British-Indian actor Arti Shah captures kindness of ‘Paddington’ on London stage

Actor Arti Shah, who physically embodies Paddington Bear in the award-winning stage production ''Paddington: The Musical'', says the beloved character's central message is one the world urgently needs. ''Paddington resembles kindness, and kindness is what the world needs right now,'' Shah told PTI in an interview. ''The world is very difficult right now. There is so much going on, and we are just hearing so much negativity, and things are very expensive at the moment. But one thing which is free and which we all have is kindness,'' she said. The British-Indian actor said the response to the stage production from audiences has been deeply moving and heart-warming. ''I've seen the audience with big smiles on their faces. I feel humbled to be involved with the wonderful cast to be able to tell this story each night, each matinee show; to be able to share this gift with everybody and give them a bit of hope and bring them joy,'' she said. Shah has earned widespread acclaim, both from audiences and critics, for her performance in the stage musical, which recently extended its run through February 2028. She dons the bear suit and co-actor James Hameed is behind the voice work, as they bring Paddington Bear to life through facial puppetry for the production at London's Savoy Theatre. Last month, the pair jointly won the prestigious Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for their performances in the stage adaptation, based on the 2014 blockbuster film of the same name. The marmalade-loving bear was originally created by Michael Bond as a series of children's books. ''This whole journey has been unreal. I feel that Paddington is such a beautiful soul, a beautiful character – he's very kind, very respectful. But also you can't mess with Paddington, because he'll give you a hard stare. ''And as a performer, when I am on stage, I draw on my own experiences through method acting to portray those emotions of what Paddington is going through at any particular time during the performance. But it's not just me, it's the wonderful James who has a beautiful voice of Paddington, and both of us together, we are the guardians of Paddington on stage,'' she shared. The 49-year-old has perfected the entire complicated process of acclimatising herself to the snug bear costume for several shows a week. She became a sauna regular ahead of the rehearsals last year, fully clothed to train her body and mind that ''heat is a good thing''. It was a bonus that she prefers hot climes anyway and has learnt to enjoy the 30-degree Celsius heat in her dressing room and not eating less than two hours before a show to keep her body temperature on an even keel. ''I just don't think too much about it. We have an interval during the show, and I get out of the wonderful costume then and refresh for 15 minutes, and then get back in for act two,'' she said. As someone who has coped with some bullying in the past for being four-feet tall, Shah is also a distinguished motivational speaker and diversity and inclusion advocate besides being an actor behind roles in the 'Star Wars' and 'Harry Potter' franchises. ''Since COVID, due to diversity and inclusion, there have been many roles coming my way,'' she said. Shah was born and raised in Northampton to parents of Indian heritage who migrated to the UK via Kenya. She went on to study in Birmingham before moving to London to pursue a career in the performing arts. ''My family were refugees, which I draw upon a little bit, about wanting to find a home... Paddington (arriving in London from Peru) takes on the values of compassion, acceptance and respecting people for who they are, but he continues to be who he is. That's so important, with the core value of kindness and respectfulness,'' she reflects. ''Paddington The Musical'', which features music and lyrics by rock band McFly frontman Tom Fletcher, is expected to tour around the world, including Broadway in New York. But until then, it continues to play to sold-out shows in London's West End with Shah behind that hard stare associated with Paddington Bear.

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