Take Action

I have been taking matters into my own hands this week! I have decided to produce my own show, starring... myself! I know, this may seem rather self-obsessed but I promise this is not the angle I am coming from. I refuse to let my destiny be decided upon other peoples opinions, and if I am not going to get that break from anybody else, then I will give myself the break. 'Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you' (Ralph Waldo Emerson). 


The show will contain songs I enjoy listening to and which I think an audience would enjoy too! Recently, I've not worked on the kind of material I think I am naturally inclined to perform. So, I've decided to do something different and follow my heart, working on music which is absolutely floating my boat at this moment in time.


Speaking of boats... It's my experience over the last year singing on board The London Showboat which is giving me a new-found freedom and confidence in myself. I completely and unabashedly love to perform and have developed a new kind of satisfaction in the reaction of an audience. My previous work has always been within a set piece, where an audience reaction has little impact upon what is actually happening on stage. Obviously all performances rely upon how an audience reacts but there is something about performing in cabaret which enables you to be more intimate with an audience, building a rapport, judging what they are reacting to. Working alone, gives me the freedom to make on-the-spot decisions on what pieces to perform next,  depending on their reaction. I thoroughly enjoy being able to create the banter! After the shows, I do have to question whether I should really be having this much fun, but that's what being a performer is all about. It's not the kind of job you can do half heartedly, you've got to do it because you love it! I think the beautiful setting, cruising along The River Thames does help to bewitch the evening, making the whole experience feel like something very special.


So, it's with this addiction to the enjoyment of an audience and noting what really goes down well on the Showboat that my one-woman show began to take shape. With the help of an equally enthusiastic and creative musician, we are pulling together some really interesting pieces. With our motive being to create something entertaining, uplifting and contemporary, we have been re-working the iconic music of singers such as Adele, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Kylie, as well as legends like Dusty Springfield and Shirley Bassey. It feels really exciting to be working on something different which I hope will showcase the performer I have been developing into whilst hosting my own shows. For more information please visit my website, which also contains details on how you can wine, dine and dance the night away with City Cruises.


So much of the entertainment industry relies upon who you know and not what you know, and sometimes when you think you are making head way you realise that other people have a hidden agenda. Therefore, I suggest making your own agenda. With this being such a competitive environment, you need to be sure of who you are. Don't let anyone lead you to believe you're not good enough, your belief determines your action, your action determines your results, but first you have to believe.

Pie in the Sky

The highlight of my week (or maybe my year) was getting to see Jonathan Kent's production of Sweeney Todd at The Adelphi theatre. Oh my goodness! 


Sweeney Todd is right up there as one of my favourite musicals of all time. I have seen numerous versions live and recorded, including John Doyle's 2004 revival at The Ambassadors, where the 10 strong cast also played the score themselves on instruments incorporated in the staging! I was sceptical about Michael Ball playing the demon barber; my impression of him is the loveable cheeky chappy, but he was absolutely mind blowing. I was bowled over by the power and strength with which he sang the role... I now realise I'd never fully heard Sweeney Todd's agonising laments until last week. And he was so butch! I had high expectations of Imelda Staunton, being a huge admirer of her as an actress, yet she still overwhelmed me with how skilfully she made Mrs Lovett her own, delivering Sondheim's human pie witticisms during 'A Little Priest' as if it were the first time I'd heard them. I thought the whole production had real grit to it, bringing out the the disturbingly dark themes like no other version I'd previously seen. I think it's exciting when musical theatre successfully branches out from it's stereotypical 'razzle dazzle' and delivers instead a poignant, dark piece of intelligent theatre with fortitude. Stephen Sondheim is the master! It was with delight (and a touch of envy) that I sat in the gods as the chorus raised its voice for 'The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd'. What I wouldn't give to have the opportunity to sing such powerful music on a West End stage... 


Although, maybe not this week. 


My blog is to be dictated a little by the frustrating week I've had in general!


Finally, with better weather and lighter evenings comes a more regular London Showboat. I sing onboard the Showboat a few times a week as the main entertainment on a three hour evening dinner cruise along The River Thames. I'd been looking forward to a busy week of shows for the Easter break, only to be struck down by laryngitis and rendered completely incapable of singing. This has never happened to me before (I am generally one of those annoying people who is rarely effected by illness) and I have to say, I was really perturbed! I couldn't make a squeak let alone belt out a rendition of 'All That Jazz'. Losing my voice made me realise that I completely, 100%, rely on being able to sing to earn my living, and there is nothing else that comes close to being a secondary career option. I did have to accept that I needed someone to cover the shows - another first for me. It was a weird feeling having someone act as 'understudy' - at first I felt extremely grateful that I didn't have to worry about what would happen with the show, but then came the anxiety of having someone else doing my show and acknowledging that I am replaceable!


Being replaceable is obviously not the greatest of feelings, but the realisation of it does make me feel grateful for the work that I have got and the opportunities that people have given to me in the past, when they might have chosen somebody else. This weeks debilitation has also inspired me to come back fighting. Singing is what I love, it's my life and I most definitely can't imagine myself doing anything else for a living at this moment in time. Sometimes I lose sight of this amongst the constant CV mail-outs, casting submissions and rejections, but as the saying goes, I will not let them grind me down. I've worked so hard and I know that I have what it takes to perform in a show (like Sweeney Todd) on a West End stage... I have to be in the right place at the right time at some point in my career!


It's hard to take the knock-backs time and time again, but focus on the things you are achieving and keep striving to be better - don't let anyone convince you that your dreams are pie-in-the-sky (particularly not Mrs Lovett's!). You may be replaceable in certain areas of your life, but by being the best that you can be, you can make it difficult for anyone to find a the right replacement!

Winds of Change

On the winds of change floats the promise of spring. April: a time for cleaning out the closets, folding away the winter woolies and sweeping away the cobwebs. A time to feel reborn, re-motivated, filled with purpose... or so I am telling myself as I fold away my heavy dark coloured apparel of the last few months, into the storage box, out of which I'd unpacked the fresh, pastel, floral ensembles for the Summer. A quarter of the way through the year already!

2012 is set to be an important year for Great Britain, as we keep being told. Living close to Stratford over the last nine years, it has been exciting watching the Olympic Park spring up from what was merely derelict-looking industrial buildings. So I was thrilled to be part of it's first public event, hosted last Sunday. The test event was organised by the Gold Challenge, a charity challenge where you are encouraged to take on Olympic sports and Paralympic sports to raise money for your charity of choice. Schools and organisations from across Great Britain participated in the charity races along with sporting legends such as Austin Healey, Gareth Thomas, Mike Catt, Dame Mary Peters and I think I even heard Fatima Whitbread's name mentioned too! Combine this with entertainment from Dionne Bromfield, Paul Potts, Spellbound and, interestingly, a talented upcoming group called The Boxettes, who use only their voices to create their songs - no instruments and no effects - and you'll get a picture of what a memorable day it was. Sitting with my husband inside the stadium alongside all the other families, I was emotionally ambushed with an overwhelming sense of pride and love for the children involved, some as young as four, able bodied and disabled, each relishing this opportunity to compete in front of thousands of people inside this huge stadium. Kids whose only other experience of racing was during a school sports day infront of their mums and dads, rising to the challenge. Their excitement and joy was infectious and I found myself being swept up by the fervour of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The commentator announcing that, "Dreams will be made here this Summer".

Watching the endless stream of schools during the parade, I became a little nostalgic... It's now ten years since I was in my final year of school. Savouring the Easter holidays before the onslaught of 'A' Level exams. Although, at that time, the pressure had been eased for me as I had just received my letter of acceptance from The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, offering me a full scholarship... my dreams were being made!

As I reflect upon my school days, I think I knew even at the time that they were special days, shared with the very best of friends in a setting straight out of a fictional novel. Standing sentinel on the top of a hill overlooking the town of Leek is Westwood High School, a converted 19th century manor house, originally home to a famous Stoke-on-Trent potter family, The Davenports, who are said to have built over an existing house belonging to one of Henry VIII's favourite Knights. The historical prowess of the school and it's grounds radiates from the very foundations. I definitely feel privileged to have been a part of its alumni and being educated by such a passionate and inspiring teaching faculty. The most valuable lesson I learned there, however, was to be myself, and although sometimes other people can make this difficult, I think fundamentally my actions are based on being true to myself and true to my morals. 

I am by no means morose as I look back at this period in my life. To the contrary, it's with comfort that I remember the optimism and excitement which I felt as an 18 year old about the next stage of life's journey. I have not achieved all that I hoped I would in the last decade, but I know that the achievements I have made are no small feat. To be true to myself, I will continue to achieve for as long as I have the dreams to fulfil. Looking at those inspiring kids on Sunday, bursting with life, ambition and the joys of spring reminds me that we all have our own dreams, be they great or small, all just as important in their own way. For a man without dreams is like a bird without wings. So, with this change of the wind, breathe in the scent of possibility and turn your dreams into reality. All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them (Walt Disney).