Happy Birthday Jack Barber !!

It must be an expensive time of the year for Faye with two of her siblings celebrating their Birthday.

On Thursday it was her sister Nicky and today her brother Jack turned 21.

@Faye_Brookes Happy 21st to my brother, my twin and my partner in crime! x #jackbarber! pic.twitter.com/GyTEE5dY1r

Many happy returns Jack, I hope you had a great day.

I couldn't resisit also including the lovely picture above of Faye with one of her best friends Sophie Tehrani.

@Faye_Brookes 10 years with this lady by my side... #friendsforever pic.twitter.com/0sUSDrPJ8a

They enjoyed a long overdue girly catch up this weekend.

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I will be switching the Sound of Music post back to the top of the blog in a couple of days as I don't want to risk any of you guys missing such exciting news.

The Regents Park Open Air Theatre season is very popular so book your tickets while you still can. I've already got mine :)

THE SOUND OF MUSIC !!

I'm delighted and more than a little excited to announce that Faye will be performing in 'The Sound of Music' at Regents Park open air theatre from July 25th to September 7th.

She is taking on the role of Liesl Von Trapp.

For those who haven't seen the show or watched the movie you can read more about the character Here

If you click on the link below you'll be able to find details about the show itself, see the full cast list and purchase your tickets.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

A link to this Sound of Music site is also now available as a permanent feature on the right of the blog.

Being open air I guess the only thing that could spoil what I'm sure would be an amazing evening's entertainment is the good old British weather. Hopefully it will be kind to us and Faye this summer.

It looks AMAZING and I'm going to have to make at least one visit during its 6 weeks in the park. Please be a dry day.

Many congratulations to Faye for landing such a great part in a wonderful show.

Happy Birthday Nicky Barber !!

I'm sure Faye would want us to help wish her Sister Nicky Barber a very Happy Birthday . . . . . for yesterday.

@Faye_Brookes Come on then Liverpool... It's all GO GO GO! x

@Faye_Brookes Big happy happy birthday to my sister today! @nickylbarber So glad I get to share it with you... Here come the barbers! x 

@Faye_Brookes Birthday meal for the Barber ladies... @JudyVanderdubb @nickylbarber and #motherIngrid! x 

I hope all the Barber girls had a wonderful day.

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Liverpool yesterday, London today.

@Faye_Brookes Morning Twitter bugs. . . . been up since 5am. Back to London then? x 

I'm not sure what the London visit is in aid of but a 5am start would suggest it may be work related.

Hopefully Faye has a fun, safe and fruitful trip to the Capital.

Atlantis !!

Well I can finally reveal the exciting news I mentioned about 6 weeks ago.

You wont have to go to the theatre to see Faye this year because she'll be performing in your own living room as she has been cast in the new BBC series 'Atlantis' which is due to hit our screens in the autumn.

Of course there is nothing like seeing her live and I'm still hoping she'll be sparkling on stage again soon but being able to sit back in my arm chair and watch her on TV does have it's advantages.

It's a lot cheaper for one : -)

I'll post new info as I get it but for now here are a few details about the show taken from www.denofgeek.com


The BBC is replacing Merlin in the schedules with Greek myth family adventure show, Atlantis, written by Misfits’ Howard Overman…

Picture the scene: it’s Saturday teatime at the end of September, the leaves are turning, there’s a wisp of bonfire smoke in the chill air and the shops are already stocked with Christmas decorations. Refreshments in hand, you wedge yourself onto the sofa next to your family/significant other/Japanese love pillow, and switch on BBC One. But there’s a problem: no Merlin.

No Merlin? No matter. The BBC has some brand new family teatime viewing in store for you (brand new, yet very, very old) in the form of historical fantasy, Atlantis. Taking over from the Arthurian legend’s time slot will be a new thirteen-part series which will delve even further back into the annals of myth to entertain us on those crisp autumn evenings.

How far back? Ancient Greece. Atlantis is shaping up to be a depository of Greek legend patted into shape for family viewing. So that’ll be less focus on the baby-eating and swan-rape then, and more wholesome derring-do, we'd have imagined.

The new series will be set in the titular lost city, a “strange, compelling realm” peopled by “snake-haired goddesses and palaces so vast it was said they were built by giants”. The thirteen episodes will follow the Merlin and Doctor Who pattern, each being forty-five minutes in length.

Our hero goes by the name of Jason (though whether this is pre or mid-Argo, or indeed, if he’s even the same fleece-seeking sailor is yet to be confirmed). His arrival in Atlantis kick-starts “an amazing adventure”, “bringing into life the vast store of Greek myths and legends re-imagined for a new generation” in the action-packed series.

That’s what the press release tells us at any rate. What it doesn’t tell us is which names have been brought aboard in the cast (though with filming due to start in April, no doubt that news is on its way).

If the Merlin casting format is repeated - and seeing as Atlantis comes from Merlin co-creators Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps we don’t see why it won’t be - then we can expect a relative newcomer in the lead, shored up by a few old UK hands of the Richard Wilson/Tony Head/John Hurt calibre. It would seem a waste of that wonderful Hurt voice not to stage it behind a CGI Minotaur or Cyclops at least once…

There’ll be a romantic plot we suspect, though will it be a version of sorceress Medea that Jason is romantically entangled with, or another Greek love interest? Again, we’ll have to wait and see.

One thing we are certain of is that the scripts come courtesy of former Merlin writer and Misfits creator Howard Overman. Though his Dirk Gently wasn’t renewed by the BBC, Overman’s still being kept busy by the corporation with this new flagship production, executive produced by BBC Wales’ Bethan Jones (Sherlock, Wizards Vs. Aliens). With Overman on board, some laughs are guaranteed amongst the beast-battling.

We’ll have to wait until Atlantis begins filming in Wales and Morocco (coincidentally, the same country Game of Thrones’ Wolf Unit uses as the back-drop to Dany’s adventures across the Narrow Sea), to get a first glimpse of the new show. As soon as we do, of course, you’ll be the first to know.

Atlantis is due to start filming in April, and will be on our screens in Merlin’s traditional slot this autumn.

We'll Be Back Soon

Bristol Rovers last match of the season is this Saturday at Torquay & I'll be staying in Devon for a few days break so there wont be any fresh updates for a week or so.

However we'll be back before you know it with our final Legally Blonde Tour audios, a few more 'Questions For Faye' & maybe more details of Faye's next venture.

Question For Faye - #18

Nothing new to report at the moment so we'll move on to our next Question For Faye.

Now I'm sure we've all got our favourite muscials and roles that we'd love to see Faye perform but which would the lady herself pick?


Question #18
Other than Elle Woods, what would be your dream role?

Faye's Answer
Elphaba in Wicked, Sherrie in Rock of Ages or Eponine in Les Miserables.


As you're probably aware I also run a fan blog for the amazing Rachel Tucker who recently left Wicked after playing Elphaba for nearly 3 years. I saw the show many times during her time in Oz and along with Legally Blonde it would rank as my favourite muscial. It would be a dream not just for Faye but also for me if she was to Defy Gravity one day.

I wouldn't mind whether she used a broomstick or bubble because I'm sure she'd make an excellent Glinda too.

I haven't actually seen Rock of Ages the muscial but it's definitely on my 'Must See' list after recently watching the movie on Sky and I actually think the role of Sherrie would be absolutely perfect for Faye.

Believe it or not I haven't seen Les Mis either but again it's on my 'Must See' list and should Faye ever land the role of Eponine I would definitely be there on opening night.

Legally Blonde - Legally Blonde !!

Unfortunately we're nearing the end of our collection of Legally Blonde Tour audios.

However we still have a couple left and next up is the title track where Faye / Elle decides to head back to Malibu after being hit on by Professor Callahan.



Can Emmett and her new friends at Harvard persuade her to stay?

If you've seen the show you'll already know the answer. If not, you'll have to wait for the next audio track to find out ;)

Question For Faye - #17

 I hope you guys all had a lovely Easter and allowed yourself to indulge in as many chocolate eggs as possible.

Time for another 'Question For Faye' and ironically it ties in rather nicely with the exciting news I mentioned a week or 2 ago.

I'm afraid you'll still have to wait to find out exactly what that is but here is what Faye had to say when I asked her about her future last autumn.


Question #17
What are your plans after Sleeping Beauty? Do you have anything lined up? How are auditions going?

Faye's Answer
I'm currently auditioning for everything, TV, Film, West End Gigs Etc. The worlds my oyster.


Well I'm very happy to say that one of those auditions paid dividends but you'll have to be patient a little while longer to find out which : -)

Are there any clues in her latest tweet?

@Faye_Brookes Good Morning April . . . . ermmm it's still dark. Oh yeah that's because it's 5am and action. x 

Well, we know that it's April *someone please tell the weather*, she's an early riser, and that it's still dark at 5am ;) 

Happy Easter !!

I'm sure Faye enjoys this time of the year because it gives her a good excuse to dust off the mothballs and wear the rather splendid Easter bunny costume she kept from the Legally Blonde tour : -)

If there was an award for Miss Easter Bunny 2013 Faye would win hands down.

I want to wish Faye and all of our wonderful readers a very happy Easter.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has visited the blog over the past 9 months and helped us past the 10,000 hits milestone.

There have been many memorable occasions since I started this site last July and I know they'll be many more to come. Faye is only at the beginning of what I'm sure will be an incredible career & we aim to be there every step of the way.

I Have Some Amazing News !!

BUT,

I'm afraid I can't tell you : -)

BECAUSE,

I double Delta Nu sister swore not to ;)
*It's a BIG sorority thing*

HOWEVER,

Watch this space . . . . . . .

Grease Videos

I know I've already posted the audio recording of Faye performing 'Hopelessly Devoted To You' when she was playing Sandy in the hit West End musical Grease but I don't think I've featured these two great videos which give us a glimpse of her as Frenchy in the same show.

It takes a special sort of girl to pull off the yellow skirt, purple top and pink cardy combo but Faye somehow manages to still look beautiful.

Really wish I could have seen her in this show because even from these highlights it's clear she was AMAZING.

Legally Blonde - There! Right There!

When is winter going to take the hint, surely it's time for some warmer weather. It was sub zero temperatures when I chatted to Faye after Sleeping Beauty back in early December, it was snowing when I went again at the end of January for the final show and although we're only 2 weeks from April, we are still barely getting above freezing now.

Hopefully this is winters last hurrah.

Faye is currently yo-yoing between Manchester and London but as I mentioned before, musical theatre is a highly competitive business with hundreds of girls going for just a handful of roles. You can only audition for a part when the existing cast member leaves the show and in some cases that can mean years.

So you may have to wait for the chance to go for one of your prefered roles or maybe take a smaller part in a different show and hope there are more opportunities next time you're out of work. You don't just need incredible talent to get a great role, it's also a matter of timing.

@Faye_Brookes Home again... Yay! But no rest for the wicked back to London on Monday x

Personally I think that tweet should read 'No rest for the beautiful and ridiculously talented' because Faye may be many things but I'm pretty sure Wicked isn't one of them.

Next up in our Legally Blonde Tour track recordings is 'There, Right There'. This song probably gets the biggest reaction of all those in the show and has the entire audience in stitches.


Legally Blonde - There, Right There