In the course of a successful and award winning career as a performer and music educator, Clare has been gaining recognition as a playwright and songwriter. Her songs and lyrics have been performed at prestigious venues: including the Purcell Room, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Winchester Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral and live on Test Match Special. Clare's plays and musicals have been staged by a number of professional companies, community groups and schools.
Clare's other achievements include: performances in the Worcester and Sevenoaks Festivals, of her musical play "Do not forget me quite"; the staging of three musical shows for theDickens bi-centenary; two children's shows at Upnor Castle and musicals to commemorate the anniversaries of Grace Darling, Benjamin Britten, the first Duchess of Northumberland and the Great War.
Clare's plays, musicals and songs often draw upon her own life and work: dealing with subjects such as music, theatre, history, family relationships, disability, religion, Christmas, her life in Kent, her Geordie upbringing, her fondness for the works of Charles Dickens, her interest in WW1 poetry and her love of cricket.
This year sees the publication of Clare's first book: a Christmas adventure for children. Set in
Victorian England, the humans are all expected to know their places, while the elves, gnomes
and pixies cause mischief and mayhem.and everyone contributes to a heartwarming tale of
Christmas magic and life long friendships.
The musical is the perfect medium for Clare, as she enjoys writing words and music in equal measure.
"Do not forget me quite!" was inspired by the songs and poetry of Ivor Gurney, and was premiered, by Cyclops Productions, in the chapel of the Dartford hospital where Gurney spent his final years. Further productions have taken place in the Sevenoaks and Worcester Festivals.
"Estella's Legacy"- a musical sequel to "Great Expectations"- was premiered in 2011, by The User Friendly Theatre Company, at Eastgate House in Rochester. The show received a rave review in the local press, and has been performed since at a number of libraries, and at Dickens World on the evening of Dickens's bicentenary. A double bill of "Estella's Legacy" and "Rachael's Christmas" (Clare's musical comedy based on "Pickwick Papers") proved a great hit at the Rochester Dickens Festival,, al fresco at RSPB Northward Hill, the Pavilion in Bamburgh and at the Camden People's Theatre. "Rachael's Christmas" received further stagings by The User Friendly Theatre Company: touring and at the Geffrye Museum in London, and at Medway Little Theatre by The Wellcome Players.
To celebrate the anniversaries of Benjamin Britten and Grace Darling, "Crimes is at his exercise" and "Grace, Hope and Charity" were premiered by The User Friendly Theatre Company at RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk and St. Bede's in South Shields respectively. "Ducks"- inspired by the poetry of F. W. Harvey- was given a glowing review by members of The Harvey Society, after the show's premiere at Minsterworth in Gloucestershire. It has been performed since at Greenwich Parish Church and at venues in the North East. "Wartime Songs and Words", was premiered at Dickens World in 2014.
For children, The User Friendly Theatre Company has staged Clare's show "Plants! Plants! Plants!" at The "Salute to the Forties" festival in Chatham Naval Dockyard, RSPB Northward Hill, and it was a great success recently at Upnor Castle: together with "Powder Monkeys"- Clare's fun and educational musical on Nelson's navy. The User Friendly Theatre Company joined forces with The Wellcome Players for a community production of Clare's pantomime "The Cricket and the Kettle", at Dickens World, to celebrate Dickens's bicentenary.
Elsewhere, The Wellcome Players have presented a number of Clare's musical plays such as "Maidens", about a convent cricket team, "Therese takes the lied" and "A Cosy Dressing Room" inspired by Schubert and Mozart respectively. The latter was performed also by Kent's Valley Players. Clare has written several pantomimes for The Wellcome Players, including "Mrs Santa Saves The Day", performed at the Bull Hotel in Rochester; and "The Holly And The Ivy", "Christmas In Antarctica" and "Little Miss Muffet"- all staged at the Saint Anselm's Centre in Dartford.
"Jesus Is Born" and "EasterIs The Best Time" were performed by local infants' schools; "Peter's Best Friend"- a musical for Passiontide and Easter-
has been staged regularly, by primary schools in Kent and South London. Clare has written two puppet shows for the RSPB, which have been performed at several schools and at Northward Hill reserve on the Kent marshes.
Clare has written numerous cabaret songs, childrens' songs and hymns. Her one woman show- "A Dickens Cabaret"- in which she sings and plays her own songs on Dickensian themes- has been performed at the Rochester Dickens Festival, the Broadstairs Dickens Festival, the Hereford Three Choirs' Festival Fringe and as part of the "Rochester Cathedral Celebrations". She sang and played her comic cabaret song- "the Waltz Of Nasser Hussain": on Radio Four's Today, Pick Of The Week, Test Match Special and on Five Live. The song appeared also on Clare's third CD "All Kinds Of Cabaret"- along with "The Witty One"- with lyrics by Clare and music by Derek Nash, and several more of Clare's own songs, such as "Newcastle Brown Ale", and "Why Has No-one Written A Song About Dartford?".
Whilst a student, Clare regularly wrote songs for religious broadcasts on BBC Radio Newcastle, and several of her compositions have been featured on BBC Radio Kent. She has contributed a number of lyrics to "Words And Pictures- on BBC television's Broadcasts For Schools.
With leading music educator, Sean Gregory, she wrote "History Lessons"- a fun and educational song cycle, which was premiered by Clare herself at the Purcell Room on London's South Bank. The hit song from the cycle- "Guy Fawkes"- formed the centrepiece of an opera, devised and performed, with Clare's help, by the children of Moor Hall School in Folkestone.
In 2009, Clare wrote a number of extra songs for Noel Coward's epic musical show, "Cavalcade", which was staged at the Mick Jagger Centre in Dartford. Clare received several glowing reports from Offsted, in the course of her work in local primary schools, where her own songs and hymns were sung regularly.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.