Jessica Martin

Jessica Cecelia Anna Maria Martin (born 25 August 1962) is an English actress, singer, and impressionist whose career has diversified to include comic writing and illustrating. Her television roles have included ''Spitting Image'', '' Copy Cats'' and as the werewolf Mags in the 1988 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Greatest Show in the Galaxy''. She provided the voice of the Queen in the 2007 ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special, "Voyage of the Damned".

On stage, Martin starred with Gary Wilmot in the West End show '' Me and My Girl'' for two years at the Adelphi Theatre and then on a national tour. She went on to play leading musical roles including Mabel in the 1996 production of ''Mack and Mabel'' at the Piccadilly Theatre, Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific'', Mrs Lovett in ''Sweeney Todd'', Norma Desmond in ''Sunset Boulevard'' and the Lady of the Lake in the national tour of ''Spamalot''. Her autobiography, as a graphic novel, ''Life Drawing: A Life Under Lights'', was published in 2019.

Life and career

Early life

Jessica Cecelia Anna Maria Martin was born on 25 August 1962. She graduated with a degree in English and Drama from Westfield College, London University and also studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Her first job, in 1983 when she was 21, was as a resident singer at St James's Hotel and Club, where her father, Placido Martin, was the cocktail pianist. She told an interviewer in 2019 that "My late father was a complex character and much as I loved him, I wanted to give an honest portrayal n my bookof how self-centred and destructive a 'creative' person can be."

Performance roles

Martin became an impressionist on the fringe circuit. In a 1984 review of her lunchtime show at the Palace Theatre, London bar, Roy Robert Smith of ''The Stage'' wrote that Martin was "armed with guts, determination, and talent ndmust surely soon gain the public recognition she deserves." He noted that she refined her material and renewed her material between shows, and particularly praised her impressions of Gloria Hunniford and Judy Garland. After seeing Martin perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Rory Bremner persuaded her to focus on impressions, and the pair appeared on radio together. In 1985, Martin was quoted as saying that she had only started doing impressions in public at the fringe for relaxation after appearing in performances ''Women of Troy'' there.

She auditioned for several roles, and became a regular voice cast member for the satirical puppet show ''Spitting Image''. where her roles included Barbra Streisand, and members of the British royal family. She was then invited to audition for London Weekend Television's '' Copy Cats''.Fellow team members included Bobby Davro with whom she partnered for three series of his weekly show ''Bobby Davro's TV Weekly''. In 1985 she joined Jimmy Cricket on the Central TV production '' And There's More''. In the ''Nottingham Evening Post'', a staff writer commented that Martin "is proving herself to be an accomplished actress, singer, dancer and mickey-taker – definitely a name to watch out for in the future." Martin and Bremner both quit Central TV in September 1985; Bremner had been offered his own BBC2 series, while Martin was due to join Davro in shows for TVS.

Bremner and Martin toured theatres together in 1987, with a show of impressions. That year, Martin decided to seek new opportunities, including singing seriously rather than as an impressionist. Her successful run of shows with Davro ended with ''Bobby Davro's TV Annual '88'' which was broadcast in December 1987. In the programme, Martin did impressions of singers including Tina Turner, Kate Bush and Madonna, saying that she particularly welcomed the opportunity to dance in the roles, although she felt that her Madonna "basque and leather outfit was a bit sleazy."

In 1988 Milton Shulman of ''The Evening Standard'' described Martin performing " The Lady Is a Tramp" in ''Babes in Arms'' at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre as "pert and saucy". Martin played the lead role of Dorothy in a touring production of '' The Wizard of Oz''. Charles Barron of the ''Aberdeen Evening Express'' praised Martin's "exuberance" in the role, and wrote that she sang "with great charm".

From 1989, Martin and Gary Wilmot starred in the West End show '' Me and My Girl'' for two years at the Adelphi Theatre and then on a national tour. Martin went on to play leading musical roles including Mabel in the 1996 production of ''Mack and Mabel'' at the Piccadilly Theatre, Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific'', Mrs Lovett in ''Sweeney Todd'', and Norma Desmond in ''Sunset Boulevard''. She also guest-starred in the 1988 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Greatest Show in the Galaxy'', starring Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, in which she played a punk werewolf called Mags. Many years later, she provided the voice of the Queen in "Voyage of the Damned", the 2007 Christmas special, which starred David Tennant as the Doctor.

She played the Lady of the Lake in the national tour of ''Spamalot'' in 2011, Lottie Ames in ''Mack and Mabel'', and Lottie Lacey in the revival of William Inge's '' The Dark at the Top of the Stairs''. In October 2015, Martin joined the cast of '' Elf: The Musical'', playing the role of Emily Hobbs at the Dominion Theatre. In September 2016, she was featured in Robert J. Sherman's ''Bumblescratch'' playing the dual roles of Bethesda Bumblescratch and the Widow MacGregor at the Adelphi Theatre. She was named a Variety Club Celebrity Ambassador for her work in ''Bumblescratch'' and her other works.

Martin played role of Dame Shirley Porter in Shirleymander by Greg Evans at the Playground Theatre, London in 2018, for which she was nominated for the Best Female Performance in the Off West End Awards 2018. In the ''Daily Telegraph'', Ben Lawrence wrote
that Martin "best known for her impersonations .. does a terrific impression, but it is hard to reach inside the soul of this Rottweiler in a pussycat bow".

Martin is a patron of the Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America, and performed at the 50th anniversary Memorial Service for Lupino Lane at St Paul's, Covent Garden in 2009.

Audio work

Martin appeared on ''The Impressionists'' on BBC Radio 2 in 1985. She starred in a 1987 special for the same channel, ''Jessica Martin's Variety: The Gossip Column Murders''.Jessica Martin's Variety
BBC Radio 2, 9 May 1992. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk Retrieved 29 July 2019. She was a voice actor for the PlayStation 2 game ''Dragon Quest VIII'', and has also performed as a voice over artist for a range of animations and commercials. She has also recorded audio books including ''Vindication of the Rights of Men'' written by Mary Wollstonecraft. Martin has appeared in several ''Doctor Who'' audio dramas from Big Finish Productions.

Graphic novels

In 2010, Martin took up sketching, for the first time since studying A-level art. The following year, whilst touring in ''Spamalot'' with Phill Jupitus she showed him one of her sketches. Jupitus praised the sketch and suggested that Martin should do a graphic novel. Martin has referred to this as a "lightbulb moment."Actress Jessica Martin: a life in three acts
Matt Adams, hertfordshirelife.co.uk, 18 July 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2019 In 2012, Martin showed her work to established comics artist Mark Buckingham, who supported and encouraged her. Her first comic written and drawn by herself was ''It Girl'' about silent film actress Clara Bow. It was self-published in November 2013 and was selected in the "Ten Must Own Small-Press Comics 2013" by ''Broken Frontier''.

''Elsie Harris Picture Palace'', which is set in the 1930s British film industry, was her first full-length graphic novel. It was shortlisted for the ''Myriad First Graphic Novel Prize 2014''. In 2018, Martin illustrated a ''Doctor Who'' story, "Hill of Beans", that featured her character Mags from the television series. ''Life Drawing: A Life Under Lights'', a graphic novel memoir about her life as an actress, singer and artist was published by Unbound in Spring 2019.

Filmography

Theatre

Television

Radio

Film

Publications

References

External links

Official website
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Jessica
1962 births
English television actresses
English voice actresses
English stage actresses
English impressionists (entertainers)
Place of birth missing (living people)
English female dancers
English musical theatre actresses
Living people
People from Fulham
English women singers
Actresses from London
Singers from London
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses
English people of Singaporean descent