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 an entertainer and writer. She became established through her Fringe cabaret shows and late Karen Carpenter tribute act before graduating to mainstream acting. She can have a dry anecdotal approach to comedy material.
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 at least six years.[3] She started singing in bands part-time, but between sets as a dj she developed a line of patter.[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 worked on 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]
Her many credits include the BBC soap drama EastEnders and also ITV's The Bill. Since hosting the Stonewall Society equality shows at the Royal Albert Hall,[1] she has developed a multi-media career.
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 and has been invited onto shows like Loose Women.
She had a part in Showstopper(1997), Bryony Lavery's play A Wedding Story(1999)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 (2003). 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 leading role Donna (portrayed by Meryl Streep in the film), and has done the Race For Life and supported 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 which is still circulating. 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 a non-charting 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 sang with Billy Bragg on that occasion but has also worked with other top performers like Danny Baker and Donna Air.
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] She is also credited with a number of articles in the Press.
In 2011 Jackie Clune performed as the rambunctious Miss Ogle in the award winning play The Belle's Stratagem, a revival of a script by Hannah Cowley from the Georgian period at the Southwark Playhouse[citation needed]. Jessica Swale, the promising artistic director of the play, says: 'Jackie is fab!'[citation needed] and is hoping to take the play to Bury St Edmunds in May 2012.
Over the years Ms Clune has been a regular warm-up act for the Singalonga Sound of Music[citation needed] and the Puppetry of the Penis shows.[citation needed]
In 2012, she has been touring nationally in the leading role of Amanda, the troubled teacher, in the cast of a controversial play about bullying and racism issues for teachers, 'Mogadishu'(14+).[citation needed]
'Mogadishu' and 'The Belle's Stratagem' were well regarded by the voting public as demonstrated at the very least by What's On Stage.Com Awards on 19/02/2012, and by nominations for the Olivier Awards, 15/04/2012.
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]
References
- ^ a b c d "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