26th February 2024
Dame Patricia Routledge, the celebrated actress and comedian, is appearing at the Players Theatre, Thame on Sunday 17th March, when she will be Facing the Music as an award-winning singer, in conversation with Edward Seckerson, writer and broadcaster. In this fascinating session, Dame Patricia will be recalling her very special career as a singer, illustrated with some rare and treasured recordings.
Dame Patricia is best known as an actress, especially for her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, for which she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance in 1992 and 1993. She is also known for her roles in (amongst many others) To Sir, with Love (as Clinty Clintridge), in Lock Up Your Daughters (as Nurse), and in Pretty Polly (as Miss Gudgeon).
But it is still one of the best-kept secrets in show business that she trained as a singer, as well as an actress. As a singer, she has had considerable success in musical theatre, both in this country and in the USA. She discovered her passion for music and performance while studying in earlier years at the University of Liverpool. She has stated that ‘music is the purest art form’.
Her many awards as a singer include a Tony for her Broadway performance in the Styne-Harburg musical Darling of the Day and a Laurence Olivier Award for her performance in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. Her one-woman show Come for the Ride toured the UK in 1988 and in 1992 she played Nettie Fowler in the highly acclaimed production of Carousel at the National Theatre.
Dame Patricia was made a Dame by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2017 for her services to entertainment and charity.
This will be a unique opportunity for Thame audiences to hear about Dame Patricia’s illustrious career as a singer, so get your tickets now for a very special afternoon.
