Well wit-a-woo it’s Jonny Labey, possibly the most delightful dude in showbiz. After bending his ear outside everyone’s favourite lil watering hole, Krafty J’s, Jonny Labey ended up being my friend – haha, this is likely the first he’s heard of that, but there we are. It’s in print now, so no going back. Jonny Labey is not only one of those people you tend to refer to by his full name, he is also a quadruple threat of insurmountable talent (he sings, he dances, he acts and he rocks a business brain) and then there’s those good looks that gimme those swoony heart eyes…
Jonny Labey makes Jersey proud and recently he’s been on home turf, reconnecting with home and finding new ways to share his creative energy and make the world a brighter place at the same time.
So, hey Jonny Labey – what’s been happening?
I’ve been back in Jersey for the longest stint I’ve done since leaving the island in 2011 when I first took those first steps to try and be one of those performing types! Christ, that’s 10 years ago. Being back in Jersey has been everything I hadn’t realised I needed. London is all GO and it’s a fantastic city, and actually the closest and best option you have as an actor to do what it is we do and be around the crazy wonderful creatives that live there. However, after a long while you start to realise that you have an urgency to tap back in again with something you’ve lost, imposter syndrome starts creeping in. My lost thing, without a shadow of a doubt was and is Jersey.
I bloody love our island, it’s the familiarity, the setting, the sunsets, the community and the SPACE that exists within this 9 by 5! Then there’s the creative talent – I’ve been up and down the country and across the world either competing or performing in shows or on the other side judging them and I can categorically say that we have it, and it needs to be nurtured and recognised even more than it already is. There’s an eagerness, professionalism and unique potential with Jersey performers and I can’t wait to put all my plans into action that I’ve been bubbling away with to kick things into action!
Creatively, I needed the break away from thinking about myself, my career, my showreel, me me me.I can say that the ‘break’ in the industry, although it’s been traumatic for so many livelihoods and creative dreams, for me it’s been an easing of pressure. When you’re out of work, there’s always this over-looming feeling that you could be IN work but you’re not.
Lockdown, and being back in Jersey was life forcing me to stop and evaluate what I want from life and what life is about. Although I’ve been ‘taking a (subjective) break’, my version of that is other people’s overdrive burn out. I’ve been writing music, I’ve had a couple commissioned projects with the incredible Art House Jersey which meant THE WORLD to me including a one man film/play based on Charlie Chaplin directed by Phil Griffin, written by Martha Mcdonald and DOP Will Robinson, I’ve been writing plays and series’, launched a non-profit charity that supports emerging artists called MYWY and am currently planning a project called The Arc Project that converts farms into seasonal creative/holistic spaces for events, workshops and mindfulness… I told you my ‘break’ is subjective. But it’s having the clarity to think on this island that inspired EVERYTHING and blessed me with time…
Tell us about MYWY! So MYWY is a non-profit organisation that supports and fuels emerging artists to their next tier to professionalism. I know from my own experience that making it in the Arts is nigh impossible, it’s famous for it. I’m silly blessed to have achieved what I have but it’s not been the ‘right time and place scenario’, It’s been a 24/7 ambition that I’m addicted to.
MYWY is a charity and an eco-friendly, conceptual brand, the first of its kind. We build our portfolio of products from clothes to eventual a department store’s worth of home decor or anything that can be designed, by collaborating and showcasing new artists. In turn we use our profits to fund new artist projects. It’s the first circular ecosystem that’s existed and it’s ALL about the root artists. Our vision is simple, it’s ‘OUR WORLD, TO CREATE’.
We create projects for artists and tailor what it is they need whether it’s in Music, Dance, Fashion, Design, Art and use our sales from products, from events we host and from workshops and donations to our cause to platform passionate artists.
It’s been my child for the past 2 years and we have so much more ahead of us and it’s super exciting. Please check out our website www.mywy.co.uk, purchase any of our organic launched products and if you’re an artist you can sign up for free to join our family just scroll down to ‘Our World, To Create’ and introduce yourself!
Best pint, Krafty J’s or The Queen Vic? I’ve practically LIVED in Krafty’s, moving back to Jersey there’s so many more vibing places that are opening. Krafty’s is my perfect blend of chilled, good tunes and a good pint. Inside scoop alert, Queen Vic doesn’t actually serve booze as you can’t have it on set so it’s a hoppy pint which has like 0.5%… Danny Dyer still goes for it, made me gag! Ha so, KRAFTY’S.
What’s the scoop now you’ve reset and recharged? The scoop is pure right now, I feel refreshed and more restored than ever. My visions are locked on my two businesses MYWY and The Arc Project, which should be launching this summer (if planning allows us). All about roaming our way back into live events and using it as an opportunity to make sure moving forward my industry is more supportive and collaborative. Gene Kelly quote to finish ‘The name of the game is COLLABORATION’.
My next aim professionally, although auditions have started to creep in again is to bring the Charlie Chaplin play back to Jersey for its next stage, open up the Opera House maybe (Charlie’s first EVER job/play was a show called ‘The Bird Cage’ on our home soil in the Opera House) and to start getting some music out there.
A parting message as you fly back to London?
Love you Jersey! Stick together, support the arts and let’s really showcase what this island can do!
Look after yourselves…
À bétôt, Jonny Labey X
Jonny Labey is a genuine Jersey gent and we cant wait to see what he does next. So, see ya later buddy, catch you at the bar, or as we decided, tap dancing in the Royal Square when you get back to Jersey, ma lav.
