I have worked as a singer for over 15 years. So I'm not a rookie but this musical thing is a complete new world. I have never sung in this way before - it's totally new. A great challenge.
Presenter: And now they treat you like a star?
Nina: Yes that's London in a nutshell.
Presenter: Tell me??
Nina: I´m "the leading lady" and I have my own room and my colleagues had never been into that room before I came down. They are like that: That I´m a star there and they don't disturb me. They don't talk if I don't want to and.. It's very strange after working in Sweden.. Change clothes in the bathroom/toilette and eat cold sausage in the break.. I made pie One day and told them very firmly to come down and eat in my room during the interval. We are working together and they seemed a bit shocked but answered, "Yes, absolutely - we will." Is this how it looks. I have the largest changing room with shower and stuff so people can meet there.
Presenter: You are well paid. You have better pay than Sweden's political leader.
Nina: Haha. I don't know that, but I manage very well and the part I play is fantastic. I still pinch myself.
Presenter: But you are "a rocker" and I thought rockers were a bit disrespectful towards musicals.
Nina: No, I don't think I am disrepiteful to any kind of music genre . I have great respect.
Presenter: Did you like musical before this??
Nina: Yeeees. I hadn't seen so much but I knew that it was a very hard working profession. You work really much and I knew that... But I didn't know that it was THIS much or this fun..
Presenter: What was it that made you interested?
Nina: It was just this part, that it was so corny, crazy and much..
Presenter: Tell me about the part..
Nina: She is a diva that that really controls the show . It's a part that Eric Idle included. She really runs the show. She knows how everything shall be.. but she gets a bit grumpy there in the second act when they forget about her and she lets them know.. She is much, of everything.
Presenter: This is Monty Python. Do you like their kind of humour?
Nina: Yes.. Yes I think it is fantastic..
Presenter:There is much play with words, insinuations and things like that. Is it hard to understand and "get"?
Nina: The smallest things can be hard to get and understand if you don't have your English in total order.. but there is much funny faces and I think you get it even if your ability in the English language isn't perfect.
Presenter: Are there many Swedes in the audience?
Nina: Yes, there are so many and it's so fun.
Presenter: How do you notice that there are many Swedes?
Nina: I do a little celebration to Sweden in the middle and when I do that I get great response from the Swedes in the audience.
Nina: I have quite a lot space in my part to do it my own way.. I usually sing a bit of Abba..and other things.
Presenter: So you burst out in Abba in the middle?
Nina: Yes I do.
Presenter: Tommy Körberg and Peter Jöback get standing ovations when they enter the stage.. is it the same way for you?
Nina: Yes, it was at premier night.
Presenter: You have sung a lot of rock. What's the difference between rock and musical?
Nina: There is much more technical to sing musical..This part is for a soprano and I am an alto, so .. I don't go in and just make it.. I must have a lot of focus and "sing up" well before I enter the stage. I sleep right, I eat right.. I do everything right. You can't be sloppy.
Presenter: So you're not living the easy days?
Nina: No..This is no rockstar life!
Presenter: The part is much singing but also quite a deal of speaking lines . How have you managed the English accent?
Nina: It has worked out quite well. They have given me a lot of help. An English lady that even has taught the royal kids to speak properly. People often don't believe that I am Swedish.
Nina: I get a lot of coaching in singing, dance and everything. The lowest level must be extremely high!
Presenter: Do you think that you have progressed?
Nina: Yes. I really have to pat myself on the back. I was terrified before the premier..don't fall, don't say anything wrong. Now I can enjoy, be relaxed and have fun.
Presenter: Before this you had a band. You sang at Chartertravellocations.. company events.. and now you stand in front of 1400 people every night..
Nina: It's a great experience..

And then they are talking about the fact that she is missing Sweden.. and how she got the role through West End Star.

Will Nina Söderquist become Spamalot's next Lady of the Lake?

That's up to you!

If you want Nina Söderquist to become the next Lady of the Lake in London's production of Monty Python's Spamalot, today is your last chance to vote for her. The final of Sweden's talent show, West End Star, between the two finalists Nina and Linda, starts tonight at 9pm (Swedish time) - Sat 2 Feb 08.

Nina's phone-vote number is:

From within Sweden: 099 40 301

From outside Sweden: +46 99 40 301

VOTE FOR HER!

See my previous blog entry for more info.

Hey All You Swedes Out There, Vote for Nina in TV3's (SPAMALOT) West End Star!

Nina, I'd vote for you if I could

'West End Star' finalist, Nina Söderquist

West End Star, the Saturday night talent show on Sweden's TV3 channel, will find the replacement for the Diva in Monty Python's SPAMALOT - now playing at London's Palace Theatre in Cambridge Circus. The Diva (The Lady of the Lake) is currently being played by the brilliant Hannah Waddingham, who will soon take over that role in the Broadway production of the show (played until recently by Marin Mazzie).

Peter Davison, Spamalot's King Arthur. Hannah Waddingham and
Marin Mazzie - Spamalot's current West End and Broadway Ladies
of the Lake and the 5 finalists (Nina third from right).

There now remain 5 Swedish finalists. Each week (starting tonight), one will be eliminated by phone vote, leaving the winner (on 2 Feb 07) to take over from Hannah in London on 11 Feb 07.

Being a long-time serious Python and (recently) Spamalot fan (seen the show 3 times already! - see previous blogs), I have been following this competition for a while via both http://www.pythonline.com/ and http://www.tv3.se/ (warning - no subtitles) , and ... no offence to the other contestants, but for me, the clear winner is the rock singer, Nina Söderquist.

You can see she is already tuned in to the Python 'thing', she has the power in her voice needed for this role, her stage presence is huge (another rather essential prerequisitttttte), I love hearing her sing and she is also great fun. (Watch her auditions in some of the previous shows via the above links and you'll see what I mean. What did it for me was her own 'Python' version of Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive'. It was excellent!)

All we need now is for the Swedish-Saturday-night-TV3-viewing public, who own a phone, to see the bleeding obvious. Please don't make me have to fly over there just to make 5000 phone votes from my hotel room, all on my own!

OK guys, we're sorry about the Swedish Chef thing, so please now just VOTE for NINA!

Nina's phone-vote number is 099 40 301 and the show is on at 9pm Swedish time.

Related links:

Nina is in the final!- SvD - En av dem blir stjärna i London
- Holmgren & Söderquist Vie for Lady of the Lake in UK 'Spamalot'

- ITN
- BBC TV
- What's On Stage
- Broadway World
- Channel 4 News
- Broadway.com
- Stage News
- Daily Telegraph

- Nina's MySpace page
- Nina's AllEars page
- TV3.se
- Silverback (West End Show's production company)
- Pythonline.com
- My previous Spamalot blog entries 1, 2, 3 and 4