A SUGABABES star is suing Walt Disney for over £200,000, claiming she damaged her vocal cords while playing Princess Jasmine in the West End musical Aladdin.
Jade Ewen, 34, was starring as the female lead in the popular musical when she claims she sustained serious vocal damage trying to sing loudly during "A Whole New World".
Her co-star, Matthew Croke, was struggling to harmonise if he could hear any other voices and so sang "very loudly", drowning out Miss Ewen, and forcing her to also sing with a dangerously raised voice, she claims.
The singer, a former Eurovision star and member of girl group Sugababes, says the damage caused by straining to hear herself meant she had to spend her days off in silence to save her voice for her performances.
She was later diagnosed with vocal cord lesions and a vascular polyp and, although treatment fixed the problems, she claims to continue to suffer from career-damaging anxiety.
She is now suing the Walt Disney Company Ltd for more than £200,000 compensation at Central London County Court, claiming the injury led to her foregoing offers of lucrative West End work.
The American media giant denies liability and is set to fight Miss Ewen's damages claim in a five-day trial, pointing out that Mr Croke was an "experienced and accomplished" stage performer.
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According to court documents, Miss Ewen had been cast as 'Princess Jasmine' in the popular musical at the Prince Edward Theatre, in Old Compton Street, from April 2016.
The singer, originally from Plaistow, east London, initially had no problems and claims that issues only began when the original male lead was replaced by West End star Matthew Croke in June 2017.
'DROWNED OUT'
Her barrister, Tom Nossiter, says the problems arose when singing face-to-face duets – 'A Million Miles Away' and 'A Whole New World' – with her co-star close to her.
"Matthew Croke found it difficult to keep harmony if he could hear anyone else singing," says the barrister.
"To compensate for this, during the duets he sang very loudly so that he could not hear the claimant's voice.
"Mr Croke was six foot one inch tall compared to the claimant's height of five feet two inches. This meant Mr Croke's mouth was positioned at broadly the height of the claimant's forehead microphone when he was singing the duets with her.
"Due to Mr Croke's very loud singing voice and his position in relation to the claimant's microphone, during the duets his voice was picked up by the claimant's microphone.
"This caused the claimant's voice to be 'drowned out' so that she could not hear herself when singing at a volume which was comfortable for her.
"The claimant was forced, repeatedly during the eight performances per week, over a period of about 18 months, to sing at a louder volume and with greater strength than was comfortable and/or safe for her.
"Her vocal cords were placed under strain, increasing the risk of damage being caused to her vocal cords.
"Further, there was something of a vicious circle in that the louder she sang, the louder Matthew Croke sang over her."
'SING LOUDER'
The barrister claimed that Miss Ewen complained on "many" occasions about the sound mix on stage and being drowned out, but was told to "sing louder."
"From about March 2018, the claimant began to experience symptoms of recurrent hoarseness, discomfort and imbalance in her singing voice," he says.
"To be able to perform satisfactorily in the shows, she started having to take enforced breaks from speaking and singing and to spend her days off in complete silence.
"Thereafter, she experienced an acute event while singing when she felt a 'pop' and the quality of her voice subsequently had a 'cracking' or 'frying' sound to it and she was unable to reach her upper register."
She tried to continue performing with vocal warmups and using a nebuliser, but in January 2019 sought medical treatment and did not perform in the show again.
"The damage was successfully treated by two surgical procedures during 2019 and the prognosis is good, so long as the claimant adheres to good vocal hygiene and avoids working in unhealthy acoustic environments again," her barrister continued.
"She also suffered from anxiety and panic symptoms around her voice and career, which have abated since successful treatment.
"She has suffered a psychological reaction in that she experiences anxiety regarding performing in roles in musical theatre as a result of the aforesaid injuries.
"This has caused her to turn down offers of lucrative contracts in musical theatre, resulting in significant loss of earnings."
Miss Ewen's lawyers claim that Disney was negligent in failing to undertake an adequate risk assessment and failing to make sure the sound system was suitable.
Her bosses had also failed to act on her complaints and should have provided in-ear monitors so she could hear her own voice, it is claimed.
In Disney's defence to the claim, barrister Jonathan Bellamy says it is normal in the West End for performers not to have in-ear monitors to hear their voices.
Her co-star was also an "experienced and accomplished performer" and it is denied that he "could not blend or mix his voice with the claimant's and/or hold a harmony unless he could hear only his voice."
The company also denies that Miss Ewen was forced to sing loudly because she was being drowned out, noting that she was also aware of the "demanding schedule" of eight shows a week.
Miss Ewen originally made her name by finishing fifth in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, singing the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Diane Warren penned 'It's My Time'.
She replaced Keisha Buchanan in the group Sugababes in September 2009, going on to achieve two UK top 10 singles and a top 15 album before the group disbanded in 2011.
She made her West End debut in 2015, before playing Princess Jasmine as part of the original cast of Disney's production of Aladdin in 2016.
Her case reached court for a pre-trial hearing dealing with the lawyers' bills for the case, which is expected to be decided by Judge David Saunders in a week-long trial at a later date.
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