How it all began……..
Briefly, just to explain how I got to where I am now, here’s my back story! I started dancing at my local dancing school under the watchful eye of Susanne Thompson, at the age of 2 ½.
At the age of 9, I auditioned along with 10,000 other hopefuls for a role in ‘The Sound Of Music’, and played Louisa in one of the 3 original groups of children. Fantastic experience and it got me out of school for a while which I was happy about!!
That experience made me want to take my dance training more seriously. I was put forward for a competition for young dancers called ‘Champion Children of the Year’ sponsored by Dr Barnardos. It was judged by Bonnie Langford who was in Cats at the time! I won, and my prize was to dance with Bonnie on the Cats stage!
How thrilling for me, and saved me having to write to Jim to fix it for me to do exactly the same thing!! Taking Bonnie's advice, I auditioned for a place at White Lodge, the Royal Ballet School, to begin age 12, and was amazed and lucky enough to be accepted each year after yet more assessments to go through to the complete the 5 years which ended in me being head girl!
Despite the wonderful training I soon realised the ballet world wasn’t for me. I was missing the other styles of dance and was doing any amount of singing and acting I could, so when I was offered a place at the Royal Ballet Upper School to continue training, I told them that I’d like to go to a musical theatre college! Which I did - the Doreen Bird College in Sidcup.
I enjoyed my time there, and got to try out all the other aspects of performing! It was just the right thing for me to do, I knew I would never have been satisfied in a ballet company in the Corps de Ballet and I’ve never looked back! But don’t get me wrong, the ballet training and life style at White Lodge was a fantastic grounding for everything that’s happened since!!
On leaving Birds, 5 students from my year put some shows together to perform during a summer period in St Ives, called ‘DB5’, touring holiday villages and hotels, singing songs from the shows, a dance show, children's show and smart compilation show! Hard work but educational!
Then I guess my West End career started, with ‘Radio Times’ with Tony Slattery, and in the ensemble with me was Tamsin Outhwaite and Ben Richards, now well known on TV!
I went straight from there to the original company of ‘Crazy For You’ working for the first of 3 times later in my career with the wonderful Susan Stroman, and the much missed director Mike Ockrent.
I then went on to playing a multitude of cats in 'Cats'! Swinging it for a year (which means covering all the ensemble roles) and understudied the lead roles of White Cat and Demeter. Busy! and hard work!
I then played Iris in the first cast change of ‘Fame’, followed by a return to ‘Cats’, this time to play the role of Jemima, and understudying Jellylorum, so therefore nearly playing all the female cats at some point!
I played Thelma Furness in the production of ‘Always’ at the Victoria Palace Theatre, which was the love story of Prince Edward and Mrs Simpson, sadly that didn’t last long, after some tough reviews.
I played Louisa Gradgrind in the musical version of Dickens’ ‘Hard Times’ with Roy Hudd and Brian Blessed playing my dad! And what a dad! Both in Windsor and Theatre Royal Haymarket. During that show the artist, Charlotte Fawley did some wonderful drawings of me in costume, of which I have a few of, and you can see on her website.
What next? Oh I think it was ‘Oklahoma’ at the National Theatre for Sir Trevor Nunn, wow!! And my 2nd time with Susan Stroman, and of course with the wonderful and now very famous film star Hugh Jackman! I was lucky enough to understudy the lead role of Laurey, and went on to play it a few times, opposite the lovely Hugh! How lucky was that? We filmed the show (available at all DVD and CD shops) and went on to continue the run at the Lyceum Theatre.
I went on to play the ‘Girl on the Swing’ in Susan Stroman's production of ‘Contact’ at the Queens Theatre.
Then did the show that changed my life, ‘Beautiful and Damned’ in the try out of the show in Guildford playing the lead role of Zelda Fitzgerald opposite John Barrowman. It was the part I had dreamt of, such a fantastic experience, it was everything I’ve ever wanted.
I then went on to play the role again in the West End version of it, the following year this time opposite Michael Praed. I was also thrilled that we had the show filmed, so at least in years to come I can look back at the happiest and most exciting time of my career to date!
My next show in the West End was the enormous production of ‘On the Town’. Directed by Jude Kelly, Choreographed by Steven Mear at London's Coliseum, playing Ivy Smith aka Miss Turnstiles.
I played the same role when the production was repeated in 2008 with the wonderful June Whitfield.
I was then thrilled to have the honour of joining a fabulous cast to perform in PARADE by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre.
Playing Mrs Phagan and Sally Slaten for director / choreographer Rob Ashford. We were lucky enough to get rave reviews and 7 Olivier Nominations and recorded a CD of the show in its entirety available at: www.dresscircle.co.uk/product.asp?StockID=33249.
In between the West End shows I’ve generally been kept busy in regional work, including, ‘A Little Night Music’ in Leicester, ‘Nymph Errant’ in Chichester, ‘ A Chorus Line’ in Sheffield's Crucible, ‘Polishing the Sun’ in Hitchin, ‘NHS the Musical’ in Plymouth. And 'The Wizard of Oz' at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds for Rachel Kavanaugh playing Aunt Em and Glinda the Good Witch. And Madge in the Lost Musical 'Park Avenue' for Ian Marshall Fisher at the Lillian Baylis Theatre London.
Also some mini tours in: ‘Masterpieces’, ‘A Soldiers Tale’ and ‘Dames at Sea’, and many pantomimes and Christmas shows.
I am thrilled to be able to add that I was seen in my first TV role, as Janette McKendrick in an episode of Holby City on the 8th July 2008.
As with many actors there are times when I’m not working in a show, so during my ‘resting’ times, I keep busy teaching ‘Pilates’ to private clients and at various health clubs.
Well, that’s about it for main theatre work, hope you enjoy having a look at my other photos in the gallery!