Interview: Charlotte Wakefield On 2015's S&S Award Gala!

Olivier award winners Nigel Harman, Janie Dee and nominee Charlotte Wakefield will take leading roles in this year's glittering S&S Award Gala, an annual celebration of new musical theatre, at St James Theatre on Sunday 15th November at 5.30pm.

Wakefield leads a cast of West End performers presenting extracts from the three finalist shows: After Lydia by Christine Denniston and Gwyneth Herbert, after Terence Rattigan; Here by Alex Young and Kate Marlais and The Last Word by Brett Sullivan.

"I've worked with Simon [Greiff, the gala director] loads, usually on new work," explains Wakefield. "I have a real passion for the S&S Awards, and it's really exciting to be involved."

She says she feels an affinity with new work having got her career started in the London premiere of Spring Awakening. "That was developed in New York - and since then I've worked with other new musical theatre initiatives as a way of giving back to writers. I'm so excited to be working with this company of actors and creatives, and give new work a fantastic platform."

The S&S Award Gala is an annual celebration of new musical theatre. The evening, noted for attracting a celebrity audience, will be hosted by S&S Award Patron Nigel Harman and will culminate in the announcement and presentation of The S&S Award 2015 by Janie Dee. The S&S Award is given to "the most promising new unproduced musical of the year" as judged by a panel of distinguished producers, actors, directors and musicians.

This year The S&S Award went international, attracting a record number of entries from around the world. The Award, which is a Mercury Musical Developments initiative, also formed a partnership with the hothouse of new musicals Leicester Curve, under the artistic directorship of Nikolai Foster. Mr Foster will be joining Nica Burns of Nimax Theatres and Kent Nicholson of Playwrights Horizons in New York in the final judging panel.

This year's Gala has an added bonus as it will feature a presentation of the 2013 winning show Forest Boy, an intriguing and beguiling musical based on a true story, which has undergone considerable development as part of the "prize" that comes with the Award.

The S&S Award Gala has become one of the hottest tickets in the theatre calendar, where the movers and shakers in the industry get a taste of tomorrow's new musicals today.

Janie Dee is a multi award-winning British actress, singer and musical theatre performer, characterised by her extraordinary versatility in acclaimed work on stage, film, television and radio. Her career embraces everything from Shakespeare to revivals of classic plays, to acclaimed performances in modern dramas and comedies, and leading roles in classic musicals, both in the West End and major regional theatres. Her first Olivier award was for her breakthrough performance in Ayckbourn's Comic Potential, and another for performance as Carrie in Carousel at the National Theatre. Janie recently starred in The Seagull at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and Ah Wilderness! at Young Vic.

Nigel Harman is one of the busiest, most acclaimed actors of his generation, winning an Oliver Award and Theatregoers' Choice Award for his performance as Lord Farquaad in Shrek in the West End. He later went on to direct the first UK Shrek tour. His other West End starring roles include Simon Cowell in I Can't Sing! (London Palladium), Sky Masterson in Michael Grandage's revival of Guys and Dolls (Piccadilly), Pip in Three Days of Rain (Apollo), Eddie in Mamma Mia! (Prince Edward) and Cousin Kevin in Tommy (Shaftesbury). On TV he became a household name as Dennis Rickman in EastEnders and played Mr Green in some of Downton Abbey's most controversial scenes.

Charlotte Wakefield, a two-time Olivier award nominee for Spring Awakening and Sound Of Music, will lead the cast of experienced West End actors. Charlotte made her breakthrough theatre performance as Wendla in the original London cast of Spring Awakening, and has since gone on to star in the West End production of Mamma Mia, tours of Oklahoma and Sound Of Music, and on television in Holby, Waterloo Road and The Royal. Charlotte is currently starring in Monsieur Popular at Theatre Royal Bath, directed by Jeremy Sams.

The stellar West End company also includes: Daniel Buckley (Book Of Mormon, Stiles & Drewe's 3 Little Pigs), Greg Castiglioni (Titanic, Phantom Of The Opera), Rebecca Caine (Les Miserables original cast, Phantom Of The Opera London and Toronto), Haley Flaherty (Rocky Horror Show Live, Matilda), Stephen Rahman-Hughes (Rock Of Ages, West End Men), Matthew Rixon (Casa Valentina, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Katy Secombe (Les Miserables, Mamma Mia) and more to be announced. All guests and artists are subject to availability.

The S&S Award Gala is directed once again by Simon Greiff with musical direction by Inga Davis Rutter. It is produced by SimG Productions, a champion of new British musical theatre writing, in association with Mercury Musical Developments.

The S&S Award Gala 2015

Sunday 15th November at 5.30pm

St James Theatre, 12 Palace Street, London, SW1E 5JA

Tickets: £27.50/£17.50 (concessions)

Box Office: 0844 264 2140 Website: www.stjamestheatre.co.uk

Event link: https://www.stjamestheatre.co.uk/theatre/the-ss-award-gala-2015/

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