Spotlight on 'Back to the Future' with star Talia Palamathanan

As part of a series celebrating some of the West End's longest-running shows, we speak to Talia Palamathanan about playing Jennifer Parker in the nostalgic musical Back to the Future.

Back to the Future: The Musical has been travelling at 88mph ever since it opened in the West End in 2021, picking up speed with an Olivier Award win for Best New Musical as well as Best Original Score or New Orchestrations. The musical is based on the 1985 cult classic film about teenager Marty McFly, who time travels to the 1950s in a flying DeLorean thanks to his scientist friend Doc Brown. After four years in the West End, it’s showing no signs of slowing down.

Talia Palamathanan was most recently seen in the 2023/24 tour of hit musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, starring as the intelligent and ambitious Pritti Pasha. However, she is currently playing Marty’s girlfriend Jennifer Parker in Back to the Future. She talks to LondonTheatre.co.uk about why Bob Gale, Robert Zemeckis, Alan Silvestri, and Glen Ballard’s musical continues to feel the power of love from its audience.

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Why do you think this show has lasted for so long in the West End?
Back to the Future is such an iconic film and it's survived the test of time. For 40 years it's developed this amazing, beloved fan base and has a worldwide cult following. So before anyone's even watched the musical, it’s started with such a strong following and those fans want to support the show. I think the secret to its success in the West End is that all the original creators from the film have such an integral role in not only the creation of the musical, but in the maintenance of the show, which really helps to preserve this well-loved story. No expense has been spared to translate the story from screen to stage — you are instantly transported into this new story from the moment you walk in the building.

What is the best audience reaction you have seen to the show?
I think that because there are so many well-known moments in the film, we get loads of audience reactions. But my favourite, and the one we experience every single night, is an eruption of applause at the end of “Johnny B Goode”. We're halfway through Act II and we've just experienced all these high-stakes moments between George, Biff, and Lorraine. And then we release all that tension with "Johnny B Goode". It's a well-known song, so all the audience is clapping along with it, while the ensemble is pulling off these impressive lifts and tricks. And then Marty steals the show with his iconic guitar solo.

What is your favourite moment in Back to the Future?
I think my favourite moment is at the end of Act I, which has the song “Something About That Boy”. It takes place in the cafeteria of Hill Valley High, and it's an epic display of perfectly organised chaos. It's constructed in such a clever way by the choreography and technical teams to visualise these two storylines at the same time, which are Lorraine's girls swooning over Marty, and Biff’s boys, who are trying to capture him. It's full of these fights, illusions, and pop culture references, and it's just as fun for us to perform as is it for the audience to watch.

What is a little-known secret about performing in this show?
There are so many secrets we have to keep as performers for us to preserve the magic of the show. There's an endless amount of technical work and special effects that give it that signature sci-fi feel. Some of them are so subtle that you wouldn't even notice that they're happening or believe how they're done.

What do you hope audiences take away from Back to the Future?
Throughout the show, there's this theme of you can do anything if you just put your mind to it. It's there from the very top of the show, and it builds on supporting your friends, the power of teamwork, and fosters an atmosphere of open mindedness. It becomes this wholesome message that can resonate with any audience. The fantastical nature of Back to the Future provides such an escape from reality and it creates this environment where everyone can let down their guard. I guarantee that everyone leaves with a beaming smile at the end.

Book Back to the Future tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Caden Brauch and Talia Palamathanan in Back to the Future. (Photos by Matt Crockett)