West End legend Elaine Paige may be in her mid-70s but says she feels as young as 25.
“The thing about getting from 40 to 70-something is that you actually don’t feel any different in your head. Sometimes I’m rather childish. Mentally, you always stay young,” says the stage star and singer. “I feel 35 or 40…. 25 maybe! I do know a little bit more now, I’m a bit wiser.
“Of course physically it’s a battle, because you wake up every day with another ache or pain.”
Paige stared in her West End debut in 1968 in the musical Hair but made her name with career-defining roles such as Eva Perón in the first production of Evita, singing hit Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, and originated the role of Grizabella in Cats, along with the song Memory.
A nominee for five Laurence Olivier Awards, the 76-year-old has also recorded 22 solo albums and presents BBC Radio 2 show, Elaine Paige on Sunday – now in its 20th year.
The slowing down of her musical theatre career has been “a bit sad really”, she reveals, saying she doesn’t do it anymore because “a boundless energy” is needed for performances.
For around 40 of those years on stage, “I was in the theatre every night of my life except Sundays,” Paige says. “It’s taxing.
“You get to a certain age and you physically can’t do it anymore and – as much as I miss it – you have to accept it and find something else to do. You see these young people singing and dancing at their utmost, they’re at the peak of their powers. And I sit there and watch it and think, well there was once [a time] that I could do the same thing, those days are gone, and you just have to accept it.
“You have to let things go and move on, because in each period of ones’s life there’s something new to come and experience and enjoy.
“The days of performing, it was my entire life, it is no longer – I’ve done that bit and now I’m onto something else. Look forward, always look forward.”
Her hugely successful radio show – which celebrates the best of Broadway, Hollywood and the West End, and attracts around two million listeners each week is “a lovely job” she says. ” I don’t think of it as a job. It’s just chatting to people and playing music that I love myself. I feel I have a connection with people.”
Radio is important for tackling loneliness too, she says. “You’re never alone when the radio is on. I live alone and, always, when I first come into the house, I make sure I put the radio on, even if I’m not really listening to it.
“I get lots of emails from listeners saying how much that they enjoy hearing me tell the stories and playing the music, that they feel as if I’m talking to them,” she says. “I’m the same, when I listen to my favourite radio shows, the presenter’s voice becomes a very familiar voice. You begin to think as the listener that it’s somebody that you know – there’s something rather comforting and familiar about it.”
Helping others feel less lonely, particularly in older age and in winter when loneliness can be more prevalent, is something Paige feels strongly about. As an ambassador, and volunteer, for the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS), the star is in regular contact with a woman in her 90s. “She lives alone and suffers from agoraphobia, I ring every month and check on her. We have a good old jabber about things that are going on the world, things she might have seen on TV or the radio.”
The charity, which has partnered with Yakult for its Stay Safe, Warm and Well campaign, discovered that for almost half (47%) of over-75s surveyed, feelings of loneliness and/or isolation heighten in winter. But they found that 42% of people receiving phone call from volunteers actually visit their GP less often as a result.
Paige herself says she “never” feels lonely herself, despite the fact she lives alone (she never married). “I enjoy solitude.”
Plus, “I’ve always got loads of things to do, I think that’s the key.”
“I’m a great list-maker,” she says. “I’m always writing lists of things to achieve through the day – they can be big things or small things, like ‘read the last chapter of this book’. Whatever it is, there’s a great sense of achievement when you’ve done what’s on the list and you’ve crossed it off.
Having hobbies is key, she says. “As you get older, especially if you are not working anymore – because work is probably the mainstay of most people’s life – when you’re not working there’s a lot of hours to fill.
“Do something that you love, you don’t have to be any good at it, but if you enjoy it, that’s a major factor. I like drawing and painting, I’m not very good at it, but I enjoy to do it. Sometimes you get involved in something like that, and hours can pass by and you haven’t realised.
“I copy things out of books, have a stab at it, and then laugh a lot looking at what I’ve tried to do. But the key is to stay interested and try and keep yourself active in whatever way is available to you.”
Paige plays tennis three times a week. “I think it’s really important [to do sport or exercise] as you get older because obviously your muscle strength diminishes.
“I walk much more today than I ever did when I was young,” she adds. ” I walk to the shops, I walk through the park.
“Even if you’re sitting in a chair and lifting your legs up, one after the other, knees up, knees down, that kind of thing. There’s plenty of these classes that you can access on the computer.”
To help her stay healthy in winter Paige says she takes vitamin D supplements and makes plenty of warming, homemade soups, casseroles and hearty meals.
“I’m careful in terms of I see anybody coughing or sneezing, I hold my breath and move out of that space. I hate catching a cold because it usually affects my chest.”
And to help keep her energy levels up she prioritises sleep and rest. “If you run the gauntlet day and night, doing everything all day long and all night long, you’ll eventually run out of steam,” she says.
“I think what I’ve learned is the best way to get the most out of life, and out of one’s own energy levels, is to pace oneself.”
Elaine Paige is supporting Royal Voluntary Service and Yakult’s Stay Safe, Warm and Well campaign, offering wellbeing advice and support this winter. Visit: royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk/safe-warm-well.
