Co Down singer and actress Niamh Perry has appeared in a string of hit musicals and this summer she'll appear in worldwide hit Mamma Mia! in Belfast, Dublin and Derry. She talks to Brian Campbell
LITTLE did Niamh Perry know that when she went to see Mamma Mia! in Dublin aged 15 that she would end up in a lead role in the hit musical. Bangor native Niamh plays Sophie (the role played by Amanda Seyfried in the 2008 film adaptation) and while she's currently with the touring show in South Africa, she and her cast members will make their way to Belfast, Dublin and Derry this summer. "I grew up with Abba's music and I've always loved it," Niamh says. "I went to see Mamma Mia! at the Point in Dublin in 2005; that was the first year of the international tour. So it's amazing that I'm actually in it now. I feel really lucky that it's kind of gone full circle. "I totally loved it and never ever imagined that that could actually be my job. It seemed like a distant dream and totally unattainable. So it's brilliant that it's what I'm doing now."
Niamh first became known in 2008 when she was 17 and appeared on I'd Do Anything, the BBC talent show that saw 12 young stars competing to win the role of Nancy in a production of musical Oliver! in London's West End. She then got a role in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Love Never Dies, appeared in The Little Prince, Only the Brave and Sweeney Todd. But her big stage debut in the West End was playing the Sophie role in Mamma Mia!
The Abba musical is named after the Swedish band's hit single of the same name (released in 1975, 15 years before Niamh was born). It was first staged in London in 1999 and went on to become a worldwide smash hit, with its winning mix of Abba hits and the tale of family, friendship and romance unfolding on an idyllic Greek island. "I did it when I was 18/19 and now I'm playing the same part, so it almost feels like a different job now that I'm a bit older; I'm 24 now," says Niamh. "I never thought I'd do the show again, but when the opportunity came up last year I jumped at the chance. The brilliant thing about Mamma Mia! is that everyone knows the music and grew up listening to it. I don't think it's possible to not enjoy the music; it's timeless. "That's why Mamma Mia! has been so successful. It's been seen by 54 million people all over the world - in 14 languages in 39 countries. That's pretty impressive."
The popular film adaptation, starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Julie Walters and Seyfried, is Amazon UK's biggest selling DVD ever. "I enjoyed the film. It's a great movie and a real feel-good film and it was really well received, although I do prefer the musical because the action and the singing is happening live in front of you. The movie is great but the musical wins for me," says Niamh. "I've done the show hundreds of times and I still find new stuff to do with it every time I go on stage. I'm really excited about this tour; getting to travel all over the world and to bring it home to Belfast."
Niamh was speaking to Weekend before she and the cast jetted off to Johannesburg, where Mamma Mia! runs until the end of April. It then goes to Jordan in May, before coming to Belfast in June.
The cast will include Sara Poyzer as Donna Sheridan, Shobna Gulati (Sunita in Coronation Street) as Tanya, Sue Devaney as Rosie Mulligan, Richard Standing as Sam Carmichael, Mark Jardine as Harry Bright and Justin Thomas as Sky. "Daniella Bowen, who plays Ali, is one of my closest friends and this is our fifth time working together," says Niamh. "Ashley Russell did the tour last year for six months and she actually played my mum Donna."
Ashley was one of the other girls vying for the Nancy role on I'd Do Anything and Niamh is still in touch with other friends she made on that show. "I'm so close to the girls and we always find time to catch up with each other. I saw Samantha [Barks, who appeared in the hit film adaptation of Les Miserables] a couple of weeks ago, when she came to see Mamma Mia! in Liverpool, and I spoke to Rachel Tucker recently." Belfast singer and actress Tucker went on to play Elphaba in the West End show Wicked.
Niamh is a big music fan - she says she's into James Bay and Civil Wars and Damien Rice - and she has been doing gigs and writing songs under the name 'Neeve'. She hopes to confirm a Belfast gig on June 21 after the Mamma Mia! run at the Odyssey. "I'm still writing at the minute. I did some recording in Singapore last year and a gig in London. It's difficult to do both at the same time but I'm enjoying using the Neeve stuff as an escape. I'm enjoying both worlds. "It's taken me years to have the courage just to put stuff out there, so hopefully something good will happen with it."
As for Mamma Mia!, Niamh says it isn't just women who are coming in droves to see the popular musical. "There are a lot of men. You see so many of them at the start of the show and they don't look particularly happy to be there and then they're the first ones on their feet towards the end of it. It really is a show for everybody,' Niamh says. "My favourite part of it is seeing five-year-olds with 85-year-olds in the front row up dancing and singing at the end. I would challenge anyone to come and see Mamma Mia! and not walk away singing and dancing and feeling totally uplifted. It's such a feel-good show."
She says she can't wait for the Odyssey run in June. "I've been at concerts in the Odyssey but I've never performed there. I'm excited about it. And I'll be able to stay at home that week. I went to my first concert without my parents there; I went to Pink when I was about 13 with my friends. So it's pretty cool and crazy to think I'm doing a show there now."
* Mamma Mia! comes to the Odyssey in Belfast from June 16 to 20, the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin from June 23 to July 4 and the Millennium Forum from July 7 to 11 (AikenPromotions.com).