Rhiannon Drake#Test of Time Productions
{{Short description|British musician, producer, and actress (born 1989)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Rhiannon Drake
| image =
| imagesize = 250px
| caption =
| birth_name = Rhiannon Sarah Margaret Drake
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1989|7|13|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Watford, England
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = British
| education = Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls
| alma_mater = St Peter's College, Oxford
Arts Educational Schools, London
| occupation = Actress, Musician, Composer, Producer
| years_active = 2008–present
| website = [http://www.rhiannondrake.com www.rhiannondrake.com]}}
Rhiannon Sarah Margaret Drake (born 13 July 1989) is a British musician, composer, producer and actress. She is best known for playing Sabrina in the original West End cast of Grim, and her role in the musical film And You Were Wonderful, On Stage.
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 and a member of the award-winning a cappella group, The Oxford Gargoyles. Following a Geography degree, she went on to study acting at Arts Educational Schools, London, having been awarded the Peter Glenville Award from the University of Oxford.{{cite web|author=|url=https://artsed.co.uk/acting/students/acting-ma-2011/rhiannon-drake|title=Rhiannon Drake|publisher=www.artsed.co.uk|accessdate=27 December 2015}}
Career
=Early career (2012-2015)=
In June 2012, Drake took a lead role in The Last Witch as Anne Thorne at The Hertford Theatre.{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.remotegoat.com/uk/event/155039/the-last-witch/1 |title=The Last Witch |publisher=www.remotegoat.com |accessdate=27 December 2015}} In August of that year, she performed in a revival performance of Cole Porter's musical Aladdin at Sadler's Wells, directed by Ian Marshall-Fisher as part of his Lost Musicals project.{{cite web|author=Caroline Jowett|url=http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/theatre/341515/Theatre-review-Aladdin-Lost-Musicals-Lilian-Baylis-Studio-Sadler-s-Wells |title=Theatre review: Aladdin: Lost Musicals, Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler's Wells|publisher=www.express.co.uk|date=24 August 2012|accessdate=27 December 2015}} 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.{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/calendar/performances/cally-spooner-and-you-were-wonderful-on-stage|title= Cally Spooner-"And You Were Wonderful, On Stage" 11 Apr 2013|publisher=www.stedelijk.nl|accessdate=27 December 2015}} 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.{{cite web|author=|url=http://tvinemedia.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/mental-health-charity-to-collaborate.html|title= Mental health charity to collaborate with Turkish Cypriot film director|publisher=www.tvinemedia.blogspot.co.uk|date=31 January 2014|accessdate=27 December 2015}} 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.
At the beginning of 2014, Rhiannon was part of the revival of Dick Backard: Private Eye at The Bedford, which opened to excellent reviews; the show had a further run at Hoxton Hall.{{cite web|author=|url=http://everything-theatre.co.uk/2014/01/dick-backard-private-eye-the-bedford-review.html|title= Dick Backard: Private Eye, The Bedford - Review|publisher=www.everything-theatre.co.uk|date=18 January 2014|accessdate=27 December 2015}}{{cite web|author=|url=https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=95446|title= Dick Backard: Private Eye|publisher=www.allinlondon.co.uk|accessdate=17 November 2019}} And You Were Wonderful, On Stage, returned to the UK to the Tate Britain.{{cite web|author=|url=https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/united-kingdom/pressDetail.html?title=bmw-tate-live-performance-room-cally-spooner-and-you-were-wonderful-on-stage-online-on-27-februrary&outputChannelId=8&id=T0168546EN_GB&left_menu_item=node__4095|title=Press Release BMW Tate Live Performance Room: Cally Spooner "And You Were Wonderful, On Stage". Online on 27 February 2014 at 20:00 GMT.|publisher=www.press.bmwgroup.com|date=2 February 2014|accessdate=28 December 2015}} 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; she is featured on the Original London Cast Recording.{{cite web|author=|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LRY3IZC?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0|title= Grim: A New Musical Original London Cast Recording|publisher=amazon.co.uk|accessdate=7 August 2014}} In addition, Rhiannon featured in the short film Off Camera Dialogue, written and directed by Cally Spooner. The film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival.{{cite web|author=|url=http://film.britishcouncil.org/off-camera-dialogue|title= Off Camera Dialogue|publisher=www.film.britishcouncil.org|accessdate=20 July 2016}}
In 2015, Rhiannon completed further filming work on Cally Spooner's And You Were Wonderful, On Stage for exhibition at Spike Island, Bristol, before being released as a feature film in 2016.{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitions/contemporary-artists-cally-spooner|title= Cally Spooner: "And You Were Wonderful, On Stage" 16 Jan - 13 Mar 2016 |publisher=www.stedelijk.nl|accessdate=27 December 2015}} 2015 also saw many concert performances from Rhiannon, most notably Boom Bang-a-Bang at The Pheasantry, which celebrated the life and works of Ivor Novello award-winning composer Michael Julien, featuring the man himself.
=Focus on producing and composing (2016-present)=
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."{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.testoftimeproductions.co.uk/|title= Test Of Time Productions|publisher=www.rhiannondrake.co.uk|accessdate=27 December 2015}} On 16 December 2015, Rhiannon announced via her Twitter page that in 2016 she would be relaunching this as Test Of Time Entertainment, a bespoke London-based entertainment agency and production company, signifying a shift in career focus.{{cite web|author=|url=https://twitter.com/RhiannonDrake/status/677291867520827392|title=Launching 2016... Test Of Time Entertainment|publisher=www.twitter.com|accessdate=27 December 2015}}
In 2018, Rhiannon finished writing her musical, The Year Without A Summer. After being workshopped in January, the musical was launched on 9 February at the Arts Theatre in London.{{cite web|author=|url=https://artstheatrewestend.co.uk/whats-on/the-year-without-a-summer-launch-concert/|title=The Year Without A Summer Launch Concert|publisher=www.artstheatrewestend.co.uk|accessdate=6 February 2018}} As part of the show Herstoric, the musical had a limited run at the Drayton Arms Theatre in April 2019. The show received good reviews, with Chris Omaweng of LondonTheatre1.com writing that it followed "in the footsteps of Six and, dare I say it, Hamilton."{{cite web|author=|url=https://www.londontheatre1.com/reviews/musical/herstoric-at-the-drayton-arms-theatre-review/|title= Herstoric at the Drayton Arms Theatre Review |date=3 April 2019 |publisher=www.londontheatre1.com|accessdate=18 June 2019}} A month later Rhiannon returned to the Drayton Arms Theatre to produce Immortality, a new musical produced by Biondi Music Theatre in association with Test of Time Entertainment. {{cite web|author=|url=https://www.thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk/immortality|title= Immortality |publisher=www.thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk|accessdate=18 June 2019}} Also in 2019, as one third of jazz trio Viva La Vamp, Rhiannon was a grand finalist at Open Mic UK, placing third.{{cite web|author=|url=https://www.openmicuk.co.uk/artists/viva-la-vamp-3/|title= Viva La Vamp |publisher=www.openmicuk.co.uk|accessdate=19 June 2019}} Alongside her brother Will, Rhiannon was a winner of the inaugural Ceiling Project, a platform aimed at supporting women-led writing teams in producing pieces of musical theatre focussed on women. Their short musical, Gwen, was first performed at Bishopsgate Institute in November 2019.{{cite web|author=|url=http://somewhatawkward.co/theceilingproject/|title=The Ceiling Project|publisher=www.somewhatawkward.co|accessdate=21 November 2019}} Rhiannon was also musical director and co-composer of a revival of The Wind of Heaven by Emlyn Williams at the Finborough Theatre, London in December 2019.{{cite web|author=|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Casting-Announced-For-THE-WIND-OF-HEAVEN-at-Finborough-Theatre-20191104|title=Casting Announced For THE WIND OF HEAVEN at Finborough Theatre|publisher=www.broadwayworld.com|accessdate=21 November 2019}}
Personal life
Rhiannon married in July 2016. She lives in Central London with her husband. She is related to the actress Angharad Rees on her mother's side.
Stage
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role(s) ! Venue(s) |
|---|
| style="text-align:center;"| 2012
| Anne Thorne | The Hertford Theatre, Hertford |
| style="text-align:center;"| 2012
| Aladdin | Jade Bud | Sadler's Wells, London |
| style="text-align:center;"| 2012 2014 |Dick Backard: Private Eye | Gladys | Hoxton Hall, London |
| style="text-align:center;"| 2013-15
|And You Were Wonderful, On Stage | Vocalist | International Tour |
| style="text-align:center;"| 2014
|Grim - A Love Story to Die for | Sabrina, Cherry (understudy) | Rose Theatre, London |
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| style="text-align:center;"| 2013
|The Girl That Lived | Holly Streetter | Short Film |
| style="text-align:center;"| 2014
|Off Camera Dialogue | Vocalist | Short Film |
| style="text-align:center;"| 2016
| And You Were Wonderful, On Stage | Vocalist | |
| style="text-align:center;"| TBA
| Pre-Production |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://twitter.com/rhiannondrake Rhiannon Drake's Twitter account]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102913/http://www.rhiannondrake.co.uk/ Rhiannon Drake's official website]
- {{IMDb name|6094227}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Rhiannon}}
Category:English stage actresses
Category:21st-century English actresses
Category:Actresses from Watford
Category:Alumni of St Peter's College, Oxford
Category:English people of Welsh descent
Category:Musicians from Watford