Niamh Perry

Niamh Perry (born 10 June 1990) is an Irish singer and actress who competed as one of the finalists in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything in 2008^[1] and played Fleck in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Love Never Dies.

Background

Born in Bangor, County Down, Perry attended Our Lady and St. Patrick's College, Knock^[2] but left during her A-Levels in early 2008 and moved to London to compete in I'd Do Anything.

In 2007, she achieved a Distinction in her Grade eight classical singing examination, for which she won the South Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB) Outstanding Achievement Award for Contribution to the Arts^[3] She was a member of Music Theatre for Youth (MT4UTH) from when the company was founded in 2005 and she was also a member of the MT4UTH Showcase group, Footlighters. She performed with MT4UTH in productions of Sweet Charity, in which she played the lead role of Charity,^[4] Oliver!, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Guys and Dolls and West Side Story. She also sang a solo at the re-opening of the Grand Opera House in Belfast. She participated in two Cinemagic productions under the direction of Suranne Jones, including Wicked and she gained lead roles in both productions.

In February 2008, Perry took part in an NSPCC campaign encouraging adults to call the NSPCC Child Protection Helpline if they had concerns about a child's welfare.^[5] She also recorded a CD for charity with two school friends, under the group name Paradis. The CD was played on several local radio stations and they were twice invited to sing live on U105.

Singing career

In March 2008, Perry was announced as one of the final 12 contestants in the BBC1 programme I'd Do Anything, which premiered on 15 March 2008 and aimed to find a performer to play Nancy in a West End revival of the musical Oliver!.

Perry was eliminated from the show in week eight. She sang "Don't Speak", but was negatively received by the panel with Van Outen saying "That was more like a teenager having a tantrum than a leading lady." Barrowman expressed concern that her voice "wouldn't register at the back of the stalls;" Humphries said her performance was 'gritty', and that Perry small physical size would be a problem on stage. Lloyd Webber said her voice was not sufficiently mature^[6]

Perry played the lead role of Belle in the musical Only the Brave, which had its world premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on 31 July 2008 at the George Square theatre and ran until 25 August.^[7][8] On 13 September 2008 she performed alongside fellow I'd Do Anything finalist Rachel Tucker at the Proms in the Park, held at Belfast City Hall as part of the nationwide celebration of the BBC Last Night of the Proms.^[9][10]

Perry took part in Andrew Lloyd Webber's premier of act one of Love Never Dies at the 2008 Sydmonton Festival and also participated in the original sing-through of act two. She was a featured vocalist with the BBC Concert Orchestra on the BBC Radio 2 programme Friday Night is Music Night in October 2008,^[11] performing "When I Close My Eyes" from Only The Brave and "Maybe I Like it This Way" from the musical The Wild Party.

On 16 November 2008, Perry sang at St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London at a fundraising and awareness raising event for Save the Children. She was the joint lead vocalist with opera singer Mark Stone as they sang the premiere performance of "The Cry, a requiem for a lost child". Other performers who joined them in the performance include violinist Jeanine Thorpe, pianist Adrian Snell (who composed the song), London Oriana Choir, London Oratory School Schola and keyboard player Dave Bainbridge.^[12]

She appeared in pantomime at the Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne, East Sussex from 12 December 2008 to 11 January 2009 in Show White and the Seven Dwarfs playing the lead role of Snow White alongside Stefan Booth.^[13]

In May 2009, Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed on an episode of 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross' that Perry would be singing one of the roles on the Original Cast Recording for Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, describing her as "wonderful".^[14] This has fuelled rumours that she will be cast in the show when it opens in the West End in 2010.

On Monday 15 June 2009, Niamh began playing the lead role of Sophie Sheridan in Mamma Mia! The Musical at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London, with Sally Ann Triplett as Donna.^[15]

In December 2009, it was revealed that Perry will create the role of Fleck in the original West End cast of Love Never Dies, which opens in March 2010.^[16]

Niamh toured the UK in 2010/11 with Lee Mead on his concert tour.

In the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, held in Germany that year, each country had a jury, whose votes would be added to the general public's. The jury was made up of professionals in the music industry; Niamh was one of the jury panel.

From December 2011 – January 2012 Niamh Perry played the title role in the French classic children's novel, The Little Prince. It was the world premier of the musical adaptation of the French classic, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber's son Nicholas and James D Reid. The production was performed in the Lyric Theatre, Belfast. Perry received much critical acclaim for her portrayal of the young boy.

Niamh was one of the original four cast members of a Song Cycle for Soho which ran at Soho Theatre from February to March 2012. Her vocals also feature on the original cast album for this production.

References

External links

• Niamh Perry at the Internet Movie Database
• Cinemagic Film Festival website
• Musical Theatre for Youth website
• Only the Brave website