A dairymaid's diary

Hello again and thank you for clicking over to the latest d'Blog.

In this snapshot of the journey we are taking with the show from page to stage (via the recording studio), actor Nikki Cross talks about her time with the TESS team as dairymaid Izzy.

So over to you, Nikki!

​After a busy few months working on Singin’ In The Rain and Sweeney Todd, I wrapped up for the summer last night with my final project, Tess - The Musical.

Earlier this year I was delighted to be asked to provide the vocals for the character of Izzy the dairymaid in the album recording of a new musical adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s iconic novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles, written by Michael Blore and ​Michael Davies.

​The new album recording also features West End stars Siobhan Dillon as Tess, Tam Mutu as Alec d’Urberville and Simon Bailey as Angel Clare. 

​After several months of studying the music independently, it was great to finally get into the recording studio and work with Michael Blore (composer) and Sunim Koria (album producer) to lay down the vocals and help bring the album ​that bit closer to completion. Having only ever done live theatre, where performances are fleeting and over before you know it, it was great to have the time to go back and fine tune certain sections and try doing things in different ways.

Nikki Cross shares a moment with TESS album producer Sunim Koria

'BRISTOLIAN BANTER'

​We had lots of fun recording my few bits of dialogue, in particular a few giggles and a very spontaneous unladylike snort! I’m not sure if they’ll keep that in… We’ll have to wait and see!

​It was also really nice to finally utilise my native West Country accent which is rarely heard these days - lots of Bristolian banter flying around (especially as I’m not the only member of the team from that neck of the woods)! 

​Although my work on this project is now pretty much done, it will be a few months before I get to hear the finished album. There is still a lot more for the team to do in terms of recording more vocals and instrumentalists as well as editing, but I’m very much looking forward to getting my hands on a copy and so grateful to be part of such an exciting new musical! ​​

To follow the latest theatre adventures and updates of Nikki Cross, please click over to her pages on tumblr and twitter. 

Thank you for reading and following the progress of TESS. Please feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you.

Next time on d'Blog... The composer's perspective. Michael Blore talks about the London studio days for TESS.