Film, Theatre, TV – an introduction

Singing in the orchestra pit for a dance company is not adequate preparation for a life lived upon the stage but singing for London Contemporary Dance Theatre was, nevertheless, the first step on a long road that led eventually to a date with the West End stage. After working in fringe dance companies for two years, a time came when our heroine found that she liked to eat, more than she wanted to pursue the life of a struggling artiste, ‘those who danced for the pure art of it all’. To hell with that! a girl’s got’a eat.

Stepping off the pedestal that was contemporary dance into the grimy (or if truth be told . . . the more warm and more comfortable) world of commercial dance, steps were taken to master the art of the open audition. To get noticed amongst a sea of gyrating bodies – all of whom had more hair than La limerick and who could dance a watusi in a three inch heel – was no easy thing. Mastering came with repetition and thankfully employment followed.

With a musical and a stint in a resident theartre company under her belt Limerick braved an audition for  a TV production of Dido And Aeneas, Henry Purcell’s beautiful Opera. Working with Howard Goodall for LWT was an exciting experience and led to more work for TV. (To know the full ins and outs of that period check out this read more link.)

Time passes, La Limerick records with and for various people and projects, works with Wayne Sleep, Tom Jobe, William Louther and does a solo show at the Riverside Studios. She meets Lati Kronlund while performing at the ICA,  joins the cast of a West End Musical, leaves the show, works with Lati once more, does a bit of this and a lot of that then rejoins the cast of Starlight Express as a principle. For many years after her last performance with that company La Limerick would have to put aside a career in the theatre. The encounters with Lars Eric Kronlund (Lati to his friends) would turn everything on its head for a singer whose ambitions had been small, with regard to recording; a deal for one of the bands she had worked with would have sufficed. Instead a solo career beckoned and as always – eager for a new challenge – Ms Limerick jumped in, eyes open wide, no safety net.

For the meat and potatoes of the years leading up to the signing of the first recording deal, voila!

Blink and more than two decades of recording career fly by before Ms Limerick can reclaim a place on the theatrical stage. The Pajama Game, directed by Simon Callow and choreographed by David Bintley – the director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet Company – was the vehicle that allowed this. With a diverse and eclectic cast the show was destined to be more interesting than acclaimed, though it did surprisingly well on it run in Toronto, Canada. The show ran for less than year and Limerick enjoyed every show, even those when she performed with a bit of chipped cartilage moving around in her ankle.

Treading the boards again (The Sleeptite Saga)

Ms Limerick knows, full well, that her bread and butter has often come with jam and cream and she has thoroughly enjoyed every moment of her several careers, not least the time spent upon the theatrical stage. Was it hard work, often, was it scary, sometimes, would she change a single heart-stopping, muscle aching, bruise inducing moment of it? Not a bit. Would she do it again? Even if only to meet the amazing people she has encountered and to make the superb friends she has made and kept, yes, in a heartbeat.

Posted on: 29th April 2015