Rhiannon Drake

Rhiannon Drake
Born Rhiannon Sarah Margaret Drake
(1989-07-13) 13 July 1989
Watford, England
Nationality British
Education Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls
Alma mater St Peter's College, Oxford, Arts Educational Schools, London
Occupation Actress, Musician
Years active 2008–present
Website www.rhiannondrake.co.uk

Rhiannon Sarah Margaret Drake (born 13 July 1989) is a British stage, musical theatre, screen actress and musician. On stage, she is best known for her lead role in the original West End cast of Grim and for the international award-winning performance art work And You Were Wonderful, On Stage. She is also the founder of Test Of Time Productions, a London-based company that puts on cabaret-style performances of well-known popular music.

Early life

Rhiannon was born in Watford, Hertfordshire to a Welsh mother and an English father. She attended Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls from the age of 4 to 18, after which she attended the University of Oxford (St Peter's College). Whilst there, she was a John Bain choral scholar, performed in several theatrical productions, was a member of the award-winning a cappella group, The Oxford Gargoyles and sang lead vocals with 'Dot's Funk Odyssey'. She graduated with a 2:1 in Geography and went to study acting at Arts Educational Schools, London, having been awarded the Peter Glenville Award from the University of Oxford.[1]

Career

Early career

Just a month after completing her training at Arts Educational Schools, London, she appeared as the Red Queen in a three-week run of Through the Looking Glass (And What Alice Found There) at the Edinburgh Fringe to positive reviews. Edfringe Review stated that, "the real stars were Rhiannon Drake... with Drake delivering a particularly impressive rendition of the infamous beheader with her lovely booming voice", whilst www.threeweeks.co.uk, one of the leading Edinburgh Fringe reviewers, referred to her as a "well-played baddie".[2][3] Following her time in Edinburgh, Drake embarked on a nine-month tour of educational theatre around the UK, directed by Harry Meacher (Shakespeare Live!). In June 2012, Drake took a lead role in The Last Witch as Anne Thorne at The Hertford Theatre.[4] In August of that year, she performed in a revival performance of Cole Porter's musical Aladdin (1958 film) at Sadler's Wells, directed by Ian Marshall-Fisher as part of his Lost Musicals project.[5] In November 2012, Rhiannon launched Test Of Time Productions with Let's Do It - A Celebration of Cole Porter and his Contemporaries at Upstairs at the Gatehouse.[6] In December 2012, Rhiannon appeared as a backing singer/dancer in Russell Grant's music video for The Clapping Song, and as vocalist/musical director in Dick Backard: Private Eye at Hoxton Hall.[7]

In 2013, Rhiannon started performing internationally in Cally Spooner's performance art work And You Were Wonderful, On Stage, beginning at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.[8] In late 2013, Rhiannon appeared as the lead role, Holly Streetter, in The Girl That Lived, a short film made in association with the mental health charity MIND.[9] The film gathered considerable local media attention, due to its sensitive topic and successful production. Throughout 2013, Rhiannon was a member of the BBC Symphony Chorus and with them performed at multiple events, including The BBC Proms.[10] She also appeared in a number of concerts including West End Voices at Christmas and performances of Let's Do It - A Celebration of Cole Porter and his Contemporaries at Leicester Square Theatre, The Bridewell and the Jermyn Street Theatre. 2013 also saw Test of Time Productions' second show, In the Mood for a Melody, beginning Rhiannon's long-standing relationship with The Pheasantry. In 2013 Rhiannon also joined the vocal a cappella trio VoXelle and began occasionally performing with the Down For the Count Swing Orchestra, one of the leading British function bands.[11][12]

2014-present

At the beginning of 2014, Rhiannon was part of the revival of Dick Backard: Private Eye at The Bedford, which opened to excellent reviews. Everything-theatre.co.uk gave the show a 4/5 star review, writing, "Drake... played the part with mischievous glee and was fun to watch."[13] And You Were Wonderful, On Stage, returned to the UK to the Tate Britain.[14] Soon after, Drake landed her first major West End role as Sabrina in Grim, performing first at The Rose Theatre, Kingston and then a month's run at Charing Cross Theatre. The musical received mixed reviews, but the cast achieved continued praise, with various reviewers picking out Rhiannon's performance. Theatremonkey.com wrote, "also noteworthy is Rhiannon Drake, who's cheeky Sabrina bursts with personality."[15] She recorded for the Original London Cast Recording of Grim: A New Musical, featuring as a solo artist on three songs which was released on iTunes and other distributors.[16] Rhiannon also continued her work in performance art, appearing in Peter Joslyn's 'Fading Rock Group Revival' as part of his Phantoscope work.[17]

In 2015, Rhiannon completed further filming work on Cally Spooner's And You Were Wonderful, On Stage for exhibition at Spike Island, Bristol and the Stedelijk Museum in 2016.[18] 2015 also saw many concert performances from Rhiannon, most notably Boom Bang-a-Bang, which celebrated the life and works of Ivor Novello award-winning composer Michael Julien, featuring the man himself. In 2015, Rhiannon also formed the vibraphone-based jazz quartet Vibrance with world-renowned percussionist Anthony Kerr.[19]

Test of Time Productions

In 2012, Rhiannon set up Test Of Time Productions, "with the aim of bringing both theatre and music that has stood the test of time to contemporary audiences (www.testoftimeprods.co.uk)." [20] Their first show, Let's Do It - A Celebration of Cole Porter and his Contemporaries sold out across London and Off-West End venues including The Bridewell Theatre, Jermyn Street Theatre, Leicester Square Theatre and Upstairs at the Gatehouse.[21] This was followed by a number of similar performances over the next few years, including celebrations of Sondheim and the music of James Bond, amongst others. Most notably, in 2015 Rhiannon teamed up with Eurovision and Ivor Novello award-winning songwriter Michael Julien for a one-off "celebration concert" of his works at The Pheasantry, Chelsea. The show was briefly discussed on Brian Matthew's BBC Radio 2 show Sounds of the '60s.[22] On 16 December 2015, Rhiannon announced via her Twitter page that in 2016 she would be launching Test Of Time Entertainment, a bespoke London-based entertainment agency.[23]

Personal life

Rhiannon is engaged to be married in July 2016. She lives in Central London with her fiancé. She is related to the actress Angharad Rees on her mother's side.

Notable performances

Year Title Role Notes
2008-10 The Oxford Gargoyles at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Featured Vocalist Concert Performance - C Venues
2008 Cloudburst Featured Vocalist Studio Album - The Oxford Gargoyles
2009 Alright With Me Featured Vocalist Studio Album - The Oxford Gargoyles
2011 Through The Looking Glass (And What Alice Found There) The Red Queen (Lead) Stage - Edinburgh Fringe
2012 The Last Witch Anne Thorne (Lead) Stage - The Hertford Theatre and Walkern Hall
2012 Aladdin Jade Bud (Supporting) Musical Theatre - Sadler's Wells
2012 Dick Backard: Private Eye Gladys (Supporting)/ Musical Director Musical Theatre - Hoxton Hall
2012 The Clapping Song by Russell Grant Backing Singer/Dancer Music Video
2012-13 Let's Do It - A Celebration of Cole Porter and his Contemporaries Lead Vocalist Concert Performance - Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Leicester Square Theatre, Jermyn Street Theatre and The Bridewell
2013 Sondheim - "Only... Slightly Rearranged Lead Vocalist Concert Performance - The Pheasantry, Lauderdale House and Battersea Barge
2013 The Girl That Lived Holly Streetter (Lead) Short Film - created in association with MIND charity
2013-15 And You Were Wonderful, On Stage Featured Vocalist/Actor Performance Art - Various venues incl. Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Tate Britain (UK), amongst others
2014 Dick Backard: Private Eye Various Characters/ Vocalist/Musical Director Musical Theatre - The Bedford
2014 Grim - A Love Story To Die For Sabrina (Lead) Musical Theatre - Rose Theatre, Kingston
2014 Grim - A Love Story to Die for Sabrina (Lead)/ Understudy Cherry (Lead) Musical Theatre - Charing Cross Theatre
2014 Grim Original London Cast Recording Featured Vocalist Cast Album
2015 Boom Bang-a-Bang - A Celebration of the Life and Works of Michael Julien Lead Vocalist Concert Performance - The Pheasantry

References

  1. ↑ "Rhiannon Drake". www.artsed.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  2. ↑ Julia Chapman. "Through the Looking Glass And What Alice Found There)". www.edfringereview.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Katie Cunningham. ED2011 Children’s Show Review: Through the Looking Glass (And What Alice Found There) (Traitor Theatre Company) — threeweeks.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "The Last Witch". www.remotegoat.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Caroline Jowett (24 August 2012). "Theatre review: Aladdin: Lost Musicals, Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells". www.express.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Let's Do It". www.uktw.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  7. ↑ Angharad Llewellyn (21 November 2012). "Russell Grant is a happy clapper". www.thesun.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  8. ↑ "Cally Spooner-"And You Were Wonderful, On Stage" 11 Apr 2013". www.stedelijk.nl. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "Mental health charity to collaborate with Turkish Cypriot film director". www.tvinemedia.blogspot.co.uk. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  10. ↑ "Rhiannon Drake". www.singerspro.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "VoXelle: Stylish Girls A Cappella Act". www.voxelle.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "Down For the Count". www.downforthecount.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Dick Backard: Private Eye, The Bedford - Review". www.everything-theatre.co.uk. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  14. ↑ "Press Release BMW Tate Live Performance Room: Cally Spooner "And You Were Wonderful, On Stage". Online on 27 February 2014 at 20:00 GMT.". www.press.bmwgroup.com. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  15. ↑ "Grim: A New Musical". www.theatremonkey.com. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  16. ↑ "Grim: A New Musical Original London Cast Recording". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  17. ↑ "Phantoscope". www.ernstprojects.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  18. ↑ "Cally Spooner: "And You Were Wonderful, On Stage" 16 Jan - 13 Mar 2016". www.stedelijk.nl. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  19. ↑ "Viberance". www.viberanceband.wix.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  20. ↑ "Test Of Time Productions". www.rhiannondrake.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  21. ↑ "Let's Do It - A Celebration of Cole Porter and his Contemporaries". www.bridewellcentre.org. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  22. ↑ "Test Of Time Productions presents "Boom Bang-a-Bang"". www.pizzaexpresslive.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  23. ↑ "Launching 2016... Test Of Time Entertainment". www.twitter.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.

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