Laura Evans (born 27 August) is a Welsh actress and singer from

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

, best known for her role as Madison Square-Gardens in the popular

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television children's show ''

The Basil Brush Show ''The Basil Brush Show'' is a British children's television sitcom series, starring the glove puppet fox Basil Brush. It was produced for six series by The Foundation, airing on CBBC from 27 September 2002 to 25 December 2007. The show is a s ...

'' and more currently known as a

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

singer.

Early training

Laura Evans was born on 27 August to Marilyn and Norman Evans in Aberdare, South Wales. At the age of 14, Evans won a scholarship to the prestigious

Sylvia Young Theatre School Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent school in Marble Arch, London, England. It is a specialist performing arts school named after its founder and principal, Sylvia Young OBE. Outline The Sylvia Young Theatre School was founded in 19 ...

in London. and trained with her classmates, who included

Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...

and

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

As a child, Evans performed the lead role at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

with the acclaimed

National Youth Music Theatre The National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) is an arts organisation in the United Kingdom providing pre-professional education and musical theatre stage experience for young people. Based in London, it is constituted as a private limited company (orig ...

in their production of ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

'', before going on to play Blousey Brown one of the lead females in the BBC's radio production of ''

Bugsy Malone ''Bugsy Malone'' is a 1976 gangster musical comedy film written and directed by Alan Parker (in his feature film directorial debut). A co-production of United States and United Kingdom, it features an ensemble cast, featuring only child actors ...

''.

Acting career

Evans was one of the lead roles in BBC 's ''The Basil Brush Show'', playing an American girl called Madison—which she based on

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

's performance in ''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his List of directorial debuts, feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (writer), Kirsten Smith from ...

'', and on Phoebe from TV's ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

''. Evans appeared as a regular on the show from 2004 until 2007, and her role as Basil's next door neighbour earned her a place in television folklore as a member of Basil's gang. The episode 'Basils Angels' from the fourth series was nominated for a children's BAFTA Award in 2006. Evans has had several leading roles in

pantomimes Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

. She played the lead role in ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' at the

Bristol Hippodrome The Bristol Hippodrome () is a theatre located in The Centre, Bristol, England, United Kingdom with seating on three levels giving a capacity of 1,951. It frequently features shows from London's West End when they tour the UK, as well as re ...

in 2004 and 2005, reprised the role at the Liverpool Empire Theater a year later, and played Cinderella a third time at the Theatre Royal in 2008 and 2009. She has also appeared in ''

Dick Whittington and His Cat Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

'' in Northampton opposite

Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then he has also acted in films, television and stage productions, numerous pantomim ...

in 2006 and 2007, and again at the Capitol Theatre in London opposite

Todd Carty Todd Carty also known as Todd John Jennings (born Todd Robert Carty; 31 August 1963) is an English actor and director who has grown up on television screens in a variety of roles. His stage appearances have ranged from pantomime to serious dram ...

in 2007 and 2008. In 2013, Evans appeared in the comedy feature film ''Inappropriate Comedy'' alongside Lindsay Lohan and Adrien Brody. In September 2014, she joined other well known Welsh and American actors to celebrated the 100th birthday of

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

, appearing in a staged radio play of ''Under Milk Wood'', with

L.A. Theatre Works L.A. Theatre Works (LATW) is a not-for-profit American media arts organization based in Los Angeles founded in 1984. The intent of the organization is to produce, preserve, and distribute classic and contemporary plays of significance. Along with i ...

alongside

Matthew Rhys Matthew Rhys Evans ( ; born 8 November 1974) is a Welsh actor. He is known for playing Kevin Walker in '' Brothers & Sisters'' (2006–2011) and Philip Jennings in ''The Americans'' (2013–2018), for which he received two Golden Globe Awar ...

and Kate Burton, and directed by

Sara Sugarman Sara Sugarman (born 13 October 1962) is a Welsh actress and filmmaker whose work includes Disney's ''Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen'' (2004) and ''Very Annie Mary'' (2001). She has also appeared in films including '' Dealers'' (1989) and ' ...

, playing several roles and singing the famous folk song as character, Polly Garter. She has more recently played Belle in the Newcastle pantomime, ''Beauty and the Beast'', at the

Theatre Royal, Newcastle The Theatre Royal is a historic theatre, a Grade I listed building situated on Grey Street in Newcastle upon Tyne. History The theatre was designed by local architects John and Benjamin Green as part of Richard Grainger's grand design for the ce ...

from November 2019 to January 2020. She has also played Tinker Bell, Goldilocks and Cinderella at the Theatre Royal Newcastle in ''Peter Pan'', ''Goldilocks and the Three Bears'' and ''Cinderella''.

Music career

In April 2014, Evans released a country EP called ''Remember When'', including the song "More of Me" co-written with

Ben Spivak Ben Spivak (born January 4, 1983) is a Canadian singer and musician. He is best known for being a bassist and vocalist in the pop-reggae group Magic! In addition, Spivak has performed with a variety of musicians including Canadian hip hop group K-O ...

from the band

Magic! Magic! (stylized in all uppercase) is a Canadian reggae fusion band based in Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of lead vocalist, guitarist/producer Nasri Atweh, guitarist/keyboardist Mark "Pelli" Pellizzer, and bassist Ben Spivak. Active si ...

. They were was featured on the season 2 finale of the full episode of, ''

Party Down South ''Party Down South'' (also known as ''The Dirty South'' and ''Dirty South'') is an American reality television series that premiered January 16, 2014, on CMT. The series was created by '' Jersey Shore'' executive producer SallyAnn Salsano and 495 ...

'', on the CMT channel. In 2015, "What's Left of Me" co-written with country singer-songwriter

Brett Detar Brett Detar is an American singer, songwriter, film composer, and music producer. He is perhaps best known as frontman for the band The Juliana Theory and as former guitarist in Zao. Detar launched a career as a singer/songwriter in the Americ ...

and Nashville Producer Jeff Zacharski was featured on the second season of the ''Party Down South''. In May 2020, Evans released a single "Running Back To You" co-written with Ben Spivak. The single topped the UK iTunes blues chart and reached 43 on US blues chart. Her follow up single "Drag Me Back In" co-written with Desi Valentine was released in June 2020 and reached number 2 on the UK blues chart. It received continued radio support from

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales br ...

and airplay on Planet Rock Radio. In 2022, Evans released her 11 track debut album, ''State Of Mind''. It included the single "I'm Alright" and "Fire with Fire" and peaked at number 1 on the UK blues chart. In May 2022, Evans toured as special guest with the Californian rock band, Robert Jon & the Wreck. The album was well received by the UK media and featured in several printed press magazines.

Filmography

* ''Dreams of Gold'' (1994) * ''No Sweat'' (1998) * ''

'' (2002 to 2007) * ''Black Tower Temptation'' (2009) * ''Schizofredric'' (2010) * ''Capture Anthologies: The Dimensions of Self'' (2011) * ''Underground Comedy'' (2011)

References

External links