‘Talented friends’ pitch in to help drama student

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For nine years Natalie Davies has performed for Nelsonians, now she’s hoping they’ll return the favour and help her make it to the West End and Broadway.

Natalie graduated from Nelson College for Girls in 2013 and has performed in various show and productions over the years, including Next to Normal at the Theatre Royal last year. Her dream is to make it as a professional actor and is now applying to drama schools in her native England.

If she is accepted, Natalie faces annual fees of 13,000 pounds for three years, so she’s been working hard to raise as much money as she can.

Last year she worked two jobs and saved more than $17,000. She’s hoping to add to that this year before she jets off in September, and to help her out she’s calling on the people of Nelson to come along and watch a fundraising show at the Theatre Royal this Saturday night.

“People suggested Kickstarter or crowdfunding sites but I wanted to show people that I’d done the hard yards before I thought about that, because I hate asking for money.

“Then Hugh [Neill] approached me about a fundraising show, and with all my talented friends that I’ve performed with over the years I knew we could put together a really, really good programme.”

Hugh says the show will be the “crème de la crème” of Nelson young talent and, if the show is a sell-out, it will raise another $5000 for Natalie.

The show will include dancers, singers, musicians, theatre sports and even a comedy act. Natalie says going to one of the schools would be a big boost for her dreams. “The big overall dream is to end up working at Broadway in New York, but performing on the West End in London would suit me fine. I love musicals, but I’ve done all sorts. With acting, one thing leads to another, you may be doing a musical one month and a movie the next. It all gives you experience.”

She will have plenty of support in London too. Her father lives there and she has plenty of Nelson friends who are also pursuing their acting dreams in the English capital.
Tickets for the show this Saturday, February 22, are $20 and can be bought from the Theatre Royal, Richmond Mall, Nelson i-Site or online at www.ticketdirect.co.nz.

By Andrew Board.