Jackie Clune
Jackie Clune | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jackie Clune 13 December 1965 |
| Occupation(s) | Drama lecturer, Singer, Comedian, Actress, Television presenter |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Spouse | Richard Hannant (2008–present) |
Jackie Clune (born 13 December 1965) [1][2] is a British entertainer,often in the spotlight, actress, voiceover artiste and radio/TV broadcaster. She performs cabaret, and is known for her one-woman shows and late Karen Carpenter tribute act. She is known for her dry anecdotal approach to comedy material and camp sense of humour.
Early life
Jackie Clune was the third of four children born in Harlow, Essex,[3] to Irish Roman Catholic parents: her late father Don Clune (died August 2010) was a buyer for a computer firm, her mother a nurse.[4] The writer Maggie Clune is her sister. Jackie Clune graduated with a degree in drama from the University of Kent.[1][2]
Career
On graduation from university, Jackie Clune became a full-time drama lecturer at the Royal Holloway College for six years.[3] She started singing in bands part-time, but between sets as a dj she switched on to acerbic jokes and ad-lib.[3] This led a friend to suggest that she could create a performance based around a tribute act which promoted the liquid elegance of the late Karen Carpenter's vocals;this she developed successfully and took to the Edinburgh Festival in 1995, where she was spotted by a West End producer.[1]
Giving up her lecturing career, she co-founded the Red Rag Women’s Theatre Company, and fell into stand-up comedy while working at the Hackney Empire.[3] In 1997 she appeared in the BBC soap EastEnders in The Queen Victoria public house,[1] and also appeared in ITV's The Bill. Since compering the Stonewall Society equality shows at the Royal Albert Hall,[1] she has developed a multi-media career based on acting, singing, comedy and writing.
She has been a TV/radio panellist on many shows, not least QI, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, What the Dickens? and The Staying-in Show.
She had a part in Showstopper, Bryony Lavery's play A Wedding Story and portrayed Julie Burchill, at the time a columnist for The Guardian, in the one-woman play Julie Burchill Is Away by Tim Fountain at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and in the West End. In 2006-7, she played the lead female role of 'Donna' in the Abba songs-based musical Mamma Mia! international tour until 17 March 2007.[5] On 4 June 2007, she took over the role of the dance teacher Mrs. Wilkinson in Billy Elliot the Musical in London. She gave her final performance on 22 November 2008 prior to rejoining the current Mamma Mia! International Tour (2009–2011) again as Donna, and has done the Race For Life as well as supporting a range of charities.[citation needed]
Jackie Clune sang the Dusty Springfield theme tune, and contributed script to the popular TV show Smack the Pony. After becoming involved in promotion for the revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber & Don Black musical Tell Me On A Sunday, she met Denise van Outen with whom she co-wrote the show Blondes in which Ms Outen performed for the Festival Fringe Edinburgh in August 2009 and in the six preview performances at the New End Theatre in Hampstead.[citation needed]
Jackie Clune promoted an album Love Songs(Dress circle) courtesy of a show at Soho Theatre in London's West End from 15–17 July 2010; she has also been involved in several musical projects including the 2010 memorial concert for the late Kirsty McColl who worked with The Pogues.[citation needed]
She has also published two books, Man of the Month Club and Extreme Motherhood, diaries relating how her life changed when she found herself pregnant with triplets little more than a year after having her first child.[6]
In 2011 Jackie Clune played the part of the rambunctious Miss Ogle in The Belle's Stratagem(see uktw), a revival of a popular play by Hannah Cowley from the Georgian period at the award-winning Southwark Playhouse which received many 5 star reviews and awards[citation needed]. Jessica Swales, the artistic director of the play, says: 'Jackie is fab!'[citation needed] Fundraising is ongoing for more of the same!
Over the years she has at times been the warm-up act for the Singalonga Sound of Music[citation needed] and the Puppetry of the Penis 3D show[citation needed] and is touring nationally in the leading role of Amanda, the troubled teacher, in the controversial play about bullying and racism issues for teachers, 'Mogadishu'(14+).[citation needed]
Both productions were well regarded by the voting public as demonstrated at the very least by What's On Stage.Com Awards on 19/02/2012.
Personal life
In 2001 she met actor and stunt performer Richard "Boom Boom"[7] Hannant (Hammant), who was the fire officer at the arts centre where she was performing,[4] and started a relationship with him. 11 months later, she became pregnant with their first child, a daughter. The couple now have four children, including a set of triplets, and married in 2008.[8] She is a popular entertainer.
==References== she is a popular entertainer and a mother of 4
- ^ a b c d e "20 Questions with...Jackie Clune". Whats On Stage. 2002-06-10. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
- ^ a b Jackie Clune (2010-06-26). "How I went from committed lesbian to a happily married mother of four". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ a b c d "Jackie Clue". AuthorTrek.com. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
- ^ a b Penny Wark (2005-10-04). "Love, etc". The Times. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
- ^ Jackie is set to Abba great time on stage, Edinburgh Evening News, 30 January 2006.
- ^ Experiences of a triplets' mum, Gulf Daily News, 8 April 2007
- ^ http://chigwellcricketclub.typepad.com/chigwell/2010/07/chardstock-tour-report.html
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,975770,00.html My crime against the lesbian state], The Guardian, 14 June 2003.
External links
- Jackie Clune at IMDb