Mozart was a child prodigy, a musical rebel, an outcast and an icon. Saving Mozart is written and composed by Charli Eglington and directed by Markus Olzinger. This is the Mozart you’ve never met—raw, human, electric. QX had a chat with Jordan Luke Cage plays Antonio Salieri, a character often portrayed as Mozart’s nemesis. We had a chat with Jordan about his career and Saving Mozart, which runs at the The Other Palace Theatre until 30 August 2025.
QX: Hello Jordan. Welcome to QX, and thank you for taking the time to be interviewed.
Jordan Luke Cage: Hello QX!
You are best known as a musical theatre performer. When did you first realise that’s what you wanted to do?
I was always the performative child in school – I loved to create plays during break times and write songs in my spare time, so there was always something creative calling me. Also, I did a lot of amateur dramatics as a teenager, performing in local shows and on set in the Harry Potter franchise, so I got a taste of the industry from a young age. I was also not good at anything else!
You’ve had some wonderful West End roles. Are there any standout favourites, and what made them so special?
I have loved all the roles I’ve played, but I think you never forget your West End debut, which for me was Strat in Bat Out Of Hell at the Dominion Theatre. I had been auditioning for three years after graduating from drama school and faced a lot of rejection and a lot of close calls, and finally, something clicked, and it felt like this role had been written for me. To play the lead in one of London’s biggest theatres was a mind-blowing experience, which came with lots of other crazy perks like performing at the BBC Proms and a special performance for the Royal family.
In 2022, as we celebrated 50 years since the UK’s first gay pride rally, you participated in a one-off script in hand reading of The Pride at The Fortune Theatre to mark the occasion. How important was that for you?
I always love to be able to do work that reflects or supports the community in some way. The Pride is a fantastic play, and we had a supremely talented cast of actors to celebrate this monumental milestone. It always feels good to tell stories about the LGBTQ+ community and raise awareness/ shine a light on the experiences that the community faces.
You play Salieri in the upcoming musical production of Saving Mozart at The Other Palace. What drew you to play the role?
Honestly, it was the music that instantly drew me to the piece. Charli has created such an exciting score with this show, which feels like it has its own language and identity. Sometimes you just hear songs and get it, and I feel like that’s how I felt when I listened to these songs. On top of that, playing a real person from history is always exciting to me; someone has lived this experience, and therefore I feel a sense of responsibility to tell the story truthfully whilst also playing and creating in and around that. We have the facts from this time period, from Salieri and Mozart’s lives, but there is also a lot that we don’t know and therefore can create.
Which are the musical numbers that the audience will enjoy the most?
There are so many uplifting earworms in the show, like ‘Listen to Me’ and ‘Watch Me’, which are constantly running round my head, but I also love the ballad ‘He’s Only a Child’. I told Charli on the first day that I had listened to that song on repeat- the melody and lyrics in the choruses are so stunning. I think audiences will love the array of songs and the journey that they take you on – there are some incredibly beautiful, intimate moments alongside powerful, angsty, belty songs, so there’s something for everyone.
You’ve had your first solo concert at Outernet, and this year, you starred in a critically acclaimed film short, Alchemy Of The Word, the story of poet lovers Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine. Will we be seeing more of you in solo concerts and on film?
Yes! I’m filming something very cool after Mozart and hoping to continue that trajectory. As for solo concerts- I would love to do another one, but I’m waiting until the time is right.. I have other projects in development, such as my musical ‘Redcliffe’, which has been in the works for three years now and is taking up a lot of my time gearing up to the next stage (which will hopefully be announced soon).
Jordan Luke Cage is in Saving Mozart which runs until 30 August 2025, at The Other Palace, 12 Palace Street, London SW1E 5JA, United Kingdom.
Ticket price from £17.56
Mon – Sat 7.30pm, matinee Thu and Sat 3pm (Press Night: 5 August 2025, 7pm)
Box Office: 020 7592 0302
