Aoife Mulholland

Aoife (pronounced Ee-fah) is a successful actress and leading lady in London's West End: she has played notable roles, such as Roxie Hart in Chicago, at the Cambridge Theatre and as Maria von Trapp in The Sound Of Music, at the London Palladium (current). Since landing the leading roles in London's West End she has been highly praised for her singing voice and acting skills. Aoife is the youngest of four siblings, with two brothers and one sister, (parents John & Margaret). She attended the National University of Ireland, Galway, University College Dublin, and Central School of Speech and Drama [17]. As well as being a skilled Soprano she is an excellent dancer and highly accomplished pianist. She is very proud to come from Salthill, in Galway, Ireland and in 2003 became the 30th annual 'Galway Rose', and represented Galway at 'The Rose of Tralee'. The first musical Mulholland appeared in was an amateur production of The Sound of Music, where she played Brigitta and shortly before starting her course at the Central School of Speech and Drama, she moved to London and successfully auditioned for a part as a traditional Irish dancer, in the professional dance show, Dance of Desire, in which she spent four months. Mulholland is an accomplished musician; with Grade 8 in piano and singing. She also studied for a music degree at University College Dublin and did a post graduate diploma in Business Studies at the National University, Galway. She then went on to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama (CSSD). Mulholland graduated from CSSD with a Masters Degree in Acting and Musical Theatre. Whilst training at the CSSD, she appeared in many productions, including Beckett's Play and Come and Go (both directed by Lucy Bailey) as well as A Winter's Tale, The Bright Sun Brings it to Light and as Peggy Sawyer in '42nd Street'. While as Annie Oakley in, 'Annie Get Your Gun', she was nominated for an A.I.M.S Best Actress Award. Aoife was first seen nationally in 2006 on the hit BBC TV show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? (HDYSAPLM). She appeared on the show with her best friend, Abi Finley and reached the semi-final of the BBC competition, but lost out to fellow Maria, Siobhan Dillon in the sing-off, singing Don't Cry For Me Argentina. Although this was a set back, she was later invited by Andrew Lloyd Webber to return to the role as Maria in the West End production of The Sound Of Music at the London Palladium in early 2007. Shortly after the BBC show HDYSAPLM finished in December 2006 Aoife Mulholland was signed by agents Curtis Brown and promptly took on the part of Roxie Hart, a lead character in the Cambridge Theatre West End musical production of Chicago. She performed this role to rave reviews and standing ovations. Mulholland left the cast of Chicago at the end of March 2007 to take up another leading role in the West End, although on the 5th December 2007 she was, as a past 'Roxie', invited back to attend the star-studded 10 Year Charity Gala performance and Black Tie Reception to celebrate the tenth year of Chicago being performed in the West End - (over the 10 years, 4.5 million people have been in the audience). Andrew Lloyd Webber asked her to take over the role of Maria in The Sound Of Music as an 'alternate' on Monday evenings and Wednesday matinees, from the 16th April 2007; this was after Connie Fisher followed medical advice informing her to only do 6 of the 8 shows per week. She has performed the role of Maria with further glowing reviews and nightly standing ovations from sold out theatre audiences (of over 2300 people a show) filling the London Palladium in the West End. Both Connie and Aoife will be finishing their run in The Sound Of Music as of February 2008. Aoife has expressed a desire to work in television before returning to the west end stage.