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Dreams come true for Emily
She shares her name with a Playboy model.
But that's where the similarity ends, says 25-year-old actress Emily Alexander.
"The other Emily Alexander is American, blonde and curvaceous where as I'm a true Yorkshire girl with ginger hair. I'm a one off and nothing like either my mum or dad," says Emily.
Her parents happen to be one of Calderdale's best known couples, Peter and Penny Alexander who live in the Luddenden valley. Peter is an actor best known for playing Phil Pearce in Emmerdale in the 1980s, while Penny runs her own dance studio, Dance 4 All, in Halifax town centre.
While she might not look like her parents, Emily has obviously inherited their stage talents. After leaving school she got a degree in music and drama at Hull University and then went on to Guilford School of Acting for 12 months.
She walked straight out of acting school into her first role – a 12 month tour of the musical South Pacific – and tonight she opens in her second major stage role, Everybody Loves A Winner, at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.
The theatre has been transformed in a working bingo hall for Everybody Loves A Winner, a major new production for the 2009 Manchester International Festival. Emily is one of a tightly choreographed cast of 20 who delve beneath the surface of a day in the life of a Manchester bingo hall and open a door on a secret world – a world of dreams, dabbers, camaraderie and cash.
"It's a gritty show which combines drama, comedy and music and is full of the most amazing characters," says Emily who plays "a pretty vile character", 19-year-old bingo hall worker, Debbie.
Her boss, bingo hall manageress Linda Chap-pell, is played by Coro-nation Street favourite, Sally Lindsay, while some of the other female actresses have appeared in Fat Friends and dinnerladies.
The show runs from tonight until Saturday, August 1 and has already had a brilliant response. "Most of the tickets have already gone for the first two weeks which is amazing really but, then again ,it is a good show and one you could enjoy seeing more than once because there is so much going on on stage."
It's always been a dream of Emily's to appear at the Royal Exchange because it's what she terms proper theatre, but there is another reason why she is enjoying the new challenge – it means she gets to live back at home with her parents in the idyllic Calderdale countryside and plan her wedding at St Mary's Church, Luddenden, this October.
Emily met her partner, Andy Knudsen, at Hull University six years ago. Andy is a writer and a journalism teacher and hails from south London. The couple are tying the knot on October 25 and having their reception in a marquee in the church grounds.
"It's a really hectic year, but my mum has been an enormous help with the wedding, and I'm really looking forward to it ," says Emily who claims while she loves London she hopes to eventually return to Yorkshire because she misses the greenery, the hills and the fresh air.
She has got another big date before she walks down the aisle. In August, she and a friend, drama teacher, Tamsin Barnes, are running a musical theatre workshop at Dance 4 All.
The week long workshop starts on Monday August 10 and culminates with a performance for family and friends on Friday, August 14. It is aimed at tots to 18-year-olds and will cover acting, dancing and singing. It costs 90.
Emily has run workshops before both in London and at Crossley Heath School, Halifax.
Peter and Penny have got tickets for Everybody Loves A Winner, and Emily's older brother, Nick, a doctor at the Royal Hospital, Gloucester is also going along to watch the show.
The family will be back in Manchester, at the Lowry Theatre, later this year to see Peter on stage. He is following his performance as Rene in 'Allo 'Allo by joining the cast of a new stage version of Porridge, penned by the original writers. it opens on August 28 and tours for three months before spending Christmas at the Lowry. The couple are tying the knot on October 25 and having their reception in a marquee in the church grounds.
“It’s a really hectic year, but my mum has been an enormous help with the wedding, and I’m really looking forward to it ,” says Emily who claims while she loves London she hopes to eventually return to Yorkshire because she misses the greenery, the hills and the fresh air.
She has got another big date before she walks down the aisle. In August, she and a friend, drama teacher, Tamsin Barnes, are running a musical theatre workshop at Dance 4 All.
The week long workshop starts on Monday August 10 and culminates with a performance for family and friends on Friday, August 14. It is aimed at tots to 18-year-olds and will cover acting, dancing and singing. It costs 90.
Emily has run workshops before both in London and at Crossley Heath School, Halifax.
Peter and Penny have got tickets for Everybody Loves A Winner, and Emily’s older brother, Nick, a doctor at the Royal Hospital, Gloucester is also going along to watch the show.
The family will be back in Manchester, at the Lowry Theatre, later this year to see Peter on stage. He is following his performance as Rene in ‘Allo ‘Allo by joining the cast of a new stage version of Porridge, penned by the original writers. it opens on August 28 and tours for three months before spending Christmas at the Lowry.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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