An Arbroath dad has thanked locals for the huge support shown as his sons triumph on the big stage in both sport and theatre in London.
David O’Mara says he has been inundated with messages from natives of the Angus coastal town as middle son Jonny makes headlines at Wimbledon and oldest son Chris’ acting career takes off.
Jonny, 27, produced one of the biggest shocks at the All England Club this year when he and Alicia Barnett reached the quarter finals of the mixed doubles after knocking out stars Jamie Murray and Venus Williams.
Murray and Williams had five match points in a deciding tie-break but ended up losing to the pair 18-16.
Chris, 30, is currently treading the boards on the West End, performing in a new production of Cabaret alongside Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne.
Living their dreams
Speaking with The Courier, father David shared that, through persistence and hard work, the siblings are now living their dreams.
He said: “It has been great to see the guys doing so well. Obviously it has been a long road for both of them, and of course for me and Jane as parents.
“With Jonny, and now our youngest Ben, it’s been slightly easier. I’ve been able to help him along the journey in many ways as I’ve always been interested and involved in sport.
“This, along with with being a chartered psychologist, has meant we have spent a lot of time together, traveling and talking.
Taking a huge leap
“With Chris it was more about finding the right people that could help him maximise his talent and be ready for that huge leap from local theatre standout to the West End stage.
“Both had the talent to succeed. I guess it was our job as parents to make sure if they wanted to go further that the opportunities were available.
“Without being pushy, we wanted to make sure we explored every avenue, took every opportunity, and tried to open some doors.
“It wasn’t easy in two such tough choices of career, so it’s wonderful to see how things are going.”
Performing with the stars
Chris has been a part of the Cabaret cast since it returned at the start of the year. The new production, which has welcomed Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley as cast members, won seven Olivier Awards this year.
He said: “It’s been an absolute dream. The very first day that the cast got together, the most nervous people in the room were Eddie and Jessie.
“It made us realise that they are just like us and they were brilliant to work with.”
Chris shared that his dream was nearly out of reach after speaking with his doctors.
He said: “The last few years have been difficult. I had a knee injury and was told that I wouldn’t be able to dance or run again. I was forced to lower my expectations and pretty much gave up on achieving my goals.
“After lockdown I had to opportunity to perform at the Whitehall Theatre. I tweeted that in 12 months’ time I will be on a West End stage.”
This time next year I'll be in a West End theatre show – any role, any show, but I'm putting it out into the Universe. 365 days from now.#yearfromnow #positivethinking #bringiton pic.twitter.com/s3YpLbXhPC
— Chris O'Mara (@chrisomarauk) April 11, 2021
Almost an exact year after posting the tweet, around 700,000 people watched Chris perform at the televised Olivier Awards, held at the Royal Albert Hall.
Chris was part of an ensemble of understudies who performed the song Our Time from musical Merrily We Roll Along. The performance paid tribute to the late Stephen Sondheim.
Sharing how lucky both he and Jonny feel, Chris said: “It’s really difficult to believe and I’m incredibly grateful.
“It feels like lightning has struck twice. That is definitely thanks to our parents allowing us to follow our dreams.”
Town shares its support
David has made sure that his sons know that they have the backing of their hometown.
He said: “One thing that I know both Chris and Jonny love is how a little town like Arbroath has got behind them. Sure, Arbroath has its challenges like any small town but supporting their own is not one of them.
“Our phones have hardly stopped ringing recently from well-wishers which we always pass on. My phone almost vibrated off the table on Sunday after that memorable tie-break.
“I think the whole of Arbroath must have collectively been holding their breath at exactly the same time!”
