Melissa Madden Gray, stage name Meow Meow, is an Australian-born actress, dancer and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

performer who tours internationally. Gray has been particularly active in the UK where she appeared in ''

La Clique ''La Clique'' is a cabaret/variety show with Australian roots first conceived for the 2004 season of The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It was originally performed in The Famous Spiegeltent with a small circular stage at fringe festivals, but since ...

'' at the Roundhouse and created the role of the ''Maîtresse'' in the West End musical adaptation of ''

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg ''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'' (french: Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) is a 1964 musical romantic drama film written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music and lyrics by Michel Legrand. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo star as two young l ...

'' at the

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 986 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague an ...

. In 2010 Meow Meow was awarded the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

Prize. In January 2011 she premiered "Meow Meow in Concert" for three nights at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

on London's West End. She was named Best Cabaret Performer at the 2012 Helpmann Awards for her show, ''Little Match Girl''. She debuted "An Audience with Meow Meow" at the

Berkeley Repertory Theatre Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It runs seven productions each season from its two stages in Downtown Berkeley. History The company was founded in 1968, as the East Bay's first resident p ...

in California as part of their Fall 2014 season.

Training

As an undergraduate, Gray studied at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

where she was a resident student at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. She took the degrees of Bachelor Laws and Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts and German (with honours). Gray is also a graduate of the

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition. WAAPA (commonly pronounced "whopp-a") operates as a part of ECU, located at the ECU campus in ...

, and has been a soloist with the Young Dancers Theatre (Victoria).

Style

Gray performs a style of cabaret that has been called "kamikaze cabaret". She may stagger onto the stage, appear later than scheduled, experience wardrobe malfunctions, shout unexpected things, and interact with audience members. However, "... this is a polished presentation of the spectacle of failure – a ruse that underlines the necessary collaboration between performer and audience, and creates a shabby frame within which Meow Meow's exquisite voice can shine all the brighter", as written in a 2018 ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'' article.

Theatre

Reviews

''Barry Humphries' Weimar Cabaret'', Cadogan Hall, London, reviewed by Tim Ashley
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' July–August 2016
''Apocalypse Meow'', Southbank Centre, London, reviewed by Claudio GiambroneSouth Bank London
December 2014

''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 24 March 2011
''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'', Gielgud Theatre, London
reviewed by Michael Billington, ''

'', 23 March 2011
Soho Theatre, London, reviewed by Brian Logan
''

'', 29 March 2010

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Melissa Madden 21st-century Australian actresses Australian female dancers Australian cabaret performers Living people People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts alumni Helpmann Award winners Year of birth missing (living people) Australian women singers