Aimie Atkinson | |
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Born | Aimie Allen-Atkinson 5 June 1987 Stevenage, England |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2006–present |
Website | www |
Aimie Allen-Atkinson (born 5 June 1987) [2] is an English stage actress and singer. [3] She is known for portraying the role of Katherine Howard in British comedy musical Six on the original UK tour and in the West End production at the Arts Theatre, Lyric Theatre and Vaudeville Theatre, portraying Vivian Ward in the West End production of PrettyWoman, as well as forming part of pop girl group SVN.
Atkinson was born to parents Faith Allen and Tom Atkinson in Stevenage, England. Her father played part-time in a rock band, which encouraged her to begin singing from a young age. [4] Whilst studying at Collenswood School in Stevenage, Atkinson was part of the Fusion Performing Arts group and took part in many of their productions. [4] Having studied to GCSE level, and then worked as an admin assistant in a music publishing company. [5] She also ran a franchise for the Stagecraft school in Stevenage. [6]
After agreeing with a friend whilst studying at the Arts Educational School that both should apply to the BBC Radio 2 Voice of Musical Theatre competition, [7] Atkinson was told that she could only apply for the amateur competition. After winning that, she joined a final competition against the final professional contestants – those with at least five years of stage experience – and also won that. [8]
Aged 19, Atkinson left Arts Educational and became a full-time stage actress, taking her first professional job in Howard Goodall's Days of Hope at the King's Head Theatre. [7] She then took on various parts, before starting an intensive course in musical theatre at the Royal Academy of Music. After completing two months in RAM and one month in Arts Educational Schools, she left after two months to join the UK touring production of Zorro, playing the part of Luisa. [7] Subsequently, landing a part in a musical as a sassy 40-year-old singer, [4] the producer of the show then asked Atkinson to audition for the role of Daniela in the musical In The Heights , which she subsequently played at the King's Cross Theatre. [6] She has since played Princess Jasmine in Aladdin alongside Priscilla Presley, Serena in Legally Blonde at Kilworth House, and Snow White opposite Jerry Hall at Richmond Theatre. She has also originated the role of Katherine Howard in the West End production of Six . [9]
On 13 February 2020, Atkinson began playing the role of Vivian Ward in the West End production of Pretty Woman: The Musical alongside Danny Mac at the Piccadilly Theatre. [10] The show later officially opened on 2 March 2020, [11] but closed only two weeks later due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [12] Atkinson returned to the show for its reopening at the Savoy Theatre on 8 July 2021. [13] The show closed in June 2023 and announced a UK and Ireland tour. [14]
In May 2023 it was announced that Death Note: The Musical will have its English premiere at the London Palladium [15] in August. Cast included Atkinson as Rem, Adam Pascal as Ryuk, Frances Mayli McCann as Misa, Dean John-Wilson as L and Joaquin Pedro Valdes as Light. [16] The show is due to transfer to the Lyric Theatre in September 2023 for six additional performances [17] with Georgie Maguire, Jessica Lee and Carl Man taking on the roles of Ryuk, Misa and alternate L respectively. [18]
In February 2024, she was selected to compete in the final of Una voce per San Marino 2024 , the Sammarinese national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, with the song "A Dare for Love". [19] [20]
In September 2024, Playbill announced that Figaro: An Original Musical will have its West End Concert premiere at the London Palladium. Cast included Atkinson as Lucia, Cayleigh Capaldi as Sienna, and Jon Robyns as Figaro.
Atkinson released her debut studio album Step Inside of Love with Jay Records in 2017. As a member of the girl group Goldstone, she competed in Eurovision: You Decide 2018 with the song "I Feel The Love". Atkinson's recordings include:
In 2021, Atkinson formed a seven piece girl group called SVN with six other members of the original West End cast of Six, Millie O'Connell, Natalie Paris, Alexia McIntosh, Jarnéia Richard-Noel, Maiya Quansah-Breed, and Grace Mouat. [21] [22] In 2022, the group released a number of singles such as "Woman" [23] and "Free" [21]
On 18 June 2021, Atkinson released the single "Pretty Woman", a contemporary reimagining of Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman. [24]
Atkinson has dated both women and men. [25] [26]
Her charity work includes a 24 Hour Musical Marathon live stream for Save the Children. [27]
Year | Song | Album | Artist | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | – | Step Inside Love | Aimie Atkinson | With additional features |
2018 | "I Feel the Love" | – | Goldstone | Entry for Eurovision: You Decide 2018 |
– | Six: The Musical (Studio Cast Recording) | SiX (Studio Cast) | With additional features | |
2021 | "Pretty Woman" | – | Aimie Atkinson | Cover of Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman |
"QUEEN" | – | SVN | Cover of Jessie J | |
"Stars" | Stars | SVN | – | |
2022 | "Woman" | Woman | SVN | – |
"I Want To Spend My Lifetime Loving You" | Loving You | Josh Piterman featuring Aimie Atkinson | – | |
"FREE" | FREE | SVN | – | |
"BOSS" | BOSS | SVN | – | |
"At Christmas" | At Christmas | SVN | Christmas Special | |
2024 | "A Dare For Love" | Aimie Atkinson | Entry for Una Voce per San Marino 2024 |
Year | Project | Episode | Role | Streaming App | Ref. |
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2018 | The Sheep Chronicles III: The Jack and the Beans Talk | – | Chilli Bean | Spotify | [28] |
2021 | The Painkiller Podcast | #17 Fib by Annie Williams | Jamie | Spotify | [29] |
Year | Work | Award | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | BBC Radio 2 | Voice of Musical Theatre Award | Won | |
2019 | Six | Olivier Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical | Nominated |
The London Palladium is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many with televised performances. Between 1955 and 1969 Sunday Night at the London Palladium was staged at the venue, produced for the ITV network. The show included a performance by the Beatles on 13 October 1963; one newspaper's headlines in the following days coined the term "Beatlemania" to describe the hysterical interest in the band.
Elaine Jill Paige is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16. Her appearance in the 1968 production of Hair marked her West End debut.
Valentine Ruth Henshall, known professionally as Ruthie Henshall, is an English actress, singer and dancer, known for her work in musical theatre. She began her professional stage career in 1986, before making her West End debut in Cats in 1987. A five-time Olivier Award nominee, she won the 1995 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Amalia Balash in the London revival of She Loves Me (1994).
Nick Winston is an English director and choreographer working in theatre, opera and film.
Emma Williams is an English actress of stage, screen, TV and radio. She has been nominated four times for an Olivier Award.
Joanna Ampil is a musical theatre and film actress from the Philippines and United Kingdom.
Janie Dee is a British actress. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play, and in New York the Obie and Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer, for her performance as Jacie Triplethree in Alan Ayckbourn's Comic Potential.
Samantha Jane Barks is a Manx actress and singer who rose to fame after placing third in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything in 2008. She has released three studio albums: Looking in Your Eyes (2007), Samantha Barks (2016), and Into the Unknown (2021).
Death Note: The Musical is a musical based on the Japanese manga series of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The score is by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics by Jack Murphy and book by Ivan Menchell
Pretty Woman is a musical with music and lyrics by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, and a book by Garry Marshall and J. F. Lawton. The musical is based on the 1990 film of the same name written by Lawton and directed by Marshall. It centers on the relationship that develops between Vivian Ward, a free spirited Hollywood prostitute, and Edward Lewis, a wealthy businessman who hires her for a week to be his escort for several business and social functions.
Goldstone are a British contemporary girl group formed in 2013, consisting of three members from music and stage backgrounds: Aimie Atkinson, Helen Wint, and Rhiannnon Porter. Aimie and Helen met whilst with the Dirty Dancing theatre show and formed the group through their love of pop music.
Six is a British musical comedy in the style of a pop concert. Its music, book, and lyrics were written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. It is a modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII, presented in the form of a singing competition. In the show, the wives take turns telling their story to determine who suffered the most from their shared husband, but ultimately seek to reclaim their individual identities and rewrite their stories.
Courtney Bowman is an English stage actress and singer. She originated the role of Fatimah in Everybody's Talking About Jamie at the Crucible and Apollo Theatre. She played Anne Boleyn in Six at the Arts Theatre, Lyric Theatre and Vaudeville Theatre and Elle Woods in Legally Blonde at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. Bowman is currently starring as Lauren in the UK Tour of Kinky Boots.
Jarnéia Richard-Noel is an English stage actress and singer. She is known for portraying the role of Catherine of Aragon in the musical Six on the original UK tour and in the West End production at the Arts Theatre, Lyric Theatre and Vaudeville Theatre, as well as forming part of pop girl group SVN.
Emilia Rose O'Connell is an English musical theatre actress and singer. She is best known for portraying Anne Boleyn in the original UK tour and West End production of the musical Six. She is part of pop girl group SVN. She has received Laurence Olivier and WhatsOnStage Award nominations.
Grace Elizabeth Mouat is an English musical theatre actress and podcaster. She is best known as Dance Captain/Swing in the musical Six, cover Juliet in & Juliet, Ella in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, Izzy in The Great British Bake Off Musical & originating the role of Karen Smith in the West End production of Mean Girls.
Maiya Jasmin Esi Quansah-Breed is an English singer and stage actress. She is best known for playing Catherine Parr in the UK tour and original cast of the musical Six, a role that granted her and her fellow castmates an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical in 2019.
Natalie May Paris is a British stage actress, singer and dancer. She is best known for originating the role of Jane Seymour in the hit musical Six,she was nominated for the Olivier Award as Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a musical in 2019, together with her cast mates.
Alexia Elizabeth McIntosh is a British actress. She is best known for being part of the original cast of the musical Six in the role of Anne of Cleves, for which she received an Olivier Awards nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a musical in 2019, with her cast mates.
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