Jessie Buckley Fan Blog

An Interview with Jessie

2011-06-13T13:13:00.001+01:00

Ben from the Young Journalist Academy interviewed Jessie before her performance last night at the Royal Albert Hall's Elgar Room.

A Return To The Royal Albert Hall

2011-05-11T23:14:00.002+01:00

Jessie is due to make a return visit to the Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room on Sunday 12 June 2011, following her sold out Late Night Jazz session at this prestigious venue back in late-February.

The performance starts at 7.00 pm. Tickets are £17.50.

Follow the link to book yours now on the Royal Albert Hall website.

Recording of 'At Last' with the Kings Cross Hot Club

2011-03-27T02:06:00.004+01:00

The second treat for your ears tonight is a recording of a rehearsal Jessie did recently with an esteemed band of London based musicians called Kings Cross Hot Club who merge Gypsy swing with show tunes and jazz standards.

The song Jessie performs is the Etta James soul classic 'At Last'. I personally love the original, both musically and lyrically, and I love Jessie's version in equal measure. Enjoy!

myspace.com/kingscrosshotclub/music

For more information about the KCHC and their current residencies and up-coming performances please follow the link to their website: Kings Cross Hot Club.

Another Album Appearance for Jessie

2011-03-27T00:40:00.003Z

Two aural treats for all of you loyal readers of the blog this weekend! The first being in the form of a new song Jessie sings on called 'It's Not Gonna Rain'. The track features on musical theatre composer Michael Bruce's new album Unwritten Songs which also features songs performed by a whole host of well known West End favourites.

To preview the album tracks and find out more check out Michael Bruce's Facebook page.

The album is also available to buy on iTunes right now.

Jessie at the Albert Hall this Thursday!

2011-02-22T21:58:00.006Z

There are a few tickets left for Jessie's performance at the Royal Albert Hall this Thursday (24th) at 10pm.

Click on the link below for full details:

ROYAL ALBERT HALL

Jazz.FM recently ran a competition to win a pair of tickets to the show. If you were lucky enough to be the winners, please contact us via the blog. We'd love to hear your thoughts on Jessie's performance!

Live Performance of 'I Will Be There'

2011-02-15T23:03:00.002Z

Here is a video recording of Jessie's live performance of the track 'I Will Be There' taken at the album signing for 'More With Every Line' on Saturday 12th Feb at London's Dress Circle. Enjoy!

'More With Every Line'

2011-02-11T10:36:00.000Z

On Saturday February 12, the Dress Circle music shop in London's Monmouth Street will host live performances and an album signing event of the CD "More With Every Line - The Music Of Tim Prottey-Jones", which has been on the store's "best-seller" list since its release in early December.

"More With Every Line" is the debut album of songs by young British composer Tim Prottey-Jones, which blends musical theatre with an exciting pop/rock edge. The album consists of 13 brand new songs drawn from "After The Turn" and "Once Bitten", two musicals which Tim Prottey-Jones is in the process of developing with co-librettist/lyricist RoBert Gould, performed by a stellar cast of West End and Broadway star vocalists.

Dress Circle's in-store event will commence at 11.30. a.m. and will feature live performances of four songs from the album - some by the artists who perform the songs on the album and others by West End stars standing in for artists unable to attend due to other work commitments.

Jessie Buckley ("A Little Night Music" & BBC's "I'd Do Anything" ) will sing "I Will Be There";

Ashleigh Gray ("Wicked", "Taboo") & Simon Thomas ("Legally Blonde", "Marguerite") will sing "Just One Look";

Stuart Matthew Price ("Parade", "The Rocky Horror Show") will sing "My Heart Beats In My Song";

and Stephanie Fearon ("Smokey Joe's Café" & BBC's "Over The Rainbow") will join Tim Prottey-Jones to perform the duet "Time".

"Wicked" star Louise Dearman will attend for the CD signing only.

Read more: http://westend.broadwayworld.com/article/Buckley_Gray_Dearman_Et_Al_Turn_Out_For_Performance_of_MORE_WITH_EVERY_LINE_THE_MUSIC_OF_TIM_PROTTEYJONES_at_Dress_Circle_on_February_12_20110205#ixzz1Ddf23ary

Valentines Cabaret

2011-02-05T18:33:00.004Z

Jessie's next appearance will be on February 14th at London's Greenwich Theatre.

Tickets are £17.50, with discounts for concessions and groups.

Click here to book:

GREENWICH THEATRE

Epsom Playhouse Tickets On Offer Now!!

2011-02-02T22:32:00.005Z

Epsom Playhouse are offering a £5 discount to online buyers for Jessie's concert tomorrow night.

Click here to view the offer:

EPSOM PLAYHOUSE OFFER

Don't miss this chance to see Jessie sing if you haven't yet had the opportunity.
Jessie will be on stage tomorrow evening at 8pm.

Jazz Gigs

2011-01-17T22:23:00.007Z

23 .1.11 @ 606 Club.

As from previous posts on 4th and 16th December, the 606 Club Chelsea this Sunday evening sees a welcome return for Jessie, in creative collaboration again with pianist Joe Thompson and bassist Rob Rickenberg.

Check availability and details

606 CLUB

JAZZ.FM GIGS JANUARY 2011

A reminder that Jessie will be appearing at

The Epsom Playhouse Surrey.

3rd February 2011. 8 p.m

The Epsom Playhouse.

Check availability and details

EPSOM PLAYHOUSE

Photography courtesy of http://vincenzophotography.blogspot.com

Greenwich Theatre Gig - Update

2011-01-10T21:36:00.004Z

I have kindly been sent the details of the Greenwich Theatre gig on February 14th, which had rather misleadingly been listed as a 'Rock' gig on London night life website viewlondon.co.uk

Jessie will in fact be performing an exclusive cabaret concert for Valentine's Day. It's a must see for anyone who enjoyed the sell out season of jazz concerts at London's legendary Pizza on the Park series, or indeed for those who were unfortunate enough not to make any of these great shows. And if I know anything about jazz it's that it's perfect for a little bit of romance.

The performance starts at 7:30pm and more details can be found by clicking on the link which will take you to the Greenwich Theatre website.

'More With Every Line' Album Signing and Performance

2011-01-10T14:45:00.005Z

This may be of interest to those who have listened to or purchased Tim Prottey-Jones' musical theatre album More With Every Line on which Jessie performs as a guest vocalist on the track 'I Will Be There'.

On February 12th, vocalists from the album, which includes Wicked pair Rachel Tucker and Louise Dearman, will be performing at the Dress Circle on Monmouth Street in Covent Garden. All details can be found from the poster above. It looks set to be a great day for all you musical theatre lovers out there.

The album More With Every Line can still be previewed and purchased on iTunes as well as bought from the Dress Circle as well as pre-ordered on Amazon.

Full track listing:

1. Bite Your Lip - Jon Boydon & Sabrina Aloueche
2. Fallen - Louise Dearman
3. My Heart Beats In My Song - Daniel Boys
4. Time - Victoria Hamilton-Barritt & Noel Sullivan
5. I Will Be There - Jessie Buckley
6. Butterflies - Tituss Burgess
7. Just One Look - Jon Lee & Julie Atherton
8. See This Day Away - Aaron Lazar
9. I Know Who You Are - Colleen Ballinger
10. Strong Without You - Samantha Barks
11. Rescue Remedy - Drew Sarich
12. More Than You Could Know - Tim Prottey-Jones & Stuart Matthew Price
13. Rain On Me - Rachel Tucker

Greenwich Theatre Gig

2011-01-10T14:36:00.002Z

Jessie has been listed as playing a gig at the Greenwich Theatre on February 14th at 7:30pm. Listed on the 'Whats On' section of London guide website viewlondon.co.uk it says the genre of the gig is 'Rock' which is intriguing.

If any more information comes to light you can catch it here.

Yet Another Review

2011-01-10T14:28:00.002Z

Review's are pouring in regarding the recent concerts that went under the tour name 'The Sound of Musicals' in which Jessie seemed to be the stand-out performer. Here is a review from Performing Arts website 'In The Spotlight'.

The Sound of Musicals

Symphony Hall

****

Guest singer Jessie Buckley celebrated her 21st birthday at this Wednesday night concert and proved she is really coming of age as an entertainer.

She delivered a range of songs from a string of great musicals with aplomb, showing how she has blossomed on the professional stage since finishing as runner up in the BBC TV show I'd Do Anything.

On a couple of occasions Jessie seemed to be overtaken by emotion as her right hand, holding the microphone, visibly trembled, perhaps understandably in As Long as He Needs me, from Oliver.

There was also a bit of a fashion blip with her short skirt at the start of the second half, but she soon changed into a more flattering crimson full-length gown when she sang, with great feeling, As If We Never Said Goodbye, from Sunset Boulevard.

Another Raymond Gubbay concert delighted a packed audience, and there were outstanding contributions from Deborah Myers, James Graeme and Tim Howar (Howar), the latter enjoying an amusing moment when conductor David Shrubsole, making the introductions, momentarily forgot his name!

An excellent performance, too, from the London Concert Orchestra who sparkled in the programme of songs from more than 20 musicals. What a night!

Paul Marston

The review can be found online here

Bridgewater Hall Review

2011-01-06T00:29:00.002Z

Lindsey Williams went along to the Manchester leg of the recent concert tour and was kind enough to email in her own review of the concert, so here it is:

"Sunday January 2^nd was a very fortunate day for me, along with the other 1874 people occupying the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

The venue was pretty much full, everyone eager to see the gifted Jessie Buckley do what she does best, alongside Deborah Myers, James Graeme and Tim Howar, who were all fantastic.

The reception from the crowd was warm and for me the continuous clapping symbolised the rapid pace at which my heart was beating. I was ready to see Jessie perform, something I had been waiting for since I’d Do Anything back in 2008.

My anticipation and expectation wasn't let down. All four vocalists, supported by the astounding orchestra, gave an incredible performance.

The highlight for me was Jessie’s remarkable interpretation of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, in which tears of sincere emotion rolled down her cheeks, something echoed by many members of the audience too!

After a quick interval, the mood was soon lightened with some great interpretations, including ‘Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better’, from Annie Get Your Gun, in which Jessie and duet partner James Graeme were phenomenal.

The concert finished with a mini Abba tribute, with Jessie’s enthusiasm getting the entire audience on their feet which kept them both involved and entertained.

Jessie’s raw talents, which should have won her the title of Nancy back in 2008, shone significantly.

The strangely advantageous and overall highlight of the night was seeing how much Jessie had grown since 2008 not only as a person, but in vocal ability and stage presence.

Jessie was kind enough to sign my photo of her after the show, which portrays her enthusiasm and kindness for every one of her fans out there.

She really is a world class star!"

Thanks Lindsey - great review!

A Happy New Year to All

2011-01-04T12:35:00.002Z

Despite the bells of Big Ben chiming to signify midnight, a new year and a new decade 4 days ago now, New Year wishes can be extended long into a perennially bleak January to remind us that there is much to look forward to. I'd like to take the chance to wish all of you who read the blog, contribute, comment and keep notching up the visitor counter (!), wherever you are in the world, a very Happy New Year. May it bring everything you wish for!

The Herald Reviews 'The Sound of Musicals' at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall

2011-01-04T12:24:00.003Z

On 30th December, Jessie continued her mini concert tour around the UK with an evening of music at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. The review by Alison Kerr at The Herald couldn't have been more glowing.

"Thursday’s celebration of music from the musicals may not have been the first of this sort of concert to be staged in Glasgow over the festive season, but it was by far the best and the classiest.
No smarmy introductions and lovey patter; this was all about the songs – and the elegant performances by a quartet of well-known singers. Deborah Myers, James Graeme and Tim Howar have all brought this show to Glasgow before, but this time they had a not-so secret weapon in the form of Jessie Buckley, the runner-up in I’d Do Anything, the 2008 BBC TV show in which the voting public chose a Nancy for the new West End production of Oliver!
Buckley, who has just turned 21, was Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s favourite for the role – and, based on her show-stopping interpretation of As Long As He Needs Me, she would make a great Nancy. Imagine Judy Garland playing Nancy – with gutsiness, raw emotion and vulnerability – and you get the picture.
That said, she demonstrated versatility in the range of songs she performed, suggesting she could turn her hand to any leading character, from Maria in The Sound of Music to the jazzier Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. Her performances were characterised by incredible energy and an electrifying presence; Maybe This Time from Cabaret (a song she had some coaching on – from Liza Minnelli, no less) and the gorgeous As If We Never Said Goodbye (from Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard) pinned the punters to their seats – as did a powerful I Dreamed a Dream which managed to banish all thoughts of a certain Susan Boyle."
Star rating: ****

The review can be accessed directly via The Herald website here.

A Message from Jessie

2010-12-29T13:32:00.005Z

2010 has been a fantastic, some may even say seminal, year for Jessie and as a result she would like to thank you all for your unrelenting support:

I want to say a huge thank you to all my followers for being so supportive of me throughout the whole year and also an apology to those who were at the Barbican yesterday that I didn't get a chance to thank you in person.

As always your belief and support means the absolute world and I wouldn't be on this amazing journey without that belief.

I hope you all have a very bubbly and happy new year.

So much love,

Jess

Many Happy Returns at The Barbican

2010-12-29T13:17:00.002Z

Jessie celebrated her 21^st birthday yesterday at the Barbican where she was appearing in the first of a short national tour of ‘The Sound of Musicals’ concerts.

A full house of delighted concert-goers sang Happy Birthday to You accompanied by her fellow guest singers Deborah Myers, James Graeme and Tim Howar along with the superb London Concert Orchestra conducted on this occasion by David Shrubsole.

They had been treated to an eclectic selection of show-stopping songs from many of the finest musicals ever written. Particular highlights for me were Jessie’s superb interpretations of I Dreamed a Dream (Les Miserables), Don’t Rain On My Parade (Funny Girl), Maybe This Time (Cabaret), The Trolley Song (Meet me in St Louis) and – how it all started, really – As Long As He Needs Me (Oliver!).

I have had the privilege of seeing Jessie perform in all manner of venues over the past few but fast-moving years: at the Menier Chocolate Factory and the Garrick in A Little Night Music, of course; at the intimate Lauderdale House in Highgate and the slightly bigger Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead; and at the Royal Festival Hall in the Battle of Britain Concert on 11 September 2010, the Royal Albert Hall, most recently in the BT Carol Concert on 14 December 2010 and now, the Barbican.

However humble or prestigious the event, Jessie’s consistently brilliant talent and obvious love of her art shines through and leaves her spellbound audience with the kind of warm glow that surely lives in the memory for all time.

And if Jessie ever needed convincing of the depth of affection felt for her by so many of us, she only has to think back to the heartfelt spontaneity with which that Barbican audience burst into song yesterday. The love was palpable.

By Keith Fitzgerald

Happy 21st!!!

2010-12-28T20:14:00.000Z

Many happy returns of the day Jessie on your 21st Birthday and wishing you every success for this year. Hope you have had a wonderful day including virtually a Barbican sell out today!

Notably 21 years ago today ...
The Christmas record in the uk & Ireland on 28.12.89 was Bob Geldofs second Band Aid 11 venture with an updated version of Do they Know it's Christmas!

Enjoy your celebrations Jessie.

23.1.11@606

2010-12-16T20:44:00.001Z

Jessie once expressed that singing certain songs could sometimes feel so right, that they could, ‘taste perfect’. Well, just maybe it’s a similar scenario with some venues, where a ‘perfect fit’ is found too. The 606 Club Chelsea is a basement gem, like a little Bohemian ‘dug out’. When this haven is packed to absolute capacity and fused together with Jessie’s voice, as it was back in August, the combination forms an energy and unforgettable atmosphere that ‘just works’.

Jessie returns in the New Year, to the reputed ‘best Jazz club in Europe’ and for some the best worldwide. It’s real, chilled and great value-go and check out the 606. http://www.606club.co.uk/

Jessie will be performing on 23rd January 2011.

Jessie Stars As Guest Vocalist On 'More With Every Line'

2010-12-14T00:39:00.002Z

So, a while back I remember hearing about Jessie recording a track with Tim Prottey-Jones, a young musician and composer. This fact had, under honest admission, slipped my mind and it wasn't until I read a rather excited tweet by Rachel Tucker, who also guest stars as a vocalist on More With Every Line, telling fans that they could purchase her song and indeed the rest of the album on iTunes that I suddenly remembered what I'd heard many months ago.

A quick search on iTunes later I found the album; a cornucopia of musical theatre songs drawn from two new musicals Tim is developing - After The Turn and Once Bitten.

Jessie sings on a lovely track called 'I Will Be There' and is among esteemed performers from the musical theatre world, including Sabrina Aloueche, Julie Atherton and Daniel Boys thus making Tim Prottey-Jones' album a must have for all musical theatre lovers.

You can download Jessie's track 'I Will Be There' now on iTunes for just £0.79.

'Join My Band' Premiere

2010-12-13T21:48:00.007Z

This weekend will see the long awaited premiere of short film 'Join My Band' in which Jessie stars.

There are still places on the guestlist for this private and one-off screening for those who would like to attend on Saturday 18th December. To gain your place at what is set to be a fantastic and exclusive event, all you have to do is become a benefactor of the film by donating via this link.

The premiere will be taking place at 11.15am at BFI Southbank's NFT1 Theatre, London.

It would doubtless be great for as many supporters of Jessie's as possible to attend. As the film will be doing the film festival rounds for the next year or so this will be a unique opportunity to see it before it hopefully hits the big screen.

To give you a taste of what the film is about, these photographs should give you a great idea.

Photographs copyright of Tim Walker @ electricphotography.

If you are attending the premiere do let us know and we would love to hear your thoughts on the film!

Winter 2010/11 Gig Updates

2010-12-04T14:14:00.007Z

The Pheasantry, Kings Road London, on November 12th played host to Jessie’s London Jazz Festival debut. The exceptional Paul Moylan who accompanied on the piano and later bass, underpinned another assured and totally instinctive performance. Their creative collaboration ranged from ‘Lullaby of Birdland’, ‘Blue Skies’, What Will I do?, ‘Sweet Georgia Brown,’ ‘The Boy next Door,’ ‘Black Coffee,’ and the sublime ‘At last’, to name a few.

With more gigs to come and opportunities to see her unique performances,see the updated listings below where there are changes in pricing and format from previous posts.

Most notable are the gigs next Saturday on 11th December in Dean Street, Soho, where Jessie will be backed by Richard Niles and his band - Nigel Hitchcock (Alto & Soprano Sax), Robbie Robson (Trumpet), Steve Hamilton (Piano/Keys), Janek Gwizdala (Electric Bass) and Jasper Morrissey (Drums). Arrangements have been compiled specifically for this performance. Not to be missed.

The Royal Albert Hall runs a series of late night jazz sets with Jessie appearing at the Elgar Room on 24th February 2011 at 10pm.

11th December.
PIZZA EXPRESS, DEAN STREET, SOHO, LONDON
6:00pm .£20.00
Show Time 7:30pm - 9:00pm / Doors Open 6:00pm

10:00pm.£20.00
Show Time 10:30pm – 12 Midnight / Doors Open 10:00pm
Pizza Express Live website.

12th December. 11 a.m.
St. Mary in the Castle Arts Centre,
Pelham Place, Hastings.
Tel. 01424-442601.

14th December. 7.30pm (very few tickets available)
The Royal Albert Hall. London
BT Christmas concert of songs and carols.

Click here for more details.

28 December. 3.00pm
Barbican Hall, London.
Click here for more details.

29 December. 7.30pm
The Symphony Hall, Birmingham.
Click here for more details.

30 December. 7.30pm
Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow.
Click here for more details.

2 January 2011. 7.30pm
The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.
Click here for more details.

3rd February 2011. 8 p.m
The Epsom Playhouse. Epsom
 www.epsomplayhouse.co.uk

14th February 2011. Time t.b.c
Valentine’s Day Concert.
The Greenwich Theatre. London
www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk

24th February 2011. 10:00 p.m
Late Night Jazz. £15.00
The Elgar Room, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore.
Click here for more details.

Jessie at London Jazz Festival this Friday!

2010-11-09T10:09:00.005Z

Jessie and Jo will be taking to the stage on Friday in their debut at the London Jazz Festival (see details below).

The former Camden Jazz Week, established in the 1970’s, evolved through the years into London’s largest city-wide music festival, as well as an international Jazz fixture. It's notable that this festival has hosted debut concerts by artists such as the Jools Holland Rhythm and Blues Orchestra at the Hackney Empire.
An evening not to be missed!

Fri-12-Nov (7:00pm):
London Jazz Festival: The Pheasantry, Kings Road

Show Time 8:30pm / Doors Open 7:00pm

Part of the London Jazz Festival in association with BBC Radio 3.

BOOKING AVAILABLE Book online now:

CLICK HERE TO BOOK TICKETS

More details on the London Jazz Festival Here:

LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL HISTORY

Kings Place What's On Guide

2010-11-01T00:21:00.001Z

Kings%20Place%20What's%20On%20Guide%20-%20Sep-Dec%202010

High Praise

2010-10-29T01:05:00.003+01:00

The top three most inspiring cabaret performances you’ve attended so far?

‘…This is tricky, because there have been many… most recently – and perhaps this will be a surprising choice for anyone who thinks you need to have lived a little to sing worldly lyrics convincingly – I was astonished by a young British singer, Jessie Buckley, at the much lamented Pizza on the Park in March this year. Buckley was a runner up in the television talent show I’d Do Anything, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s search for a Nancy to star in his West End production of Oliver! I’m not a fan of the format and although I’d subsequently enjoyed her performance as Anne in the revival of A Little Night Music, I was rather sceptical that at 20, a West End ingénue could bring much to cabaret, which I think is, at its best, a very adult form of entertainment. What I saw was an immensely talented, assured artist with an instinctive command of the room. She brought extraordinary maturity to “The Man That Got Away” and a host of other standards, with great flair and phrasing. It was a very moving evening. I think she can be a serious star if all goes well, but I hope she never gets too big to work her magic in smaller rooms!’

Piers Ford. Cited . http://www.cabaretconfessional.com/

Pigalle Club -- Important Update!

2010-10-27T11:04:00.000+01:00

Pigalle Club Tomorrow-important update!

The gig on 28th October, unfortunately is now cancelled.Check with the venue for refunds on advance ticket sales and see gig list below for many more opportunities to hear Jessie sing.

Pigalle Preview

2010-10-27T08:48:00.002+01:00

Preview of Jessie Buckley at Pigalle, Thursday 28th October, by Harold Sanditen

Jessie Buckley (photo: Vincenzo) has one of those amazing voices you hear all too rarely. Think a young Judy Garland. A voice that stops you in your tracks, that somehow gets inside you, that makes you understand the emotion of the song. These are remarkable traits for a well-established singer, but for a 20 year old, almost unheard of.

I first heard Jessie Buckley last March. In one of the most acoustically unfriendly rooms in London, she had the ability to get drunken, restless attendees to pay attention. Her solo show at Pizza on the Park convinced me that the 20 year-old is someone very, very special. She was "discovered" on the TV Show "I’d Do Anything" where she came in second. Jessie told me she always wanted to go to drama school, because she wants "to have a long and varied career" and sees drama school as "a symbiosis between singing and acting. Last year she applied to drama schools, was accepted at RADA, and began studies there last month.

When we spoke, she’d just come in from the zoo, where she’d been studying squirrel monkeys, the animal of the week that she would have to "be" in class - her previous weeks' conquests having been the otter and the meerkat!

She loves education, but interestingly, has had very little vocal training, although she was raised in a musical family – her Mum was a harpist and singer.She’s smart, she’s pretty, she’s perky, she’s sexy, she does a mean squirrel monkey, she can sing the socks off just about anyone around. She’s also a must see/must hear. Discover Jessie Buckley now, and you can say you knew her when.

Jessie will be at the Pigalle Club on Thursday 28th October. Doors open at 7pm for supper, with the show at 9.

http://londonjazz.blogspot.com/2010/10/preview-jessie-buckley-at-pigalle.html

Future Gig Dates Chronology

2010-10-17T20:52:00.006+01:00

Photography http://vincenzophotography.blogspot.com/2010/05/jessie-buckley-pizza-on-park-by.html

Autumn/Winter Gigs.

A chronology and reminder of gigs,some previously posted.

With half term and reading weeks already upon us and a Christmas ‘holiday season’ (for some) looming, there are options to see Jessie sing at a range of venues country wide, between now and the new year -- At Last.

Championed by Samuel Joseph http://www.samuel-joseph.com/ at the start of this year, the continuing performance and jazz sets offer the chance to witness the craft and clarity of Jessie and Joe’s imaginative response to an instinctive selection of songs.

Listings include a London debut performance next week at the Pigalle Club Piccadilly and Jessie making her mark in her debut at the London Jazz Festival later in November at The Pheasantry, Kings Road. The London Jazz Festival, now 17 years old, has developed as a main international jazz event, playing host to acts and introducing ‘fresh enthusiasm into major concert halls.’

The Albert Hall welcomes Jessie back once more in December, for a Christmas concert of songs and carols -- however tickets are scarce, so be swift.

Check with individual venues for prices (there is a good range) concessions, availability and confirmation of details before booking.

28th October. 9 p.m
The Pigalle Club, Piccadilly. London
http://www.allgigs.co.uk/view/event/338090/Jessie_Buckley_The_Pigalle_Club_London_28_October_2010.html

View press relase and details here http://mfi.re/?acxcbxkhjxdwr77

29 October. 7.30 pm
Norwich Playhouse.
http://www.norwich-playhouse.org.uk/viewshowdetail.php?id=628

12 November. 8.30pm. Tickets £25
‘London Jazz Festival’
The Pheasantry Kings Road.London
http://www.pizzaexpresslive.com/popBook.aspx?showId=ec5126af-302a-41ef-8180-773d181a0561&showDateId=4208

11th December. 7:30pm and 10.30pm
Jazz Club Dean St Soho.London
Tickets £25 for each performance.
http://www.pizzaexpresslive.com/popBook.aspx?showId=ec5126af-302a-41ef-8180-773d181a0561&showDateId=4208

12th December. 11 a.m.
St. Mary in the Castle Arts Centre,
Pelham Place, Hastings.
Tel. 01424-442601.

14th December. 7.30pm
The Royal Albert Hall.London
BT Christmas concert of songs and carols. http://www.raymondgubbay.co.uk/whats...istmas-concert

28 December. 3.00pm
Barbican Hall, London.
http://www.raymondgubbay.co.uk/whats...nd-of-musicals

29 December. 7.30pm
The Symphony Hall, Birmingham.
http://www.raymondgubbay.co.uk/whats...nd-of-musicals

30 December. 7.30pm
Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow.
http://www.glasgowconcerthalls.com/whatson/event/37186-Raymond-Gubbay-Christmas-Festival-The-Sound-of-the-Musicals

2 January 2011. 7.30pm
The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.
http://www.raymondgubbay.co.uk/whats...nd-of-musicals

3 Februrary 2011. 8 p.m
 The Epsom Playhouse. Epsom
 www.epsomplayhouse.co.uk

February 14 th 2011.
Valentine’s Day Concert.
The Greenwich Theatre. London
  www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk

Pigalle Club Appearance

2010-10-12T16:08:00.003+01:00

Jessie will be appearing at London's Pigalle Club on Thursday 28th October.

Doors open at 6.30pm and Jessie will be on stage at 9pm.

Tickets are priced at £10 and can be purchased here:

PIGALLE CLUB TICKETS

December Jazz Breakfast Date

2010-10-11T23:50:00.002+01:00

On Sunday December 12th 2010 Jessie will perform at the famous Jazz Breakfast series in Hastings, East Sussex.

This will take place at St. Mary in the Castle Arts Centre, Pelham Place, Hastings at 11a.m. The centre is based in a 175 year old church which has been beautifully restored as a major performance venue, with some of the best acoustics on the South Coast.

Tickets for the concert are £8 each, including coffee and mince pie. Telephone 01424-442601 for more information.

Note also additional dates for the Christmas Festival, added to the post below.

Jessie's Christmas

2010-09-27T08:38:00.003+01:00

Jessie will be appearing at 'The Sound of the Musicals' Christmas Festival on the following dates:

28 December - Barbican Hall, London

29 December - Symphony Hall, Birmingham

30 December - Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow

2 January - The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

'Showstopping songs from the greatest Broadway and West End musicals including My Fair Lady, Oliver, West Side Story, The Lion King, The Sound of Music, Les Miserables, Mamma Mia and many more!

With special guest TV star Jessie Buckley from BBC’s I’d Do Anything, and glittering stars from London’s West End Deborah Myers, James Graeme and Tim Howar.'

Full details including ticket prices here:

CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL

Tickets still available for Kings Place this Saturday

2010-09-24T17:34:00.005+01:00

There are still a few tickets remaining for Jessie's Jazz performance at The Base/Kings Place, York Way, London tomorrow night (Saturday 25th).

This highly recommended show, with Joe Thompson on piano, features Jessie's unique interpretations of material from the Great American Songbook.

The performance begins at 8pm and tickets are an absolute bargain at £9.50.

Click on the link below to book tickets -- please note that online booking will close 90 minutes before the performance begins.

BOOK TICKETS HERE

Happy Birthday Katie!

2010-09-18T21:14:00.000+01:00

Happy 21st Katie!!!!

BBC Northampton Radio Interview

2010-08-20T15:35:00.002+01:00

Jessie talks with presenter Bernie Keith about this evening's gig showcasing her Great American Songbook set at the Stables near Milton Keynes.

Listen in from 1:40.00

BBC Northampton Radio Interview, 18th August 2010

If you're going to see Jessie play the Stables tonight, get in touch and let us know your thoughts.

Gig Calender

2010-08-08T20:41:00.004+01:00

The Stables Theatre, Stockwell Lane, Wavendon, Milton Keynes MK17 8LU

Jessie Buckley - Friday 20 Aug - 8.00 pm
Stunning Irish born vocalist Jessie Buckley who rose to warm public attention with her on BBC1's I'd Do Anything and went on to star in A Little Night Music in the West End presents her acclaimed Great American Songbook project, expertly backed by pianist Joe Thompson (the best kept secret in British jazz according to The Observer’s Dave Gelly) and bassist Rob Rickenberg.

“I have never seen a cabaret debut as accomplished, daring and confident as that made by Jessie Buckley, still only 20 years old.” The Stage.

http://www.stables.org/Whats_on/Event/Jessie_Buckley

The Pheasantry, 152 Kings Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4UT

Jessie Buckley - Saturday 21 August - Show Time 8.30 pm / Doors Open 7.00 pm

Fresh and spontaneous, one of the bright young vocalist's many talents is to make you believe you are hearing a well worn standard for the very first time. Love is the theme, and with the energetic Joe Thompson on piano (“one of the best kept secrets in British jazz” – The Observer) we are guaranteed an evening of sweet surprises.

http://www.pizzaexpresslive.com/popList.aspx?showId=86b22ca7-b660-478e-973d-0cefeeb4b294&showDateId=4015

The Rosemary Branch Theatre, 2 Shepperton Road, London, N1 3DT

Jessie Buckley - Saturday 4 September - 7.30 pm

Following a sold out London season, BBC1’s I'd Do Anything runner-up and A Little Night Music (West End) star Jessie Buckley will be at The Rosemary Branch Theatre with her stunning new show featuring her unique interpretations of material from the Great American Songbook.

Irish born Jessie Buckley has been praised as one of the brightest rising stars on the musical theatre scene. After gaining warm national recognition through her television appearances she went on to portray the vocally challenging role of Anne Egerman in A Little Night Music directed by the legendary Trevor Nunn, firstly at the prestigious Menier Chocolate Factory and then on the West End. For this role she was deservedly nominated for the whatsonstage.com award for ‘Best Supporting Actress’. Her Valentine’s Week cabaret debut at London’s leading supper club Pizza on the Park sold out and earned her more plaudits.

http://www.rosemarybranch.co.uk/-jessie-buckley/

Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX

Battle of Britain Remembered in Music - Saturday 11 September 2010 - 7.30 pm

Leslie Phillips presenter
Jessie Buckley special guest star
Paul Sutton RAF trumpeter
Chris Marques dancer
Jaclyn Spencer dancer
London Concert Orchestra
Jae Alexander conductor

Veteran star of TV, stage and screen, Leslie Phillips presents a programme of wartime hits to commemorate this defining moment in British history. London Concert Orchestra and a superb line-up of artists - including special guest star and 'Nancy favourite' Jessie Buckley, world champion dancers Chris Marques and Jaclyn Spencer and RAF trumpeter Paul Sutton - help you get 'in the mood' with a nostalgic blend of swing hits and wartime favourites.

http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/music/classical/tickets/battle-of-britain-53486

Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG

Jessie Buckley - Saturday 25 September - 8.00 pm

Fresh and spontaneous jazz and West End star Jessie Buckley appears with her stunning new show featuring her unique interpretations of material from the Great American Songbook.

http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/music/the-base-/jessie-buckley

Norwich Playhouse, 42 - 58 St. George's Street, Norwich NR3 1AB

Jessie Buckley in Concert - Friday 29 October - 7.30 pm

Following a sold out London season, BBC1's I’d Do Anything runner up and A Little Night Music star Jessie Buckley presents her stunning new show featuring her unique interpretations of material from the Great American Songbook.

Irish born Jessie has been praised as one of the brightest rising stars on the musical theatre scene. After gaining warm national recognition through her television appearances she went on to portray the vocally challenging role of Anne Egerman in A Little Night Music directed by the legendary Trevor Nunn, firstly at the prestigious Menier Chocolate Factory and then on the West End. For this role she was deservedly nominated for the whatsonstage.com award for Best Supporting Actress.

“I have never seen a cabaret debut as accomplished, daring and confident before as that made by Jessie Buckley, still only 20 years old” The Stage

http://www.norwich-playhouse.org.uk/viewshowdetail.php?id=628

Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP

The BT Christmas Concert - Tuesday 14 December - 7.30 pm

Fiona Bruce hosts a wonderful assortment of family favourites and festive delights.

Jessie Buckley guest soloist
Anthony Inglis conductor
City of London Choir
Tiffin Children's Chorus
The Brass Ensemble of The Band of the Scots Guards
The BT Melodians Steel Orchestra
London Concert Orchestra

http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/christmas/bt-christmas-concert/default.aspx

Myers Studio @ The Epsom Playhouse, Ashley Avenue, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5AL
Jessie Buckley in Concert - Thursday 3 February - 8.00 pm

Star of BBC1's ‘I’D DO ANYTHING’ and A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

Following a sold out London season Samuel Joseph announces that BBC1’s I’D DO ANYTHING runner up and A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (West End) star Jessie Buckley will be on tour in 2010/2011 with her stunning new show featuring her unique interpretations of material from the Great American Songbook.

Irish born Jessie Buckley has been praised as one of the brightest rising stars on the musical theatre scene. After gaining warm national recognition through her television appearances she went on to portray the vocally challenging role of Anne Egerman in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC directed by the legendary Trevor Nunn, firstly at the prestigious Menier Chocolate Factory and then on the West End. For this role she was deservedly nominated for the whatsonstage.com award for ‘Best Supporting Actress’.

Her Valentine’s Week cabaret debut at London’s leading supper club Pizza on the Park sold out and earned her more plaudits. ‘I have never seen a cabaret debut as accomplished, daring and confident before as that made by Jessie Buckley, still only 20 years old’ Mark Shenton – The Stage.

http://www.epsomplayhouse.co.uk/

Many thanks go to Keith Fitzgerald for providing this fantastically detailed list.

Jazzy Jessie Video -- Isn't She Lovely?

2010-07-05T20:37:00.001+01:00

Wilton's Review by Mark Shenton

2010-07-03T22:09:00.003+01:00

I’ve been a long-time champion of cabaret, with the proudest of my boasts being having helped to originate the Divas at the Donmar season. So I have not only banged the drum for it in print but I’ve also helped to make it actually happen, and I’d do anything to see it thrive (even paint my face bright blue).

But although cabaret is all about celebrating individuality, I can’t do it alone; and it’s wonderful when others pick up the cabaret Olympic torch. Now that Pizza on the Park has finally shut its doors, alas, there’s a vacuum; and the good news is that I am already hearing good things about the Pheasantry in the King’s Road, where young producer Samuel Joseph is banging the cabaret drum (or at least the ivories).

And last night I went to the launch of yet another initiative, Live at Wilton’s, which brings cabaret full-circle in London to where it arguably all began.

According to the publicity for the season, “It is generally assumed that the art of cabaret started in Paris at Le Chat Noir in 1881. In fact, Wilton’s Music Hall opened its doors 23 years earlier and welcomed in acts from not only the theatres of London but visiting international artists who would arrive straight from the docks and perform their shows.”

Wilton’s, of course, is a place steeped in history - it’s now 150 years old - and is the perfect place for cabaret now: quirky, atmospheric, full of ghosts and echoes of the past, and great acoustics. And last night’s gala “taster” bill of cabaret put it to the test, which it passed with flying colours.

The evening opened with one of London’s oldest cabaret exponents, Sian Phillips, who was promptly followed by one of its youngest, Jessie Buckley. Phillips made a lovely point about celebrating old buildings, sometimes ones that aren’t even there, by telling us of how when she’s in New York, she likes to stand outside the Cort Theatre (where she once played Marlene) on West 48th Street and bow to a now-vanished theatre that was across the street but is now a car park, where Piaf and Maurice Chevalier once appeared. She also told us about once going to the Olympia in Paris - another Piaf theatre - to see Jacques Brel perform. Yet the most surprising thing she said last night was that this was the first time she’d been to Wilton’s. (I know she can’t quite remember it being built, but it’s been back in theatrical use for over a decade now….)

Buckley, who is just 20, made an even more eloquent point when she followed Phillips and said, “I’m not going to say much, because this building has so much to say”. Another younger performer Gwyneth Herbert - whose name I had previously heard, and somehow made me think she’d be much older since both are old-time names, but whose voice I had never heard - echoed the sentiment, saying, “the walls are literally peeling with stories.”

And that’s one of the singular pleasures of cabaret: it’s the most direct, expressive and economical way of telling stories I know. In the space of a single song, a performer can take you through an entire narrative and/or emotional arc. Nothing distils this more fiercely or directly. And to watch the fervour and commitment of long-time Wilton’s patron Marc Almond appearing last night was to experience this first-hand, too.

Almond has spent a lifetime distilling a performance style that is urgent and direct and turned him into a distinctly theatrical animal. The divine Jessie Buckley, on the other hand, has arrived in this hallowed cabaret place on a fast-track, after being runner-up in the Oliver! reality TV search in which the public voted their choice to play Nancy in the current London production.

When I reviewed Buckley earlier this year at Pizza on the Park in the pages of The Stage, I wrote here, “Jessie Buckley may have been the personal choice of judges Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cameron Mackintosh and Barry Humphries to win the reality TV contest I’d Do Anything to play the role of Nancy in Oliver!, but the public chose the more buxom, mature Jodie Prenger over the slight, charming Irish lass, then still a teenager. But a year and a half later, and with a strong supporting West End appearance as the forever-virginal Anne Egerman in A Little Night Music under her belt, the now still only 20-year-old Buckley is showing her growing maturity in a startlingly accomplished and confident cabaret debut.”

And it is an ongoing joy now to watch the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis as she has now done and flying so beautifully. It is, I’m sure, partly thanks to the mentoring of her fine pianist Joe Thompson that she has come so far, so fast; working with a musician of such flair and craft can only rub off on you.

Meanwhile, I also coincidentally saw Prenger, too, yesterday, leading the cast of the new touring version of Monty Python’s Spamalot as the Lady of the Lake in a matinee at Bromley’s Churchill Theatre; and the night before I also saw Oliver! again, now with Kerry Ellis taking over as Nancy, so I’ve had a full diet of would-be, recent and current Nancy’s!

Spamalot has been scaled-down physically, but the laughs are scaled-up in Christopher Luscombe’s clever production - and there’s an entirely new number for “You Won’t Succeed in Showbiz”, replacing the one about not succeeding unless you have Jews with one about needing named stars, which includes a quip about making one in the absence of securing a real one with The Sound of Music. That’s, of course, been the Prenger tale, too; but together with Connie Fisher and Jessie Buckley, they have each now earned their places at the showbiz table.

But there’s also a salutary lesson to be learnt about not overstaying your welcome at that table, too. At Wednesday night’s performance of Oliver!, the 50th anniversary of the show’s original West End premiere at what was then the New Theatre (now the Noel Coward), the original Fagin Ron Moody took to the stage for a curtain call speech, in which he paid tribute to the late Lionel Bart (whose portrait was flown in over the stage) and producer Cameron Mackintosh (absent on Wednesday night, but who has kept the show alive, he said). He could have said it in five minutes; instead, he took nearly 30, with a rambling, incoherent mismatch of words in which he followed a pre-prepared written speech, but kept deviating from it and then not being able to find his way back to where he was and repeating a bit he’d already said several times. Then he’d go off on another tangent - sometimes spoken, sometimes sung - and it was altogether excruciating and embarrassing. But then there’s past form for this: Mr Moody did a solo show at the Shaw Theatre a few years ago that was beyond terrible. Sometimes it is time to retire gracefully.

Photos courtesy of Vincenzo Photography:

http://vincenzophotography.blogspot.com/2010/05/jessie-buckley-pizza-on-park-by.html

Jessie to open The Pheasantry in West London: UPDATE

2010-06-12T15:31:00.002+01:00

Jessie was booked to open new venue The Pheasantry tomorrow (Sunday 13th June) but this opening date has now been moved back to Saturday 26th June.

Samuel Joseph Presents...at Kings Place

2010-06-08T17:59:00.002+01:00

September brings more fresh and spontaneous jazz courtesy of Jessie as appears with her stunning new show featuring her unique interpretations of material from the Great American Songbook.

If you are yet to catch this wonderful set, the show on the 25th September at Kings Place is highly recommended.

Details are as follows:

Tickets:

Premium Seats - £29.50. £24.50, £19.50, 15.50, £13.50. Saver Seats - £9.50

Venue:

Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG

Jessie to open The Pheasantry in West London

2010-05-28T23:58:00.002+01:00

Taken from The Stage

A new cabaret venue will be launching on London’s King’s Road following the closure of Pizza on the Park.

The Pheasantry on the King’s Road in south west London will host Live At The Pheasantry, a cabaret season which will feature acts previously booked at Pizza on the Park. Organisers of the event hope that it will become a permanent fixture.

The move comes in response to the impending closure of Pizza on the Park on June 18, after almost 30 years as a jazz and cabaret venue. The owners of the building will turn the venue into a boutique hotel, after planning permission was approved in 2007.

The Pheasantry’s season will commence on June 13 with performances by Jessie Buckley, who is best known for her appearance on BBC1’s I’d Do Anything and who previously performed at Pizza on the Park.

Speaking to The Stage, she said: “I’m really excited. It’s such a pity that Pizza on the Park is closing but it’s really exciting to have this new venue. It’s an opportunity for artists to have a new stage.”

The new location will have a capacity of 75, compared to the 100-seat capacity of Pizza on the Park, but has a rich heritage, having previously hosted performers such as Lou Reed, Queen and Hawkwind.

Samuel Joseph, who is producing the season, said: “The Pheasantry was an integral part of the 1960’s Kings Road scene and has a colourful history as a music venue and I’m delighted to be developing its potential as a cabaret space.”

The new season will also include a new format for Sunday performances, which will aim to showcase and develop new acts.

A Night of 1,000 Voices

2010-05-28T23:42:00.003+01:00

The Royal Albert Hall is an extraordinary landmark, ingenious in structure, vast, yet an intimate and welcoming venue. A Night of 1,000 Voices, comprising of choruses from Sing Live UK & USA, together with the City of London Philharmonic, plus solo guests, brought about a unique atmosphere and unity that only a charity concert of this caliber can produce. It was encouraging to know funds this year were raised towards the only UK charity exclusively dedicated to research into treatments and cures for all blood cancers - Leukemia & Lymphoma Research. I hope the funds raised were very substantial, over the two performances at 4pm and 8pm on Sunday 2^nd May.

The audience were invited to join in song with rousing choruses of thousands, enhanced by incredible acoustics, raising the roof, from the ‘Time Warp,’ ‘We Are The Champions’ with Brian May, to ‘Jerusalem’. In contrast however, the most poignant moments, existed between the beautiful, sparse elegancy of musical spaces created by a voice, a piano, and a cello. Simplicity like this, that works, is hard to do.

Closing the end of the first act were three songs from the wonderful Evita, presented non-chronologically. Carefully poised in between the vibrant celebration of ‘Buenos Aires’ and ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina,’ was the Oscar winning song, ‘You Must Love Me.’ Written especially for the Evita film, depicting the period of Eva Peron’s deteriorating health, this song was put into context on Sunday, with a natural sensibility, instinctive timing and clarity in the voice of Jessie.

The iconic Eva Peron, first lady, feminist, charity worker, political and spiritual champion, is a complex role in which to immerse. ‘You Must Love Me’ ultimately brings together feelings, fears, and insecurities expressed in two ways, towards her husband and her people of Argentina. Few performers with various ranges of experience, (imho), manage to ‘get under the skin’ of this character and deliver anything creatively distinctive. There was one, who did just that, on Sunday evening, with a performance containing palpable moments when the place was silenced and captured; the role of Evita embraced and believable. No doubt the first of many Royal Albert Hall appearances. Bravo Jessie.

Only one regret, we mislaid our programme in the loo of that lovely little Italian restaurant in South Ken!

Jackie

Jessie attends 'Wicked' Press Night

2010-05-19T13:25:00.002+01:00

Jessie attended the press night at 'Wicked' in the Victoria Apollo last night.

Fellow IDA contestant Rachel Tucker has played Elphaba since March 29th and other new faces in the cast include 'Any Dream Will Do' winner Lee Mead (Fiyero) and Louise Dearman (Glinda).

Other celebrity guests last night included Graham Norton, Denise Van Outen and Gareth Gates.

Article in The Sun

2010-05-18T09:33:00.004+01:00

Under the truly dreadful headline; 'Jessie bucks trend to win film role', The Sun did a short feature yesterday, including this excellent photo of Jessie's startling new image.

The text is as follows:

I'D DO Anything runner-up Jessie Buckley looks in the pink in bright make up and ruffled skirt after landing the lead role in a romantic film.
Jessie, 20, plays a rock chick schoolgirl in the short movie Join My Band.

In it the school geek falls for her and starts a punk band to get her attention.

Irish singer Jessie lost out to Jodie Prenger, 30, two years ago in Andrew Lloyd Webber's BBC search for an actress to play Nancy in his stage remake of Oliver!

But now her career looks set to take off.

Join My Band is partly funded by the public who have been making donations at www.joinmybandthemovie.com.

Upcoming Performances

2010-05-11T13:43:00.003+01:00

The musical collaboration between Jessie and Joe Thompson on piano is as unique as every performance, a totally memorable, innovative chemistry, not to be missed. Often joined by the talent of double bassist Rob Rickenberg and bringing in special guests such as trumpeter Steve Fishwick, these sell out performances also evidence Jessie’s broad repertoire, and exceptional choice of songs from “Black Coffee,” “Hit the Road to Dreamland,” “It’s Magic,” “Summertime,” “Nature Boy,” and ‘At Last’. Preaching to the converted obviously but the performances really surpass any of her contemporaries.

Below are dates in some great venues, with opportunities to see this art form,if you’ve not had the chance yet. Check with individual venues for prices, concessions and confirmation of details before booking.

MAY 15 - NORDEN FARM ARTS CENTRE MAIDENHEAD
(SOLD OUT).
MAY 29 - PIZZA ON THE PARK,KNIGHTSBRIDGE.
JUNE 18 - BULL’S HEAD, BARNES.
JULY 1 - WILTON’S MUSIC HALL.
JULY 31 - DELFONT ROOM, PRINCE OF WALES THEATRE
AUGUST 20 - THE STABLES, WAVENDON.
SEPTEMBER 28 - KINGS PLACE, LONDON.
NOVEMBER (tbc) - NORWICH PLAYHOUSE.

This is posted on behalf of Katie. With a pressing workload at this time of year at University,the words dissertation, library and deadline are becoming synonymous with her name. We wish her the best of luck. I’m very happy to help out and once again many thanks to you too David –this is how to make a timely coalition work!

Jackie.

Jessie to star in film 'Join My Band'

2010-05-01T13:43:00.003+01:00

Amazing news this week as Jessie's career path takes yet another turn!

Jessie is to star in her first film, JOIN MY BAND, with a soundtrack by jazz harpist and singer songwriter Lucinda Belle. Filming starts next month.

Jessie and Lucinda‘s fast growing careers both started out by being talent spotted: Jessie on I'd Do Anything and Lucinda when the TV presenter Fearne Cotton spotted her backing Robbie Williams at the BBC Electric Proms last year, and invited her to perform on her own show. Lucinda is heading for chart success after landing a £1.25 million pound record deal with Universal! And they now come together in their first film.

JOIN MY BAND is a comic boy-meets-girl story, about what happens when opposites collide. Set against a fusion of musical styles, the short film tells the story of nerdy teenager Steve (introducing Max Fowler, performing lead vocals and guitar), who falls in love with the new girl in school, rebellious rock-chic Stella (Jessie Buckley). As she's completely oblivious to his feelings, Steve transforms his image to match hers and forms a punk-rock band with his friends. But it turns out that despite appearances, Stella isn't quite what she seems...

Casting for Stella was proving difficult, as the role called for the actress to be an accomplished classical Harpist - until 20 year old Jessie walked in. She turns out to be a classical musician, her mother is a professional concert harpist, and of course Jessie had been playing the Irish Harp since the age of 7, passing Grade 6 with flying colours - the role could have been written for her!

JOIN MY BAND is written and to be directed by Naomi Wright, an established television director and producer whose work includes: several films for The South Bank Show and the final SBS Awards, plus the ITV series Fearne And - with Fearne Cotton and Peaches Geldof.

Even more amazingly, Naomi is offering everyone the chance to attend the premiere and party, as well as an inclusion on the closing credits and a copy of the finished film. These fantastic incentives are available to anyone prepared to make a small donation towards the making of the film.

£10 will secure your invite to the premiere and party, £25 will also entitle you to a closing credit and £100 or more will secure you a copy of the film as well.

This is an excellent opportunity for those with even the most modest budget to be a part of not only a (hopefully) successful film, but also a major milestone in Jessie's career.

Click on the link below for details on how to make your donation.

JOIN MY BAND DONATIONS CLICK HERE

Major congratulations to Jessie for securing this role!

PS This post is being made by David from Rachel's blog as Katie is extremely busy with uni coursework at the moment. Thank you Katie for trusting me!

2010-04-16T11:32:00.002+01:00

Joe Thompson Trio and Jessie Buckley at Pizza Express Dean Street, 12th April 2010.

Watch Jessie perform "Blue Skies"

All video footage courtesy of Joe Thompson's YouTube channel. To find out more: www.joethompson.net

2010-04-16T11:19:00.002+01:00

Joe Thompson Trio and Jessie Buckley at Pizza Express Dean Street, 12th April 2010.

Watch Jessie perform an emotive take on "More Than You Know"

Live In The Delfont Room

2010-04-15T17:17:00.001+01:00

Once again showing her creed as a fine and up and coming cabaret performer, Jessie will take to the stage this summer as part of a series including Daniel Boys, Rachel Wooding and director of musical Hair live at The Delfont Room.

Continuing her run of evening and supper-club cabaret and jazz performances, Jessie will be performing a one off show as part of a series of late night performances at the Delfont Room at the Prince of Wales Theatre on Saturday 31st July.

What's On Stage announcement and club member offer

"Don’t miss top-notch, late-night cabaret care of West End stars Daniel Boys, Jessie Buckley and Rachel Wooding as well as Hair musical director Richard Beadle, previewing excerpts from his brand new musical – all in the intimate surroundings of the Delfont Room at the West End’s Prince of Wales Theatre, home of our Whatsonstage.com Awards Concert. The new summer season of the acclaimed LIVE IN THE DELFONT ROOM series is presented once again in association with Whatsonstage.com. Exclusive to Club members, your ticket price includes a signed poster by that night's performer and two free drinks.

Jessie Buckley – Saturday 31 July 2010
Irish born Jessie Buckley has been praised as one of the brightest rising stars on the musical theatre scene. After gaining warm national recognition through her television appearances as a finalist on I'd Do Anything, she went on to portray the vocally challenging role of Anne Egerman in A Little Night Music, directed by Trevor Nunn, first at the Menier Chocolate Factory and then at the West End's Garrick Theatre. For this role, she was nominated for the Whatsonstage.com award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. Her cabaret debut at London’s leading supper club Pizza on the Park sold out and earned her more plaudits."

75,000 Hits!

2010-04-15T16:57:00.003+01:00

We've just hit the momentous 75,000 mark in terms of direct visits and search engine referrals to the blogsite which is quite staggering!

With it being just over two months until the blog's 2nd birthday, a scary thought in itself, having achieved such success with what is an admittedly less than professional site that benefits from no advertising or search engine optimisation technology is no mean feat.

The support shown just by clicking on the site and bumping up the numbers provides the encouragement to keep it going and my appreciation for that shows no boundaries, so a big thank you to everybody who has visited the site and does so regularly.

Now, I can just about see something in the distance that looks vaguely like 100,000 hits...

West End Story: What Nancy, Joseph and Maria Did Next

2010-04-04T12:39:00.002+01:00

So as Andrew Lloyd Webber begins his quest for a new West End star to play Dorothy in the highly anticipated revival of classic musical The Wizard of Oz, it only seems natural to take a look back at all of the past winners of the BBC talent search shows and the many stars that were born along the way.

And as it's Easter, what better television accompaniment could you want as you valiantly make your way through all of your chocolate than finding out what Nancy, Joseph and Maria did next?!

So, tune in to BBC One tomorrow afternoon at 4 o'clock to watch West End Story: What Nancy, Joseph and Maria Did Next.

As well as documenting how the lives of Jodie Prenger, Lee Mead and Connie Fisher changed drastically after winning their dream roles the programme also tells the stories of some of the other contestants who have gone on to be extremely successful, including Jessie.

Lauderdale House Update

2010-03-18T16:32:00.006Z

As we have already published, Jessie will be performing a special one off on the 21st March (this coming Sunday) at the stunning Lauderdale House at Highgate in North London.

Today, the Musical Theatre News blog published more details:

Jessie Buckley, who was a finalist in the BBC1 programme I’d Do Anything and has since been seen at the Menier Chocolate Factory production of Sondheim’s A Little night Music and in concert at Pizza on the Park is performing her interpretation of the Great American Songbook at Lauderdale House in Highgate on Sunday 21st March.

She is supported by John Jack who has appeared in Shout! (Arts Theatre), Gay School Musical (Above The Stag Theatre) and As You Like It (Royal Lyceum Theatre) and the BBC series Still Game.

Judging by the recent success of her Pizza On The Park gigs, this looks likely to be just as successful and enjoyable.

If you are going, please do let us know your thoughts.

To find out more visit: http://whatson.camden.gov.uk

The Art of a Torch Singer, by Piers Ford

2010-03-15T20:30:00.001Z

It’s practically impossible for any singer to tackle “The Man That Got Away” without the distracting shade of Judy Garland lurking on the edge of the spotlight. But when Jessie Buckley stepped up to the mic at London’s Pizza on the Park on Saturday, nobody was interested in the ghost of an old legend. Why would you be, when such a vibrant living talent materialises in front of your eyes?

If it wasn’t for the evidence of her slender frame and a pristine voice that has more than a hint of Doris Day at her youthful best, it would be hard to believe that Buckley is only 20. She’s already been runner-up in the BBC’s find-a-Nancy mission, I’d Do Anything (and now we see why Andrew Lloyd Webber could barely contain his exasperation when the public vote imposed a different leading lady on his production). And last year, she achieved the near-impossible feat of making shrill, shallow Anne Egerman a halfway sympathetic and complex character in Trevor Nunn’s revival of A Little Night Music.

Jessie Buckley: instinctive, adventurous and audacious

Hushing a busy room in a West End eatery on a Saturday night, and holding the audience’s attention through two sophisticated sets of standards is a tall order for the most experienced, battle-hardened singer. But from the first note, it’s clear that Buckley has the necessary tools – not just the pipes and an appealing, unfussy presentation but crucially in this environment, where the diners tend to know their music, an astonishingly mature flair for jazz.

She rips up “Blue Skies”, “Birth of the Blues”, “Dream a Little Dream of Me”, “Love Me or Leave Me” and “Take the A Train”, telling us what a privilege it is to be able to sing such great lyrics. Her phrasing is instinctive, adventurous and occasionally audacious – she’ll try anything , and usually pull it off. And her joy at unleashing this skill, recently discovered and relatively unexplored, free from the constraints of a musical theatre performance, is palpable.

Buckley’s pianist Joe Thompson tells us that he and double bassist Rob Rickenberg don’t care much for singers as a rule. They’re too troublesome and self-regarding. But Jessie, he says simply, has taught them both so much; this is praise indeed from a musician of Thompson’s calibre. The rapport between the three of them strikes sparks – and even if there is the odd moment when discipline dissolves into banter, it is clear that the performance is rooted in complete, mutual respect for each other’s musicality.

But it’s the ballads that linger longest as the memory of the evening fades. “The Man That Got Away” of course, stripped of all that Garland vibrato but losing nothing in the telling of the story – or the conviction that the singer is reliving it. When Buckley sings an intimately wistful “The Way You Look Tonight”, you feel you’re eavesdropping on her innermost thoughts. And when she gazes into the distance on “More Than You Know” she is, whether she knows it or not, joining the ranks of the finest torch-singers who trace their lineage back to the great Broadway star Helen Morgan.

Jessie Buckley will be back at Pizza on the Park on 2^nd April. The room is to close in the summer, depriving London of a venue steeped in showbusiness history. Never mind the overpriced food and the so-so wine list that have been part of its idiosyncratic charm over the years – just catch a rising star in her element.

A Message from Jessie

2010-02-15T22:06:00.002Z

Jessie would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been to support her this past week at the cabaret and Valentine's gigs! As always, your support is greatly appreciated. Also a thank you for the support for her What's On Stage nomination.

Valentine's At The Musicals

2010-02-15T21:54:00.002Z

This review by an internet blogger offers a detailed run-down of Sunday evening's special Valentine's concert at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham in which Jessie performed a series of musical favourites with Daniel Boys.

"The evening started with us finding that the seats we had were four rows back and centre stage - I chose well. The Birmingham Symphony Hall is an amazing building, tall, excellent acoustics and the most amazing looking organ at the back. The Hall seemed fairly full, at least three quarters sold out, if not more. I can’t help thinking that a little more realistic pricing of the seats at the back (£35) would have encouraged sales and filled the place.

To the show, it was the Manchester Concert Orchestra with Capital Voices doing some songs and backing vocals. We were informed that Captial Voices were currently number two in the charts doing backing vocals for Jedward. They must be so proud.

They started with a melody of classic tunes, most of which I didn’t reckonise, before the main event started. Jessie Buckley was wearing a stunning red gown and Daniel Boys was matching in a well fitted, black tuxedo three piece and red cravat.

They started dueting with Too Much in Love to Care from Sunset Boulevard, followed by Daniel doing a solo with On the Street Where You Lived from My Fair Lady. This was beautifully done, as it meant Daniel could really sing.

Jessie then did Bill from Showboat, meaning Daniel was off stage.

The Capital Voices did Let’s Do It from Paris, followed by Daniel singing Can You Feel The Love Tonight from the Lion King. This combination of pop and theatre styling suited his voice well and he did a really good job. My friend I was with loves Disney, so she was enjoying this. There was a plug for his album, from Daniel, after this song - or Maria (West Side Story) which got a few laughes from the audience. He also mentioned his mum and dad were there watching.

I think, at this point, you could really tell the difference between Daniel and Jessie and the experience they’ve had. Particularly on the duets, Daniel had greater range, depth of notes and ability to really hold the note - during Maria - oh my! It wasn’t that Jessie was bad, she just wasn’t as good as Daniel.

My friend and I also were laughing at Daniel’s inability to know what to do with his hands. Obviously, two years holding a puppet with one arm and operating the arms with the other has left him a little confused and his left hand was tapping, in his pocket, out of his pocket, waving around, by his side, on the microphone, back in the pocket.

The suit jacket also stayed off stage a few times, anyone who’s seen Avenue Q will understand why that probably was. I’m surprised he wasn’t melting in three layers of thick clothing. I can say that the white shirt was very nice though, well tailored indeed.

Then, the highlight of the evening for me, Daniel singing Can’t Take My Eyes Off You from Jersey Boys. He was dancing and prancing and generally having a great time singing it. The audience was playing along, clapping and tapping. He seemed comfortable in front of the audience in the interaction sense, and I hope this does mean he’ll think about touring.

The first half finished with a duet between Daniel and Jessie - Almost Like Being in Love - Brigadoon. There was a lovely bit of dancing in the middle of this as well.

Second half:

Opened with my second favourite of the night - Daniel singing Love Changes Everything - from Aspects of Love. I rememember Michael Ball’s version well and so had high expectations. It certainly didn’t let me down, as he was note perfect and had just the right amount of emotion.

This was followed by Jessie singing I Don’t Know How To Love Him from Jesus Christ, Superstar. Although good, I didn’t know it very well. This was followed by a duet of All I Ask of You which was lovely.

There was another Captial Voices song, then Jessie did As Long As He Needs Me from Oliver. She was really good, but I just couldn’t picture her as Nancy. She’d have needed padding out for the role, there’s nothing to her!

A duet of Last Night Of The World followed from Miss Saigon, during which Daniel did his best to draw Jessie out of her shell by interacting with her and making a little more of a performance. This boost in courage certainly helped when it came to the last quarter of the show.

There was another Capital Voices melody then the finale parts.

There was a beautiful duet of If I Loved You from Carousel, followed by How Deep Is Your Love from Saturday Night Fever. This was the song where you realised why Daniel didn’t win Joseph. His voice just isn’t cut out for pop songs. He actually sings to well to be able to get the speed of lyrics across well. It wasn’t that it was bad, it just wasn’t as good as his musical theatre songs earlier in the evening. It was also the point where he messed up the words, came in too early, had to stop and burst into laughter, throwing his head back in the style we’ve seen so often with Princeton.

Giggling, he got to the end of the song, which was followed by another duet to ‘I’ve Had The Time of My Life’. Being slower, this was much better suited to his voice and Jessie by this point was relaxed and her voice was much improved as well. Daniel tried to get her to do the leap during the middle of the song, then decided he’d actually rather climb on the chairs and leap onto Jessie. :D

Jessie then took the lead vocal, Daniel doing backing for Take a Chance on Me and Knowing Me, KNowing You - a strange choice to finish with on Valentines Day, considering it’s a break up song. Both Jessie and Daniel took to the audience and Daniel pulled a very reluctant woman off her seat to dance. I was only the row behind!

The show then encored with A Whole New World, to rapturous applause and much taking of bows. So, all together it was a really good night."

The Stage Review

2010-02-15T21:49:00.002Z

Renowned theatre critic and writer Mark Shenton reviewed Jessie's cabaret debut last week when she performed a string of jazz shows as part of the Pizza in the Park series.

"Jessie Buckley may have been the personal choice of judges Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cameron Mackintosh and Barry Humphries to win the reality TV contest I’d Do Anything to play the role of Nancy in Oliver!, but the public chose the more buxom, mature Jodie Prenger over the slight, charming Irish lass, then still a teenager.

But a year and a half later, and with a strong supporting West End appearance as the forever-virginal Anne Egerman in A Little Night Music under her belt, the now still only 20-year-old Buckley is showing her growing maturity in a startlingly accomplished and confident cabaret debut.

In an expansive programme of jazz standards that begins with a funky medley of Almost Like Being in Love, Fly Me to the Moon and This Can’t be Love and culminates in a stirring The Man that Got Away (a song she coincidentally sang in the finale to I’d Do Anything), she fully exhibits her dynamic musical range and sensitivity.

Grounded in a secure, pure as a bell soprano, she also demonstrates an edgy attack and personality to anchor these familiar songs in sometimes unfamiliar ways, but always paying tribute to the fine tradition they have emerged from. It is particularly endearing to hear someone as young as her characterise Ella Fitzgerald as her “top notch idol”, and she doesn’t let her idol down when she sings songs like Misty, Blues in the Night or Lover Man.

She may not yet have fully earned the life experience to own songs like Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered or Black Coffee, but she brings such grace and style to them that I was more bewitched than bothered.

It’s a thrilling performance, and she boldly proves herself fully equal to the fine musicianship of her musicians, pianist Joe Thompson and double bassist Rob Rickenberg."

New Dates: Lauderdale House and The Night of 1000 Voices

2010-02-15T21:03:00.006Z

Many of you will be excited to hear that Jessie has some new dates lined up for the end of spring and May.

Following in a secret vain to her recent cabaret gigs, Jessie will be performing a special one off cabaret at the very beautiful Lauderdale House on Sunday 21st March at 4:30pm.

Details and bookings can be found on the Lauderdale House website here.

Then, in May, Jessie will be performing two very special concerts on Sunday 2nd as part of a 'Night of a 1000 Voices' in aid of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research at the Royal Albert Hall. The promotional poster shows more information:

Pizza On The Park: Samuel Joseph Presents...Jessie Buckley

2010-01-10T18:25:00.007Z

Today I can announce that Jessie will be performing in four very special concerts in a series called Pizza on the Park in conjunction with Samuel Joseph entertainment and media group.

The whole theme of the Pizza on the Park concerts is that they will be showcasing Jazz music and performers so this will be a chance to see Jessie in a different light, playing alongside celebrated jazz pianist Joe Thompson and bassist Rob Rickenberg.

The concerts will be taking place at Pizza on the Park, a restaurant and live music venue in Knightsbridge, London between the 9th and 13th of February. For more details and bookings go to: www.pizzaexpresslive.co.uk

To get you interested in what the concert will entail, here is an excerpt from the website:

"Fresh and spontaneous, one of the bright young vocalist Jessie Buckley’s many talents is to make you believe you are hearing a well worn standard for the very first time. Love is the theme, and with the energetic Joe Thompson on piano (“one of the best kept secrets in British jazz”, the Observer) we are guaranteed an evening of sweet surprises.

Not to be missed!"

Valentine's At The Musicals

2010-01-10T17:38:00.005Z

Jessie will be performing in two special Valentine's concerts alongside 'Any Dream Will Do' and Avenue Q star Daniel Boys in Birmingham and Manchester this February.

As it's around Valentine's Day there is a certain theme to the songs and the concert will feature classic songs from a range of musicals including West Side Story, Carousel, Sunset Boulevard, My Fair Lady, The Lion King, Annie Get Your Gun, Jesus Christ Superstar, Oliver, Dirty Dancing and Phantom of the Opera.

The concerts will be taking place at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on Friday 12th February and at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham on Sunday 14th February and are both evening concerts.

The respective websites for both venues for more info and ticket bookings:

The Bridgewater Hall

Symphony Hall

Concert in Tipperary, 6th December 2009

2010-01-10T16:57:00.004Z

A little later than hoped and planned due to a few technical issues with the blog but here is everything from the concert Jessie performed in just before Christmas back home in Ireland. Make sure to check out the great video footage too.

Jessie Sings at Clonmel

“Whistle Down The Wind”

The first time we heard this was at rehearsal. Even then, as Jessie’s voice soared around the big church, it was an emotional experience, not just a song. In the performance the sound of her voice floating above the orchestra was marvellous. Her voice and her control of it has improved and matured so much since IDA, and she was exceptional then. Now she is a phenomenon – bootiful! The recordings cannot do justice to the building of the song and the shading, together with the 3 dimensional effect she produced.

Video by Derek

“Misty”

This is a fairly jazzy song, and has been performed many times. OK, I’m biased, but I don’t think it has ever been done better. A finely tuned and controlled piece of relaxed jazz singing, packed with emotion.

Video by Derek

Video by Roger

“The Wexford Carol”

This was a sincere and moving performance of this “local” and traditional piece. Jessie’s voice sounding out from all parts of the church had a real impact on the audience. A beautiful song and beautifully sung.

Video by Derek

Video by Roger

“The Man That Got Away”

Another and different performance of this. After the shock effect of her first IDA version, which was superb, you have to adjust to hearing the song again. This was excellent, with great emotion and control in the singing. I know some people say you can’t compare anyone to Judy Garland – I’ll let you form your own opinion, I have mine!

Video by Derek

Video by Roger

“With One Look”

This “Sunset Boulevard” song was Jessie in her proper environment – a big emotional MT song with a full orchestra – Bingo! The feeling and build ups to the money notes – magnificent. What will she be like in a few years time when her voice has fully matured?

Video by Derek

Video by Roger

“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”

Another Garland number, apparently quite simple, but full of emotion and beautifully modulated notes with a faint hint of jazz. Marvellous.

Video by Derek

Video by Roger Roger

“Winter Wonderland”

An old Christmas classic, sung by people as diverse as Bob Dylan, Karen Carpenter, Bing Crosby, and Ozzy Osbourne! A lovely flowing version. How quickly she recovered on the hiccup at the end – the audience loved her even more for laughing about it!

Video by Derek

“Joy to the World”

Originally written by Isaac Watts nearly 300 years ago. It has aged well with Jessie singing it!

Video by Derek

“Silent Night”

This, particularly the Irish Gaelic version she sings first, was so beautiful I hardly know what to say about it. Exquisite possibly covers it. This was the song that stopped World War 1 for a few hours - maybe understandable now. A money saving tip - play it to any carol singers who call and ask if they can sing like that!

Video by Derek

By Roger Tanner

A Review

Jessie was sitting at the front of the nave of Ss. Peter & Pauls church when we arrived. The orchestra were just finishing setting up and were preparing for the rehearsal of the evenings concert. Jessie greeted us and joked surely we hadn't come over to Ireland just for her.

The rehearsal consisted of only one run through of the concert. In between practicing her numbers on the stage, Jessie walked around studying the running order and songs, her face a picture of concentration, as she no doubt envisaged herself performing the numbers in her mind. However, she frequently rejoined us for chats before going back to the stage when it was her turn to sing. After about three hours, she left to get changed and made up for the performance.

During the rehearsal, we saw a good example of Jessie’s professionalism. One of the carols, although well known, had a slightly different arrangement with a couple of rests in unusual places. I had not heard it performed quite this way before and Jessie had difficulty staying with the orchestra on one of the lines, despite a couple of run throughs. However, they took a few minutes break and Jessie went and got the sheet music and studied it briefly. After only this quick look through the score, next time she had the arrangement spot on. I suspect that this level of musical ability was what would have made her so popular with the musicians and musical director on IDA; I doubt if any of the other contestants could have done it to that level, if at all.

The Concert

Niall Carroll of RTE Lyric Radio presented the concert. He introduced the Tipperary Millennium Orchestra and its leader and conductors, before moving on to introduce the soloists, Jessie and Derek Ryan. Like Jessie, Derek is an A.I.M.S. award winner and is shortly to make his debut with Opera Ireland in the Irish premier of “Dead Man Walking”. Niall gave the audience a brief introduction to Jessie, recalling her first appearance as a guest soloist with the T.M.O. in the December 2007 concert, before moving onto recount Jessie’s appearance on “I’d Do Anything”.

Jessie then came onto the stage looking extremely elegant and sophisticated in a long dark green dress. She sang a wonderful rendition of “Whistle Down the Wind.” I won’t describe all the songs as Roger had already done this admirably in his “Jessie Sings at Clonmel” article.

At the end of the song, Niall briefly interviewed Jessie. He asked if the drama school that had turned Jessie down had since been in touch. Jessie revealed that Guildford Drama School had offered her a place in their acting course, but not musical theatre, so she had decided against it.

Niall then asked her about “I’d Do Anything” and stated that sometimes actually winning these shows can be a handicap and often it was better to come second. Jessie replied:

“ Absolutely. I think the best thing that ever happened to me was coming second in the show. I think now that I can explore so many exciting mediums of creativity and I’ll try everything. I don’t want to be a one-trick-pony and prove John Barrowman right!”

After being asked about her role in “A Little Night Music” Jessie said:

“I think also what was great for me in that show was that it was everything Nancy wasn’t. It was a challenge. It was singing-wise – I was singing soprano. It was acting-wise – I had to put on a terribly posh RP accent. It was more of an acting role and it was exactly what I wanted. Because I wanted to be pushed, I wanted to learn and I had the time of my life.”

Jessie then revealed that she had to dash off after the concert, as she had to catch an early flight back to London in the morning for an audition.

Jessie then performed “Misty”. And I must agree with Roger in his review, I don’t think that it has been done better either.

I must just mention Jessie’s performance in “With One Look” – It was simply breathtaking. Jessie put so much emotion into this number. So much so, that the character of Norma Desmond came alive right there in front of us.

At the end of the concert the Leader of the orchestra Keavy O’Sullivan, Musical Director Mary-Rose McNally (Jessie’s music teacher at school), all the conductors and both Derek Ryan and Jessie were presented with roses and left the stage to deafening applause. Everyone I spoke to after the concert had nothing but praise for Jessie, and quite a few had not really known much about her before and certainly had not seen her perform live.

Moving away from Jessie for a moment, mention must also be made of the magnificent performance of the Tipperary Millennium Orchestra and its excellent conductors, Danny Carroll, Fergal Carroll and Peter Taylor. This young persons’ orchestra is so very professional and disciplined, it’s hard to believe that its youngest member is just twelve years of age.

In conclusion, it was a magical evening, Whether or not one is religious, sitting in the splendid church of Ss. Peter & Paul, amongst friendly people all enthralled by Jessie’s exquisite voice as it soared up and then cascaded over us, it was very easy to believe in heaven, and the feeling that we were experiencing a part of it already.

By Derek Tyson

A Short Hello

2010-01-10T16:03:00.003Z

There is lots to catch up, notably a fantastic and comprehensive commentary on the recent Christmas concert Jessie did in Tipperary complete with video footage, and some good news to announce but first a quick post from me.

Firstly an apology must be in order as I've been so slack recently for a multitude of reasons. I trust that all our readers and fans enjoyed the festive period. Let's hope 2010 is a great year!

If you haven't already, do get your votes in for Jessie for the What's On Stage awards where she has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Every vote counts and really means a lot to the nominee's as the awards are voted for by you, the theatre-going public who appreciate and enjoy their work.

There's nothing left to be said except to thank each and every one of you for continuing to visit and support the blog and for continuing your support for Jessie. Keep coming back to the blog over the next few days to check out all the articles, videos and news.

Katie

Jessie Nominated for Best Supporting Actress

2009-12-04T16:14:00.004Z

At the beginning of November, I blogged about the first round of voting opening for the What's On Stage Awards. Earlier today the nomination's for the prestigious annual Whatsonstage.com awards voted for by you, the theatre-goers, were announced.

The fantastic news is that Jessie has been nominated for 'Best Supporting Actress in a Musical'! Here is the full list of all of the nominees in this category:

Best Supporting Actress in a Musical

Jessie Buckley - A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Garrick

Jodie Prenger - Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Julia Sutton - Sister Act at the London Palladium

Lesley Garrett - Carousel at the Savoy

Maureen Lipman - A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Garrick

Sheila Hancock - Sister Act at the London Palladium

Moreover, A Little Night Music is leading the pack with 6 other nominations. This will perhaps come as no surprise after it's hugely successful sell-out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory and rave press and critic reviews for it's transfer to the West End Garrick Theatre.

Overall, the high calibre of all the actors, actresses, productions and all of the behind-the-scenes nominees highlights the fact that despite the financial strains of the past year which has seen many a show close early and many casts play to half empty houses and the controversy over using reality televsion to find new stars, London and the West End continues to churn out superlative shows for the public to enjoy.

As you can see, Jessie is up against some very talented and highly seasoned actresses but that doesn't mean youth and fresh talent cannot prevail. So, to vote all you need to do is follow the link to the online nominations page:

http://www.whatsonstage.com/surveys/fillsurvey.php?sid=29

Voting is now open so get them in!

(Please note that you can only vote once from a computer/internet device so if you want to vote again you need to use a different machine.)

Whats On Stage Theatregoer Awards 2010

2009-11-04T13:26:00.004Z

Every year, Whats On Stage host the Theatregoers' Choice Awards which celebrates the success of British theatre and promotes a selection of the most talented actors and actresses and this year is no different.

The first stage is the short-listing of the shows and individuals and this is where you can come in. If you think Jessie or A Little Night Music deserve to be nominated to go through to the final round of public voting, you can submit your nominations via the voting form.

However, there are some exceptions: A Little Night Music can be nominated for Best Off West-End Production for it's run at the Menier Chocolate Factory but it cannot be nominated for Best West End Musical because it is no longer running.

So if you'd like to see Jessie, A Little Night Music or indeed any other favourite theatre productions or actors be short-listed for an award then getting voting!

Jessie Buckley - Musical Superhero

2009-11-04T12:46:00.005Z

It would appear there are no limits to the scale of Jessie's talent as she managed to step into a role last night at very short notice and will be continuing to the end of the shows run, reports Whats On Stage.

Jessie Buckley Shows Perfect Timing???

"I'd Do Anything runner-up Jessie Buckley, last seen in the West End in Trevor Nunn's production of A Little Night Music, has shown herself to be something of a musical superhero this week.

Twenty-year-old Buckley, who came second to Jodie Prenger in the BBC casting show, was called on at the very last minute to understudy an actress in the Whatsonstage.com-supportedPerfect Pitch new musicals showcase, currently running at Trafalgar Studios 2

According to Perfect Pitch producer Andy Barnes: “On Tuesday, Jessie stood in for Fiona Sinnott, who was struck down with suspected pneumonia. She had an hour and a half to look at the script before going on to play the role of Mairin in Dougal Irvine's In Touch.”

“We have no understudies due to the nature of what we do so we put a frantic call in yesterday morning and Jessie cancelled a singing lesson to come over and help us out. She did an amazing job and barely even needed the script she had with her!”

Buckley, whose fellow Nights Music cast member Kaisa Hammarlund who is also currently performing in a Pitch Perfect production 'From Up Here' this week, will be playing the role for the rest of the duration of the run."

Further information about 'In Touch' can be found here

Link to WOS article

Show Synopsis: In Touch

The internet is running our lives. Or at least it soon will be. Never before have humans had access to so much information. It could seriously blow your mind! In this dark comedy from the writer of Departure Lounge, two characters completely dependent on this other world clash with two others looking for escape. Then the internet itself gets involved, and all hell breaks loose! All beg the question; in our quest to be in touch with everybody, are we losing touch with ourselves?

A Little Less Ordinary

2009-11-02T18:54:00.004Z

Last night saw Jessie take part in her first public performance since finishing her stint in the West End in the summer. The occasion was a night at the Apollo Theatre and featured a score of newly composed songs by Michael Bruce who is something of a prodigy in the world of musical composition and remarkably talented at the meagre age of 25 years old. Unfortunately I was not in attendance myself and not able to write a personal entry, I am therefore leaving it up to The Stage to give a run-down of last nights events. As and when (if) more reviews/photographs become available, they'll be up here.

http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/26098/michael-bruce-a-little-less-ordinary

"Two years ago, a young composer called Michael Bruce won the Stage-sponsored Notes for The Stage competition, as a result of which his entry, Children, was heard as part of the 2007 Christmas in New York concert at the West End’s Lyric Theatre. I should declare an interest here - I was part of the judging panel that made that choice. And now I’m relieved to be able to report that our faith in this exceptional talent was fully justified - but more importantly, so has the faith that the producers Neil Eckersley and Paul Spicer have invested in him, in every sense, in nurturing him to the next stage.

Given how, outside of Andrew Lloyd Webber, hardly any British composers of new musicals are ever heard in the West End, it’s a stunning act of belief that they now given him a full West End showcase all of his own. And in an evening of nearly 30 songs, he seizes the moment - a little tentatively at first, but with growing confidence - as he leads it from the piano.

Although I’m tempted to echo the Blossom Dearie song and declare, “You wear too much puce, Bruce” in reference to the vivid purple suit he sports, he certainly stands out from the songwriters that are trying to make their mark in this crowded field.

He has a remarkable facility to change between different moods and melodies. That bodes well for someone who will need to harness his talent into creating evenings with plenty of both - but there’s also something immediate, fresh and contemporary about his musical sensibility too, that puts one in mind of a younger version of Jason Robert Brown.

And just like his American counterpart, he creates story songs that must be a treat to perform and duly attract high-calibre performers to do so. In fact, it has the slight problem of making his own vocal contributions harder to take - he’s not in the same league as some of those who are performing here. The ever-invaluable Julie Atherton provides a comic highlight with In a Disney Way, written especially for her, and reprises the hauntingly melodic Children with spellbinding emotion. Another comic bullseye comes from Emily Tierney’s hilarious rendition of Continental.

But if the comic numbers score particularly highly, there’s plenty to enjoy from the rest of a stellar line-up that also includes newcomer Phoebe Fildes (who won her own chance to be here by a YouTube competition), Finty Williams, Helena Blackman, Sarah Lark and Jessie Buckley, among others. The future of British musical theatre was being forged before our eyes and ears. It was a privilege to be there to witness it."

Closing comments on A Little Night Music

2009-07-27T12:55:00.007+01:00

We have all seen the glittering praise from the press about A Little Night Music. However, it isn't the journalists and press who make up the audiences each night. Obviously as we know, Saturday night saw the final curtain call for the first-rate cast of the West End's most sophisticated, intelligent and wickedly funny shows. So, I thought it might be nice to post some of the comments from the punters who were lucky enough to revel A Little Night Music one last time. Forget the pomp, verboseness and cerebrality of the press critiques who like to talk in theatre jargon, here is what the paying public thought.

"I went for my final visit to the show last night and yet again I was blown away by how good the show was, the cast were all giving their best and the chemistry between some of the actors was brilliant. It was nice to see the theatre verging on full for once and the cast seemed to really pick up on this and if possible improve on their performances!"

"It was nice to see the show once more before it closes, it is just such as shame that it is closing already.
Afterwards I did go to stage door, not that I was imposing on the cast, but they were genuinely more than happy to chat and sign the programme. Kaisa and Kelly both stopped and chatted for about 5 minutes each and they were genuinely dissapointed that the show was closing."

"Very sorry to see this one die. It does kind of make one wonder what difference, if any, the much-vaunted (on here) tourist season does actually make to ticket sales - if a show with such a pedigree can't even draw in the passing trade."

"Well, what a final night it was! Such touching last performances - it was obviously hard for the cast to play it for their final time and say goodbye to such gorgeous music and fantastic characters. And all the way through the run it's felt like there's a real warmth between the entire cast - last night more than ever.
There was a great energy but definitely a last night feel. I think a lot of the audience had seen it before so there wasn't always the huge laughs that certain lines get when people see it the first time. Kaisa seemed to be the only person who managed to be bubbly and full of smiles to the end - but then she does have a more cheerful part than the others! Hannah seemed completely tortured to be singing Send in the Clowns for the last time, she almost had to snarl the lines towards the end. Alex was on top form as usual but I did see tears in his eyes a few times. Hannah and Alex really took their time building up to You Must Meet My Wife - that song remains my favourite bit in the show - his amazing singing and her hilarious reactions! Gabriel was very solid, like Kaisa, great performance. Every Day a Little Death was very emotional - both Jessie and Kelly shed a lot more tears than usual. The beautiful chorus were stunning as ever, I've really enjoyed them every time.
At the very end, the 2 other Frederikas (Holly was on last night) came on in costume to take a bow and the swings came on too. The whole cast looked very sad but then - a stroke of genius - people started throwing flowers on to the stage and it really lifted everyone and the cast all started picking up a few each and laughing and the audience loved it, it really brightened up a sad moment. There were a few curatin calls, more flower gathering and then Maureen said a few lines. She just explained who the 2 other girls were - she seemed to forget the swings! - and then just said it was such a shame "such an intelligent and lucid show" was closing."

"The show was brilliant as always, and I ended up sobbing like a baby. Shed a tear during Every Day A Little Death, but from Send in the Clowns onwards I was blubbing! Very sad to see it close, I've loved the show so SO much. One of the strongest casts I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing, and I wish them all the very best for the future. They are all brilliant and deserve to go on to other great things!"

(All comments from the ALNM thread on the What's On Stage forums.)

A Message From Jessie!

2009-07-25T18:25:00.004+01:00

A Little Night Music plays to West End audiences for the last time tonight at the Garrick Theatre and as it marks the end of Jessie's first professional role since I'd Do Anything it will definitely be a momentous occassion. The support for Jessie during IDA and thereafter has been remarkable and she has a little message for you all!

"I'd like to say a huge thank you for everyone's support throughout A Little Night Music and I'd Do Anything. From the bottom of my heart I cannot thank each and every one of you enough."

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I'm sure I speak for us all when I say we look forward to seeing what Jessie gets up to next and, as ever, the blog will continue to report all the news and information.

What would you like to see Jessie do next? Have you got any ideas for what roles you think she should do in the future? Let us know in the comments section!

My Favourite Review To Date

2009-07-18T16:11:00.005+01:00

What with it being only a week until 'A Little Night Music' takes to the stage for the last night of it's short but sweet West End run I thought it would be nice to post a final review. Having read (too?) many reviews over the past months this one by Huntley Dent is undoubtedly my favourite as it captures brilliantly everything that is remarkable, poignant and special about this musical. Not only is it lovely to read it is also from The Berkshire Review, the local arts, review and culture paper for me!

"Whipped cream and knives." Only today did I run across this twisty phrase, juxtaposing the saccharine and the sadistic, which Stephen Sondheim used to describe the tone of A Little Night Music, his hit musical from 1973. The image makes me cringe. It's too close to razor blades hidden inside Halloween apples, but then, so does the musical itself. As any lover of Sondheim's immense gifts knows, the source of this work was Ingmar Bergman's gossamer comedy from 1955, Smiles of a Summer Night. One of the main virtues of the current West End revival directed by Trevor Nunn is that it reflects Bergman's achievement, aptly described by Pauline Kael as turning boudoir farce into lyric poetry. Every actor onstage could easily carry the drama if the music were omitted. That's such a rare accomplishment that I came away dazzled. Still, there are no knives in Bergman's screenplay, and it's worth asking where they came from in the musical. The easy answer is from Sondheim himself, but that's the same as pointing to a mystery none of us will ever penetrate: true artists are as secretive as they are expressive.. A tinge of psychopathology embitters the perfumed atmosphere of this, Sondheim's most complex work.

Sondheim wields such a fine scalpel that turning the blade on him is like carrying coals to Newcastle. So let's glow a little. The London critics were mostly ecstatic over Nunn's revival, which is as intimate and delicate as the last revival, mounted at the National Theater in 1995, was oversized and vacant (I remember nearly walking out, and yet Judi Dench, as the central female character, Desiree Armfeldt, won the Olivier Award that season for her portrayal). A large pit orchestra has been reduced to eight musicians playing offstage. It's been the trend, both here and in New York, to perform Sondheim with smaller forces, all the more to point up his intricate wordplay. Having said that all the principals are superb actors, I should add that they sing in tune and hardly drop a stitch executing the score's complexities, which veer into polyphony and chromaticism quite often. Opera companies, including New York City Opera and Los Angeles Opera, have been impressed enough to mount their own productions (Nunn's is apparently set to open on Broadway this fall). The chorus of five singers who wander the stage and comment musically on the action are adept enough to be young opera singers, and only a wretchedly crude amplification system mars the experience -- the use of loud reverb in a few numbers is especially noisome.

I wish I could look around the room and say, "We all know the plot already, right?" But that would be presumptuous. The interwoven story-line is a tangled lover's knot -- recapping it proves nearly impossible. Bergman's film centers on four couples from every layer of Swedish bourgeois life, who join for a weekend in the country. Over the course of a midsummer night they wind up playing musical beds, amorous tricks, connived schemes to net new partners, and other gambits of the standard Feydeau farce. We are principally drawn to two characters, however, the worldly ageing actress Desiree and her former lover, Fredrik Egermann, a lawyer who has been led by mid-life crisis into an unsuitable marriage with a peach-cheeked young girl. The fact that he has yet to take her virginity after eleven months springs the action of the plot and sets the tone of erotic confusion throughout. Emotions are both stirred and shaken, until eventually the various schemers wind up with the right partners. And yet a sense of failure pervades the happy ending. In essence the four women have won, for the men are infantile and self-deluded. Bergman leaves us wondering if the game of love is worth winning, however, when it involves humiliating each man and exposing his foolish vanities. The boudoir and the spider's web are not that far apart. Cupid's dart could be tipped with curare.

Sondheim wrapped this poignant comedy of manners in his most sophisticated and delicious score. It's often pointed out that almost every number is in 3/4 time, like Der Rosenkavalier, but before you think of Strauss, realize that the main source is actually Ravel's La Valse, which turned the heady ebullience of a Viennese waltz into something dark, slinky, treacherous, and off kilter. Hugh Wheeler, who wrote the book for A Little Night Music, was Sondheim's most literary and theatrically canny collaborator -- he also wrote the book for Sweeney Todd. He knew enough to take Bergman's tragicomedy and soften the tragedy into bitter-sweetness. Fredrik and Desiree wind up happily together without damage to either one beyond the rueful self-deprecation of the show's most famous song, "Send in the Clowns." Before making his film, Bergman had directed a stage production of The Merry Widow, which inspired him to give his movie its warmly romantic period setting. Wheeler has pushed it even further into the wistfully nostalgic operetta world. Desiree and Fredrik are variants on Léhar's Hannah and Danilo. As portrayed by the delightfully Junoesque Hannah Waddingham and the suavely self-possessed Alexander Hanson, the lead couple evoke indulgent smiles from the outset. We never worry for an instant that they won't find each other in the end. So much for the whipped cream.

Sondheim's lyrics, the source of the knives, evokes grimaces more often than indulgent smiles. Many of his musicals leave you feeling at once delighted -- how can his wit, musical invention, and verbal ingenuity not create delight? -- and unsettled, because as adroitly as he disguises his dark materials, Sondheim is essentially a misanthrope. Broadway musicals don't simply have happy endings. They are machines for fabricating sentimental outcomes from any situation. Sondheim dismantled the machine early on, in Company (1970), whose ambivalence about love and marriage disturbed the bridge-and-tunnel crowd, so much so that his name almost became box office poison. After the extravagant flop of Follies (1971), which took the Broadway musical as its subject, stripping the glamour down to a shivering carcass, Sondheim must have grocked that ditties and dancing couldn't hide the sting, bitterness, and cynicism that imbue him so thoroughly. Link: A Little Night Music at the Garrick Theatre, The Berkshire Review.

Which makes his next show, A Little Night Music, all the more miraculous. Somehow it emerged as a bubble that could burst at any moment, releasing some quite unpleasant odors, the whiff of sexual betrayal, masochistic fidelity, jealous male rage, and vicious hypocrisy. All are present in Sondheim's lyrics, and yet the bubble floats above us, shimmering and glimmering, without any of his knives destroying it. I came away marvelling that Nunn and his company so exquisitely knew what they were about. There was no lingering queasiness, and yet nothing had been dumbed down or evaded. This production is the epitome of art concealing art. Or in this case, concealing the grinning death's head behind smiling silk masks."

Link: A Little Night Music at the Garrick Theatre, The Berkshire Review.

Happy 1st Birthday!

2009-07-16T11:06:00.002+01:00

This time last year I filed the very first blog entry on this, the Jessie Buckley Fan Blog and who would have thought a whole year later it would still be going? I certainly didn't.

Of course I had ambitions for the blog, half inspired by the standards and the success achieved by David and co with their fantastic blog for Rachel Tucker and undoubtedly a little bit of selfish desire to make something respected and enjoyed. However, never in my wildest dreams did I even dare to imagine let alone even predict the veritable successes and things that what would come my way due to something that started out as a bit of an experiment and eventually became something I had to be responsible for, dedicated to and passionate about.

Measuring success is quite a personal and subjective thing and in a purely numerical and statistical way, the blog has been more successful than I ever thought possible. With over 60 thousand visits, enough to fill a football stadium at a cup final as I have been kindly reminded about, from all over the world these figures never cease to amaze me. But it has never been about getting hits from America, India, Hong Kong or where ever else in the world. For me the success I am most proud about is having achieved to set up and run a site or blog that remains respectful, of a high quality and most of all effective in what it aimed to do; that was to act as a fan site for someone of incredible talent.

Naturally, none of the success of the blog could have been if it were not for the success and talent of its subject. Hopefully Jessie's success will continue to grow and her talent continue to be recognised.

Who knows if this blog will see its 2nd birthday but in the meantime I hope all of you who have taken enjoyment in reading it and following it can look back and appreciate what a good year it has been for the blog and for Jessie herself. Happy Birthday!

A Little Night Music Closure

2009-07-02T10:29:00.003+01:00

Contrary to a recent press release that A Little Night Music at the Garrick was to extend its West End run until 5th September, it has now come to light for reasons currently unbeknown to us that the production is reverting back to its original closure date of 25th July.

As all the major and reputable online theatre news sites are saying, A Little Night Music will be closing on 25th July. It appears that the reasons behind this decision aren't being made completely clear or are perhaps being held back in anticipation of a casting announcement for the Broadway production which begins rehearsals this coming October. In the meantime we can only speculate if it means many of the cast are going to Broadway or if indeed it means that the recession is managing to sink its teeth into the highly acclaimed Sondheim show as well and so cannot carry on until September, like it has done with many other West End productions causing them to close early and unexpectedly.

A Little Night Music transferred to the West End in March after its critically acclaimed and sold out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory and has continued to rake in rave reviews in the national and local press.

Obviously, if you still haven't caught the show at the Garrick or want to see it again time is of the essence! Links to reputable ticket sites such as westendtheatre.com offering deals with hotel stays or dinners and cut price tickets are on the right hand side.

With the show closing in just 23 days, this means news of what Jessie will be getting up to next will soon be out. As ever, make sure to check back here regularly for all the updates.

2009-06-20T19:03:00.003+01:00

Hi everyone!

Just a quick one to say I am off on holiday today to relax to the max after a hectic year at uni and therefore won't be around to look after the blog. However, it will be in the very capable hands of David who will post if there is any news.

Other than that I hope everybody is well and see you in July!

P.S It happens to be the blogs' first birthday on July 16th - ooer! Where's the time gone?!

RTÉ 'In Concert' Broadcast

2009-06-15T17:42:00.004+01:00

Okay, so after two Monday evening's worth of general hassle, mistaken info, confusion and subsequent disappointment tonight promises to be the night! If you don't know what I'm on about, tonight should hopefully deliver the broadcast of the Andrew Lloyd Webber concert in Dublin last September and feature the part of the concert that Jessie appeared in - how time flies.

According to the schedule, it is due to be broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 at 9pm and should last 50mins. If you don't live in Ireland and thus cannot listen directly on the radio, you can still stream the broadcast live over the internet from this link: http://www.rte.ie/radio

If you can't make 9 o'clock or you forget I will try to get a recording down or at least provide a link to a podcast or replay!

Happy listening!

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For those of you who didn't catch the broadcast or want to listen again you can download it from here: RTÉ Dublin Concert Broadcast 15/06/09

Dublin Concert Broadcast

2009-06-02T10:52:00.004+01:00

Next Monday at 9pm RTE's Lyric FM will be broadcasting the second half of the birthday concert for Andrew Lloyd Webber performed last September in Dublin. Moreover, it will be the half that Jessie performed in so tune in if you can! You can find the Lyric FM player at www.rte.ie

Also I have recently joined Twitter, so if you are on there and would like to follow me please feel free - www.twitter.com/katierosecook

A Little Night Music Extends West End Run

2009-05-22T12:59:00.002+01:00

Brilliant news has broken today that ALNM has extended it's run at the Garrick by six weeks, taking the closing date to the 5th September!

What's On Stage Article

Hello!

2009-05-19T17:38:00.015+01:00

Hi all,

Feel as if I should write a bit more of a personal entry here to apologise for the lack of recent blogging! I haven't neglected it, more a case of circumstances and a lack of much news haven't allowed for it. It's that time of year again where those of us (un)fortunate enough to be taking exams, whether they be school exams or university exams, have to bury our heads in the books and hibernate away from all civilisation if we want to achieve anything near what can be classed as good grades!

Anyhow, they will all be over soon and there is light at the end of the tunnel - allow the Hyde Park pun; we can all soon revel in the delights of the British summer. To get you through those exams it's always nice to have something to look forward to isn't it, so why not take advantage of some of the great deals many theatre ticket sellers have on?!

Especially alluring is Discount Theatre's offer on £45 A Little Night Music seats reduced to £19.50 - click on the link to get directly to the deal @ www.discounttheatre.com. Other sites which you get to via the photo links on the right-hand side are also doing some great deals. Furthermore, for any of you who fancy a two night stay in the Big Smoke coupled with a night at the Garrick, Discount London has the deal for you. Alternatively head over to www.nimaxtheatres.com where I have been assured you can somehow find better seats than on other websites.

Also if you are in London don't forget the half price booths in and around Leicester Sq - just avoid the TKTS booth as their prices don't really reassure you that they realise we are currently amidst a credit crunch.

Remember, ALNM is currently scheduled to end on the 25th July so if you want to catch it do get some tickets booked - "if you snooze, you lose" (or some other relevant quote from Rachel Tucker.)

So, good luck to those of you who do have exams and apologies to all the readers who read this for whom the word 'exam' existed only in a bygone era. Finally I suppose we should be hearing some news about that Broadway transfer malarky soon* so when we do never fear, it shall be posted here.

(Photo's for revision-motivation purposes only.)

* If the Sondheim lyrics and context of 'Soon' are anything to go by the term soon is somewhat ambiguous and misleading, so we may be waiting a while.

Buckley For Broadway?

2009-04-28T18:57:00.005+01:00

Forget the prestige, glitz and glamour of London's West End, just 18 months after losing out on I'd Do Anything, it looks like Jessie could making her way to the bright lights of New York's Broadway and it would seem that losing out on the role of Nancy could be the best thing that has ever happened to her.

It has been confirmed today, a month in to its West End run, that A Little Night Music will be playing on the Broadway stage by the end of this year, directed by Trevor Nunn and retaining the production team that have caused the Sondheim show to have been a sell out at the Menier Chocolate Factory and successful at the West End's Garrick. However, before you start booking your flights to JFK International Airport it has not been confirmed that Jessie will be moving with the production. Casting will be opened out to anyone who wants to try their luck.

Nevertheless, this is something we will keenly be keeping an eye on over the coming months and as ever, I will keep you updated on any news.

Do you think this would be a good thing for Jessie? Has not winning I'd Do Anything been a blessing in disguise? If you have any comments or opinions on this do let us all know by posting in the comment section.

Praise From A Fellow West End Actor

2009-04-25T10:21:00.002+01:00

Paul Spicer, a West End actor, has given an interview with website Broadway World and speaking about how he has recently seen A Little Night Music, he had some good words to say about Jessie. Here is the small snippet;

"...casting someone like Jessie Buckley - she's absolutely perfect for her role - and good for them. I was surprised, I thought that as she'd come from a TV show, and they might not go with that, but they've got their finger on it. She looked like she'd been doing it for years."

It's great to see that Paul Spicer has no qualms with the TV casting phenomenon especially as many traditionalists and critics aren't exactly fans of this casting method. Afterall, if you can find truly talented actors and actresses from TV shows then surely it must be a good thing for theatre. I think Paul Spicer may have just become our favourite new person.

So Jest End

2009-04-24T18:06:00.007+01:00

You may have heard of 'So Jest End', the hit musical comedy show lasting just 3 nights which parody's some of the hit West End musicals in aid of charity and this year featured none other than Rachel Tucker of We Will Rock You and I'd Do Anything.

Last night saw 'So Jest End's' star-studded Gala performance attended by one particular guest, our very own Jessie Buckley. Here she is enjoying herself at the New Players Theatre, Charing Cross.

The Big Interview: Jessie Buckley

2009-04-24T17:58:00.001+01:00

This interview is courtesy of the Offical London Theatre Guide and is a really good read, so enjoy!

First published: 15 Apr 2009

It may have taken slightly longer than she had hoped, but I’d Do Anything’s Jessie Buckley has just made her West End debut. Matthew Amer found out exactly how excited she was.

When Jessie Buckley was thrust into the public eye, it was as an 18-year-old with no professional theatre work to her name, no post-school training and seemingly no fear. Week after week the young Irish performer auditioned for an audience including Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Barrowman and Denise van Outen, not to mention millions of television viewers, in the BBC’s search for a Nancy, I’d Do Anything.

Though her bubbly charm did not win enough of the voting public’s hearts, as she finished runner up to Jodie Prenger, it was not long before she made her professional debut in A Little Night Music, which recently transferred from the Menier Chocolate Factory to the West End’s Garrick theatre.

She plays young wife Anne in Sondheim’s charming, witty musical about confused love affairs and midsummer madness, which received much acclaim during its winter run at the Menier.

That she came to fame in a show entitled I’d Do Anything seems strangely appropriate, as Buckley has determination coursing through her. Not in a ‘trample all those who stand in my way’ fashion but in a way that sees her give everything of herself to chase a goal if she wants it enough.

She also has enthusiasm in bucket-loads. In fact, you would probably need larger receptacles entirely to hold Buckley’s enthusiasm – swimming pools maybe, or Loch Ness.

When we meet, she has just returned to the Menier Chocolate Factory after two weeks off, but there is not the merest hint of back-to-work blues about her. As we sit and chat about her experiences of the last 18 months, I get the feeling that if she didn’t speak, the excitement might just build up inside her until she exploded.

“I can’t imagine being any luckier than this being my first job,” she begins. “I don’t have training and I know I have things to learn and I’m excited about learning those things and I’m willing to go and make mistakes and learn. Literally, I’ve stood in the wings and I’ve watched [the rest of the cast]. They’re inspirational to me. I really look up to them with the highest respect because they’re so professional yet they’re so willing to help you.”

As first jobs go, she really couldn’t have done much better. The cast around her includes West End regulars Hannah Waddingham, Alexander Hanson and Kelly Price, and theatrical royalty in the shape of Maureen Lipman. The director hasn’t got a bad pedigree either, as Buckley points out: “I really wanted to learn and I wanted to learn from the best, and who better to learn from than Sir Trevor Nunn?” Who indeed?

“It’s very different from stepping on the stage in front of 7, 8 million viewers,” Buckley says of performing in the intimate Menier Chocolate Factory, which holds only 150 audience members. For a young actress in her first job, there really was no place to hide, the miniature nature of the venue allowing every eye to scrutinise her. The Garrick is a touch larger, holding nearly 800. It might give her more breathing space, but being her West End debut, the transfer has set her nerves a-jangling. “I won’t lie,” she smiles, “I’m absolutely terrified. I’m just going to try and relax and enjoy it and do my best. Sometimes I’m going to hit home runs and sometimes I’m not, but I’m going to strive to get those home runs every night. We’re doing it for a paying public and they deserve to see your best performance every night.”

"I wanted to learn from the best, and who better to learn from than Sir Trevor Nunn?"

It is hard not to enjoy Buckley’s company. She has the same warming effect as a log fire in the depth of winter; the world outside could be grinding to a frozen halt but her happiness would still be comfortingly infectious. There is a touch of the young puppy about her; boundless energy and a willingness, eagerness even, to be moulded and shaped to fulfil her potential.

But behind the more obvious attributes lies a confidence in herself and her ability, and a conviction to stick to her beliefs. After finishing second to Prenger in I’d Do Anything, she was actually offered a position in Oliver!, understudying her victor. It was a solid job offer and would have seen her make her professional debut in a safe ensemble position. She said no. “I think there comes a point,” she explains, “when you have to say ‘You know what, I didn’t win this, I didn’t win this for a reason and I need to go and do my own thing. I just want to go out and get a job because I’ve auditioned for it and I’m right for the part.’

“That’s what’s so good about doing something like Night Music,” she continues. “There was no connection with Cameron [Mackintosh] or Andrew [Lloyd Webber] or anybody on the panel. I went to this audition on my own terms and they could have equally said ‘No, you’re just not good enough for this.’ But I went through the rounds and I got it.”

She nearly didn’t. When she met Nunn, she “gave one of my worst auditions because I was just shaking from head to toe”. Tenacious and determined, she asked for a second chance and was lucky enough to get one. Maybe the TV exposure helped, maybe Nunn had seen her potential, maybe she was just brave enough to take the bull by the horns.

“I’m always looking for a challenge,” she explains. “I don’t like the easy option. I want to be able to take risks in my career and I want to make good choices and equally bad choices, because you don’t learn if everything is easy. I wanted to do something that I knew at the end of it I would have really grown as a performer and as a person, and this was the perfect opportunity.”

This was not the first time she has so philosophically approached the theatre industry. Her appearance on I’d Do Anything arose through twisted misfortune. Originally in England to audition for drama school, she heard she had failed to secure a place but still wanted to get more audition experience. The I’d Do Anything auditions turned up at exactly the right time and led to her becoming a Saturday night TV regular. “I was living my dream,” she beams with delight. “I was getting to sing in front of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh. To be honest, I didn’t even dream I would ever meet people like that.”

"I think there comes a point when you have to say ‘You know what, I didn’t win this for a reason and I need to go and do my own thing.'"

Meet them she did, and, some might argue, won their hearts more than the show’s eventual winner. Yet there is not a hint of bitterness about her loss. She talks of Prenger with genuine affection; why would she begrudge her anything when she too is now on a West End stage?

Buckley is also very down to earth about reservations put forward regarding reality TV casting and the effect that it has on performers who have trained and worked hard but never got their big break. “I understand why people might feel stand-offish about it,” she says, “because people have worked for ages and toured and never got their chance to be in the West End, but either way, this business is all about being in the right place at the right time and I was accidentally there at the right place and the right time, not expecting anything from it, but, you know, I was just really lucky and I worked hard during it.”

Luck may have played its part in thrusting Buckley into the limelight, but there was undoubtedly a great deal of quiet hard work put in behind the scenes. She is not the type of person to sit around when some effort could be expended. At school she played the piano, clarinet and harp to Grade 8 level and was also a talented swimmer, rising at 06:00 to train before school. Music may run in her family and she may have a natural talent, but if ever there was anyone who was going to put the work in to maximise her potential, it is Buckley. “I’m not a person who just likes sitting around,” she says, mastering understatement. “I need to be doing things and I need to be learning. I need to be growing as a person all the time and I’m not happy unless I do.”

This is why it will be so exciting to see her career progress. She has already proven that she doesn’t take the easy choices and isn’t afraid to take a chance. She has also had her eyes opened to the many different opportunities which lie ahead through a summer course at RADA, where she “just fell in love with Shakespeare and I fell in love with scripts and I love reading scripts and going to plays. It really just opened my eyes and I want to do everything. I want to do Chekhov and I want to do musicals and period dramas and films.” It could sound precocious or pushy or greedy, but in actual fact it is just the voice of an emerging talent who has an insatiable thirst for performance. She goes on to say of her next job: “I want to be choosy and I want another challenge, I want something that will be tough. I want to work with another great director and great cast. I want a long career and I don’t want a flimsy thing. I want to do this for the rest of my life and I’m going to work hard at it.”

It has already been a long journey for the girl whose description of a family playing harps, singing round the piano and living at the bottom of a mountain could only be more stereotypically Irish if she added that they were wearing green and had cousins who were leprechauns. She puts her success down to parents who gave her every opportunity they could. Undoubtedly this helped, but without her tenacity and self-belief she would not be making her West End debut in yet another musical to successfully transfer from the Menier Chocolate Factory. With the producing theatre’s history, no-one would blame any of the company for keeping one eye firmly on the 2009/10 theatre awards season.

That, I imagine, is far from Buckley’s mind. It would be one hell of a story to come from nowhere to starring in a Laurence Olivier Award-winning production in just two years. For now she is merely focusing on getting to grips with life as a professional actress. “Now I’m worrying about taxes,” she smiles, “whereas before I was worrying about who would change my sister’s nappy. It’s been scary at times, but I think, in a way, being thrown in at the deep end has been the best thing in the world for me, because you just swim, don’t you, you don’t let yourself drown.” If Buckley’s thirst, drive, enthusiasm and commitment has anything to do with it, before long she won’t simply be swimming, she will be breaking records.

Cast Interview [Video]

2009-04-16T16:21:00.000+01:00

Watch this video interview with Trevor Nunn and most of the cast of A Little Night Music to hear their thoughts on the production at the press night after party. As if you didn't already need any more excuses to go and see it, even the cast do a pretty good job of persuading you as well!

Broadway World West End: 'A Little Night Music' Meets the Press!

Irish Newspaper Article: "What Jessie Buckley Did Next."

2009-04-11T16:51:00.005+01:00

[Taken from the Country Life section of the Farmers Journal.]

One year after wowing Andrew Lloyd Webber on hit BBC 1 show I'd Do Anything, Kerry girl Jessie Buckley is London's leading lady. Maria Moynihan talks to Jessie about her West End stage debut.

Jessie Buckley might be a West End starlet, but on a recent trip home to Kerry, she was quite happy to stay out of the spotlight.

"I went to see my two sisters in Oliver Twist in the Killarney Musical Society, so I was in the front row cheering them on for a change," she laughs.

It's hard to believe that, just 12 months ago Jessie, was gracing the very same stage as the leading lady in the local production of Carousel. But after making the BBC talent show I'd Do Anything - and winning over Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber - the sparkling 19 year old from Killarney has just made her West End debut.
"I'm still pinching myself," she admits. "Little did I know this time last year that I'd be doing what I'm doing. It's a dream."

Musical Background

Music is in Jessie's blood. The eldest daughter of Tim Buckley and Marina Cassidy - a professional harpist and singer - she started playing piano when she was just four years old. She blossomed into a natural performer, whether on stage with Killarney Musical Society or in school productions at the Ursuline Convent in Thurles, where she credits her teacher Mary Butler as an inspirational mentor.
"I was lucky enough to realise I had a passion that needed to be fed from really early on," she explains. "It didn't matter what knockbacks I got, I was just going to do it."
Indeed, she was "gutted" last year to make the final round of auditions for the prestigious Guildford School of Acting in London, only to miss out on getting a place.
But true to form, she picked herself up and joined the queue of hopefuls auditioning for I'd Do Anything, a BBC talent show searching for an actress to play Nancy in a new West End production of Oliver! The rest is musical history.

I'd Do Anything

Jessie soon found herself singing live every night before an estimated audience of 8 million viewers and a judging panel chaired by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who compared her to a young Judy Garland.
With voting only open to UK residents, she made it to the final two on talent alone, and was named by Lloyd Webber, director Cameron Macintosh and actor Barry Humphries as their Nancy.
And while the public vote eventually swung in favour of Blackpool's Jodie Prenger, Jessie has no regrets.
"I've gone to see Jodie; she's just fantastic, and I know I didn't win that part for a reason," says Jessie. "When you get that far, you're going to be devastated, and you're going to say 'Oh, God, I'm crap' and you're going to cry your eyes out. But, in a way, I think it's been the best thing in the world for me not winning. In the long run, I couldn't have asked for a better result."

West End Star

Jessie certainly didn't crumble when the cameras stopped working. She signed to United Artists, did a RADA Shakespeare course, performed at Andrew Lloyd Webber's birthday concert in Hyde Park and, in one of her first auditions, landed a leading role in the London revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music.
Directed by Trevor Nunn (Cats, Les Miserables) and co-starring the acclaimed Maureen Lipman, Night Music is a complex and sophisticated affair that has won over reviewers and audiences alike. Jessie plays against type as Anne Egerman, a naive and spoilt bride, who discovers her much older husband is having an affair with an old flame. She is revelling in the role.
"To be honest, it is just a present to be given a score and a script like this, because it's just golden," she enthuses. "I'm lucky to be on my first job around really talented actors. I've just stood back and learnt so much from them. They've never been patronising, and they've always been willing to help me."
After an initial run in the Menier Chocolate Factory, A Little Night Music recently transferred to the Garrick Theatre on London's West End until 25 July, with the possibility of an extension until September.
Jessie, understandbly, can't quite believe her luck. "Everyone go out and buy these tickets, because we'd love to be in the job for another month or two," she laughs.

London Life

Jessie lives in South London with fellow I'd Do Anything finalist Niamh Perry, from Co. Down. Off-stage she keeps busy with classes and loves to wander around Notting Hill, visit the National Gallery or grab a coffee and read a script at the National Theatre along the Southbank. Despite her fame, she tries to live "as normal life as possible."
"I'm still a normal 19 year-old girl in London, and I have to worry about water bills and taxes and all that craic," she says. "I always like to learn more and keep growing as a person. London has so much to offer, and you're silly if you don't take advantage of it. Your life is short and you have to seize the moment."
Asked to name her dream role, Jessie is unable to pinpoint just one part. She wants to do Shakespeare and Chekhov, musicals, TV, even film. She would also like to lend her talent and time to an Irish charity. "Ireland has been very good to me, and I'd like to go back and do something for people at home," she says.
But whatever the future holds, one thing is for certain: in Jessie Buckley, a star has been born. "I thank my parents every day for supporting me and encouraging me, because without them I wouldn't be here," she says. "I'm very lucky."

London Theatre Article

2009-04-09T11:40:00.003+01:00

The official London Theatre Guide published yesterday an article about the official West End opening of A Little Night Music and spoke to Jessie on her thoughts and feelings about making her West End debut. Here is what she had to say;

"Buckley, making her West End debut in A Little Night Music after coming to prominence as the runner-up on BBC reality show I’d Do Anything, struggled to find words to describe her first West End opening night. “I don’t really know what happened, it was just one of those overwhelming experiences, something I will never forget,” she said. “I feel very honoured to be sharing the stage with the actors that are up there. I bow down to them, I’ve learnt so much from them and they are the most extraordinary people and also to be given the chance to work with a world renowned director like Trevor Nunn. I can’t tell you how privileged I feel.”

The Irish actress said she asked to audition for the part of naïve young wife Anne after hearing that casting was underway. “I was immediately drawn to this. I read the script and I loved the play and I said I have to do this. So went to the audition, I did an awful first audition because I was so nervous, but then luckily they gave me a second chance and here I am today!”

Though I’d Do Anything winner Jodie Prenger beat her to the role of Nancy in Oliver!, Buckley commented: “I think in the long run it’s the best thing for me. Nancy’s a great part but equally I’m having just as much fun with Anne.”

To read the rest of the article follow the link - Lipman and Waddingham make Night Music at the Garrick.

Official London Theatre Guide have also done a 'First Night Feature' so click here if you want to see what they have to say.

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If you are still to book tickets you can call the Garrick's Box Office on 0844 579 19 74 or alternatively make the most Discount London's ticket and hotel package which can be found on the right.

First Night Photo's - What's On Stage

2009-04-08T15:53:00.001+01:00

To read the small WOS article and flick through a slideshow of all of Dan Wooller's photograph's from last night, click here - 1st Night Photos

Press Night Review From The Guardian

2009-04-08T10:09:00.010+01:00

A Little Night Music

Garrick, London

"One of the pleasures of A Weekend In The Country, the second most famous song in this Stephen Sondheim musical, is that of watching "little things grow". And, like a previous transfer from the Menier Chocolate Factory, La Cage Aux Folles, Trevor Nunn's delicious production of this mordant classic has effortlessly expanded to fill its new space.

Nunn treats Hugh Wheeler's book, drawn from an Ingmar Berman movie, as seriously as he does Sondheim's music and lyrics. In other words, the show is propelled by character as much as by song. Much of the plot revolves around the gradual coming together of the touring thesp, Desiree Armfeldt, and her quondam lover, Frederik, now hitched to an 18-year-old bride. The wonderously Junoesque Hannah Waddingham and the elegantly benign Alex Hanson from their first encounter suggest the laughing complicity of genuine partners. You believe totally in their relationship; and even the show's big number, Send In The Clowns, memorably delivered by Waddingham, here seems less a cry of despair than a brief detour in their inevitable reunion.

To emphasise the drama is not to downplay the wit of Sondheim's lyrics or the ravishing beauty of his score with its echoes of Ravel and Rosenkavalier. It is also a musical that combines midsummer magic and melancholy with a sense of impending death. You see this most clearly in Maureen Lipman's exquisite portrayal of Madame Armfeldt, who starts out as the epitome of patrician hauteur, with her cut-glass vowels and worldy wisdom, and ends as an old woman stoically accepting mortality. Under the show's celebration of sensuous delights, there is, all in good comedy, a silvery sadness perfectly epitomised by Kelly Price's rather overlooked performance as the masochistic wife of a faithless count. Sondheim once characterised the show as "whipped cream and knives"; and both are here ideally balanced, as is the sound through the simple device of having the band placed behind the singers. The result is an evening of refined enchantment."
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Photograph's from the Press Night After Party

More photographs can be found at Getty Images and from Wooller.

Feature On BBC London

2009-04-06T22:16:00.004+01:00

Today on BBC London, a small feature about A Little Night Music and the success of the Menier Chocolate Factory on the eve of it's official West End press night was on the news programme.

Click on the link here and fast forward the media player to 21m 34secs to watch the feature which includes clips showing us around the Menier Chocolate Factory and the tiny shared dressing room the cast had to endure as well as rehearsals at the Garrick.

Thanks to Sophie for helping me get it on here!

A Great Ticket and Hotel Deal!

2009-04-04T14:12:00.007+01:00

I've recently been told about a great deal offering the best available tickets to see A Little Night Music for Friday evening performances coupled with a two night stay in the 3 star Bloomsbury hotel in London!

Ideal for those of you who don't live in close proximity to London or just fancy treating yourself to a small theatre break, this is a deal that shouldn't be missed. Moreover, Discount-London.com, are offering it for a complete steal at £126 per person!

The dates on offer are:

17th April 09

24th April 09
8th May 09
22nd May 09
5th June 09
19th June 09
3rd July 09
17th July 09

If you are interested follow the link to the website to get all the information: A Little Night Music with a Two Night Stay in a 3* London Hotel

Radio Interview

2009-03-29T18:15:00.003+01:00

Click here for the extended version of Jessie's interview on Lyric FM's Stage Door feature - Interview 29-03-09!

Jessie's West End Debut

2009-03-29T11:12:00.011+01:00

From the very start of Trevor Nunn's production of A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory, speculation was rife about a transfer to the West End. Well, the news broke and a mere three weeks after the end of the run at the intimate Southwark theatre, the fantastic production made its deserved debut on the West End stage.

In comparison to many West End theatres the Garrick is relatively small and the stage hardly bigger than the one at the Chocolate Factory. Any worries about the issue of keeping the intimacy, a key, remarkable and endearing feature from the run at the south London theatre, were forgotten about straight away.

As a Grade II listed building the Garrick, built in 1889, seems to be the perfect setting for this classy Sondheim musical set at the turn of 19th century in Sweden. With its ornate decoration it really helps to build the right atmosphere for Night Music - and the atmosphere was most definitely buzzing last night. Many of you will already be familiar with the plot, but now with a slightly larger space to use, better props, better lighting and powerful sound A Little Night Music and the Garrick seem to be a match made in heaven.

Jessie gave an outstanding performance last night and should most definitely feel very proud of herself. The show was full of energy and everyone on the stage seemed to have that sparkle in their eye, most probably due to the excitement of debuting the show on the West End and having had a small break. The comedy was once again delivered with brilliant timing and was met with applause and laughter from the audience on numerous occassions. The singing was once again exquisite and despite the fact it sounds like I'm fawning massively, there really were no complaints from anyone; in particular, the American man who was sat next to my sister, a big Sondheim fan and hugely enthusiastic about this production and who seemed totally oblivious and unaware when I told him it had just transferred from another, smaller London theatre.

Overall, a great cast performing in a great show at a great theatre situated in the heart of theatre land. At the moment, when one thinks of London's West End they think the of the big, bold blockbuster musicals but A Little Night Music most definitely provides a pleasing change to the norm and is one show all theatre lovers should definitely go to see!

Correction: Jessie will be interviewed by RTE Lyric FM today at 6 o'clock and the radio show can be streamed from the site www.rte.ie/radio - I will endeavour to get it recorded for those who don't get to listen and make a downloadable file so do check back later tonight to see if I've succeeded!

Final Countdown

2009-03-26T12:43:00.002Z

As many of you may have seen, the countdown timer at the top right of the site has gradually been counting down to Jessie's West End debut! With Saturday fastly approaching it's hard to believe it's been three weeks since the end of the immensely successful run at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

Saturday is surely to be a great occassion particularly for Jessie as she will be making her debut in the West End and the best of luck goes out to all the cast, especially Jessie! I'm lucky enough to be going and will get an article up as soon as possible and report it all back.

For those of you who still haven't bought your tickets to see the show, there are two reliable and professional sites linked via pictures on the right hand side - LoveTheatre and westendtheatre.com - the latter are currently doing a great deal on their website. Alternatively, get on to the official website at www.nightmusiclondon.co.uk and follow the links to buy tickets from there.

That's all for now!

Photo Flash: Garrick Promo Shots

2009-03-14T16:07:00.008Z

With just under two weeks until A Little Night Music opens in the West End at the Garrick it's great to see some new promotional photographs for the show.

Night Music Plays To A Full House For The Last Time

2009-03-12T15:24:00.004Z

Sunday saw the last ever performance of A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory; a momentous occassion indeed.

As per usual the cast all performed superbly, delivering the comic lines with extra panache.

There was a distinct atmosphere in the theatre on Sunday - one of excitement knowing that in exactly 20 days time the show would be opening on the West End and also one of slight sadness with the show being over at the brilliantly intimate south London venue.

All the cast recieved rapturous rounds of applause for their songs and a standing ovation at the end.

After the curtain call Maureen Lipman said a few words and flowers were given to the members of the cast who were leaving. The cast also announced they would be taking donations to Comic Relief in the foyer/bar-area afterwards and rumour has it they collected just over £1500 for charity. It may have had something to do with certain red noses or Gabriel Vick amusingly declaring that it would be £20 per photo with Jessie.

One Year On, 50k Hits And An Impending West End Debut!

2009-03-02T20:32:00.005Z

I thought reaching the coveted 50,000 hits would be a great opportunity to post a little something!

With it being a year since the BBC thrust I'd Do Anything, the TV talent search for the next Nancy and Oliver in one of Britain's best loved musicals, onto our screens you wouldn't be blamed for not even predicting what would have happened in the coming months and year. It is fair to say that all of the girls who featured on I'd Do Anything are going on to be extremely successful in all their own projects, and especially Jessie.

Despite not winning the role of Nancy, the public had warmed to Jessie, she went on to do numerous performances and workshops gaining more supporters and finally, the role of Anne in A Little Night Music. No mean feat for a girl fresh out of a small Irish town and into the bustling bright lights of London.

The only thing left to say is that I want to publicly congratulate Jessie on all that she has achieved so far and particularly on the recent fantastic news about the transfer to the Garrick theatre. I think Jessie has really proven to everybody that if you have such a passion for something you can achieve it despite all the obstacles that may come to stand in your way.

Ticket For The Last Performance Of Night Music At The Menier For Sale! - SOLD

2009-02-19T15:25:00.007Z

[The ticket has now been sold.]

If you weren't lucky enough to snap up a ticket for the sell-out Menier run, now you have a second chance!

Due to unfortunate and unforseen circumstances David of Rachel Tucker Blog fame is unable to come to the last ever performance of A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory on the 8th March.

Therefore, the ticket, which is Row E-2, is now up for sale to anyone who would like to go and catch the last performance in the charmingly intimate Chocolate Factory before the production makes its way to the bigger stage on the West End.

David is offering his ticket for £30 plus £1.50 for recorded delivery First Class Royal Mail post meaning the total will be £31.50.

Please get in touch with me via email on k_r_cook@hotmail.co.uk if you would like to purchase the ticket and I will sort out you getting in touch with David to exchange payment and delivery details. Thanks!

Official Night Music Website Launched!

2009-02-17T13:43:00.003Z

Click here: www.nightmusiclondon.com

Garrick Transfer 7th In Five Years For The Menier

2009-02-17T11:51:00.010Z

It would seem that the Menier Chocolate Factory is the perfect place to nurture modestly scaled theatre productions and transform them into West End transfers within matters of months.

As many of us already know, A Little Night Music starring someone rather good called Jessie, will be transferring to the Garrick theatre at the end of March! Brilliant news for all concerned but also a triumph for the Chocolate Factory itself; a theatre which seems to have the inherent nack for achieving transfers to the bigger stages.

A brief article in the Evening Standard makes a small summation of the success achieved by all the cast and crew in Night Music at the Southwark theatre.

One of the biggest features and arguably strengths of the Menier is the intimacy it creates which I personally feel has been a really central reason of why it has been so successful, popular and enjoyable to go and watch.

Despite the fact that it will be moving onto the West End stage, the Garrick holds roughly 700 which is fairly small in comparison to some other theatres and Maureen Lipman is definitely confident that none of the special intimacy will be lost, "Trevor knows how to arrange it so [the] same intimacy will be achieved at the Garrick".

Click here to read the full article
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Now for a few facts:

The West End run of A Little Night Music will commence on the 28th March and finish on the 25th July 2009.

Garrick Box Office details to buy tickets: 0844 412 4662

Official website: http://www.nightmusiclondon.com/

Click to view the Seating Plan

Nearest Tube: Leicester Square/Charing Cross (lots of bars and restaurants in the vacinity to go to before/after the show!)

Night Music To Transfer To The Garrick

2009-02-15T20:21:00.006Z

Forget Fredrik and Desiree's mention of running off together to Malmo in the closing scenes of Night Music, it looks like they'll be much closer to home from the end of March.

In fact, they'll simply be hopping over the Thames with the destination being the Garrick, West End, London. It seems to be certain that the Garrick will be the lucky new host to the critically acclaimed production of A Little Night Music. Perhaps more importantly and more excitingly for us, this theatre will be where Jessie takes to the West End stage for the very first time in her first professional role.

The great news seems to have been confirmed by tickets website UK Tickets [click here for link] who announced the transfer in their news section marking out the point of Zorro, the Garrick's current production, closing early. However, seeing as it has not been confirmed anywhere else as of yet we are still a little tentative but optimistic that it will be officially announced this coming week.

"Trevor Nunn’s revival of the Stephen Sondheim classic, dubbed as ‘exquisite’, ‘a triumph’, ‘Beautiful’ and ‘wonderful’ finishes its sold out run at the tiny Menier on 8 March, and performances recommence at the Garrick on 28 March. The show will retain the powerful cast that received unanimous praise from the crtics, including Maureen Lipman, Alex Hanson, Hannah Waddingham and Kelly Price."

Despite there being a distinct lack of a mention about Jessie we are sure she shall be moving with the production seeing as she has received many rave reviews on her brilliant portrayal of Anne Egerman.

According to UK Tickets, the box office will open for ALNM at the Garrick early next week (week commencing 16th Feb.) and once details are confirmed everything will be posted here in due course.

If all the news is to be believed then this will mark a new and exciting chapter for Jessie as she embarks on her West End theatre career and the Blog will be there every step of the way!

West End Transfer Speculation Continues

2009-02-11T16:00:00.003Z

Despite What's On Stage attaching this image to their article it would hardly seem that any rumour and speculation is being kept quiet with two articles being published today by said stage paper and website as well as broadwayworld.com adding fuel to the fire regarding a transfer for A Little Night Music; both are reliable and reputable sources .

I also have it on good knowledge that all the main cast are set to move with the show to the Garrick Theatre by roughly the end of March.

Here are the two articles that will undoubtedly set tounges wagging further:

Nunns Menier Night Music Moves to Garrick??

Garrick Theatre May Welcome A Little Night Music In March

If you want, let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment!

A Little Night Music Set For Transfer?

2009-02-10T19:11:00.002Z

From very early on, many speculated that A Little Night Music would be a dead-cert for a transfer to the West End, with the critics certainly predicting so.

Therefore, with just under a month to go until the highly-praised hit finishes its short but sweet run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, we are sure some news will surface soon about what is next for the show, the cast and most interestingly for us, Jessie.

Of course I do not want to start any rumours or speculation, but going by the quick sell-out and all the overheard whispers between the theatre-goers about how they think and hope it will go to the West End during the interval it certainly would seem that a transfer would be desirable for keen theatre buffs. Naturally it would also be a fantastic step for Jessie!

The possibility of a transfer of course brings questions such as 'which theatre will it go to?' and 'will the cast remain the same?' but it is doubtful we will have to wait long for the answers!

As you know, as soon as any news or announcements are made public and confirmed it will appear on here so keep your eyes peeled!

Maybe we'll be humming a little less 'Weekend In The Country' and a little more 'A Year In The West End'?

[Also, I have been trying to find out about the Whats On Stage Q&A with the cast on the 29th January but it's proving rather unsuccessful. If anybody has a transcript or some information please do get in touch with me.]

Ashley Joins We Will Rock You Tour Cast!

2009-02-04T13:50:00.004Z

Stemming from speculation on two reliable websites Whats On Stage and the WWRY website itself, rumour has it that Ashley Russell has secured the part of the teacher in the touring production which commences its 9 month run in March.

Having seen the West End production of We Will Rock You myself, it's great to finally hear the news that Ashley has a role in this world-renowned and electric show!

Congratulations go out to Ashley and if the show is coming to a city near you I would recommend you catch it, I doubt you'd be disappointed!