JUNE/JULY 2018

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”

— Unknown.

Metal bird's-eye view of Uluru as we flew home

As a result of doing some major adventure travelling in Australia during the month of July which took in the Northern Territories and Far North Queensland (and with most of these areas being off the grid!) I decided to combine June and July’s update, so thanks for bearing with me.

Nocturnal…premiered in June to a full house at the prestigious arthouse cinema, Filmhouse, in Edinburgh and I was thrilled to experience first hand the audience's appreciation of it - albeit the jump scares had a few people out of their seats!  I am so proud to have been given the opportunity to play the lead role, Cara, a lonely soul who has to deal with a terrible incident all on her own.  If at least one person who watches this film stops to think about the plight of the lonely people in this ‘connected’ world of ours then I will be happy.

Sunshine on Leith…has to be one of the best musicals and, thanks to my gorgeous friends the Gibbs, I enjoyed the special treat of watching this hit Scottish show from one of the best seats in the house at the wonderful King’s Theatre Glasgow.  The cast, choreography, sets and music magically swept me away on a journey of love, loss and life’s opportunities grasped and passed over, and I will never again be able to listen to the iconic Proclaimer’s song “500 Miles” without remembering the time I sang alongside over 1,785 other people with tears streaming down my cheeks.

Dirty Money…a short film all about greed, deceit and dishonesty was filmed in Glasgow in June and boy does this film sizzle!  And not just because we filmed it during Glasgow’s hottest day ever on record!  The story is about a criminal (me) who attempts to bribe a top detective and I had the time of my life playing the bad girl for a change.  It turns out it really is good to be bad!  This film is one of a series of short films produced by David Wilde’s company Showreel Shorts.  So, if you’re in need of a standout scene for your next showreel then head straight over to dwilde.com and click on Showreel Service.

And speaking of David Wilde, his gritty drama Crime Lord is still available on Amazon Prime Video…so #supportindiefilm and make sure you stream this series!  By way of recap, I play Donna, the love interest of the main character Paul Black.  You can catch my performance in Episode 2, Kill Paul but be warned, I swear…a lot!

Screen Acting Film Academy (SAFA)…held auditions in July and I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to audition for a place in one of their new classes.  Julie McGowan and her team were an absolute delight to work with on the day, so I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that I get the green light for this one.  If this is something that also interests you, then click on this link for more information https://www.screenactingfilmacademy.co.uk

My Friend the Polish Girl…continues to do well on the festival circuit, currently in the prestigious international competition at the New Horizons (Nowe Horyzonty) Film Festival in Wroclaw (Poland) https://www.nowehoryzonty.pl and has been listed by film critic/festival organiser Małgorzata Sadowska as one of the top ten favourites out of all the films shown.  How cool is that?!

Cage The Elephant - Ain't no rest for the wicked [Kinetic Typography]

Ain’t no rest for the wicked…so say the lyrics from Cage the Elephant, and July was no exception.  3 auditions in 2 days just 2 days after 3 weeks of gadding about on the other side of the globe!  Not that I’m complaining, of course, I’m absolutely thrilled albeit I’ll spend the next few weeks champing at the bit waiting to hear whether or not I’ve been cast in any of the roles!  They are all brilliant films with the most amazing scripts and creative talents attached, so I hope you'll join me in keeping everything crossed in the meantime.

IronStar Films…will be making an exciting announcement soon about their latest film Tellurian and, trust me, you are going to love it!  Tellurian is a sci-fi film which tells the tale of the enduring human spirit in the wake of an alien invasion where all the children on earth disappear.  While the war for the planet rages on, a small group of militia find themselves trying to protect not only themselves and their way of life but also, possibly, the last child on earth.  I play the role of Tellu, the alien commander, and whilst I can’t give anything away about my role at this stage, I can give you the link to the official trailer https://vimeo.com/240377884 (you can also watch it on the "Official Trailers" link on this website).

I hope that August brings some wonderful things to you and as our dreams carry us forward to our next goal, pause for thought on this little gem...

“Luck is what you have left over after you give 100 percent.”

— Langston Coleman