Councillor Max takes to stage in Footloose

BY day, Max Mitchell is local councillor for Inverleith, but from tomorrow at The King's, his constituents will see a very different side to his talents as he joins The Bohemians' production of Footloose.
FootlooseFootloose
Footloose

Mitchell’s love of performing started at school and continued through his university years.

He takes up the tale, “When I came home to Edinburgh my friend Rachel insisted I join The Bohemians, so I did.”

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His first appearance on a city stage, however, came at the age of eight when he appeared at the Festival Theatre.

Cllr Max MitchellCllr Max Mitchell
Cllr Max Mitchell

He recalls, “My school would organise the children’s choir for Joseph & the Technicolor Dreamcoat whenever the show toured to Edinburgh. I did that for four or five years.”

In Footloose, based on the 1984 film, Mitchell is one of the principal dancers.

The musical tells the story of city boy Ren who thinks his life is over when he is forced to move to an rural backwater town where dancing is banned.

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“I also play a cowboy called Bickle, a friend of Ren’s, so I get my wee moment to sing with three others, a moment of comic relief,” he says.

Cllr Max MitchellCllr Max Mitchell
Cllr Max Mitchell

Laughing, he adds, “I attempt to embody Mariah at the end of the song with some finger-waving, hoping it will help me belt a hideously High C.”

Mitchell admits that because of his day job, people are often surprised by his hobby.

“Maybe it’s because I don’t really conform to the stereotype you think of when you imagine a city councillor; perhaps older and a little bit stuffy.

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“At 26 I’m the youngest. I don’t necessarily tell everyone straight away what I do just because politics can be a little polarising.

“When I do and talk about what I do as a councillor and mention I love to perform they find it a little... not unusual but just out of the ordinary.”

Footloose, King’s Theatre, Leven Street, 14-17 March, 7.30pm (2.30pm), £16-£20, 0131-529 6000