Birgitta Kenyon - PRESENTER
Birgitta loves a chance to interact with a live audience, and has been lucky enough to be given plenty of opportunity! She’s strutted her stuff as MC/ Compere/ presenter of all manner of styles of performance, including compere work for Cabarets, Functions and Youth Proms (Royal Albert Hall and Birmingham Symphony Hall). Her fearless chit-chat makes her pretty useful as a live concert workshop leader, and MC for all groups and ages of audience.
Birgitta Kenyon - RADIO PRESENTER
Birgitta Is extremely pleased and proud to be working for Park Radio in Diss, as presenter of the Mid-Morning shows on Monday and Wednesday.
Birgitta Kenyon -
CABARET
ARTISTE
In 2008 Birgitta was employed as Musical Director for the Pantomime “Jack and the Beanstalk” at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds. It was here that she struck up a friendship with “Fleshcreep”, actor Paul L Martin. Paul – now known as “Paulus”– is something of a guru in the world of cabaret, and he became Birgitta’s mentor in this crazy and fun new world, beginning with a two-week “Singers’ Cabaret Workshop” course in London.
Under the stage name of “A Girl Called Fred” (long story…) she embarked on a continual stream of gigs, beginning with the first of many dozens of performances at the Brasserie Toulouse Lautrec, with a French Cabaret set. At Toulouse she became a House Pianist for the open mic series “West End Wendies”, founded by Paulus.
She also accompanied and MD-ed a plethora of solo artists, duos and trios, and premiered her own one-woman-show
“The Lion, The Bitch and the Floordrobe”. Earlier shows included a Muppet Show “Mahna Mahna” with Paulus and Bury St Edmunds Stage Choir “The Voice Squad” at the Pheasantry, featuring star turn Champagne Charlie.
The latter performer subsequently involved “A Girl Called Fred” in a multitude of 20’s (and earlier) “vintage” events, including Candlelight Cabaret with the “Bubbley Boys”, Cockney Knees-Ups at Fogg’s Tavern, and a season at The Wilderness Festival in the Champagne tent.
At the Cabaret Convention 2013 she formed a Choir From Scratch made of cabaret singers, and performed her own set.
Birgitta has also enjoyed the opportunities of performances at some wonderful venues, including Crazy Coqs’,
The Clapham Bridge Bar, The Battersea Barge, the Hippodrome, and “Lost” Theatre in Vauxhall.
Birgitta/ Fred was delighted and honoured to MD three Adult Pantomimes with Director Vanessa Pope - “Booty and the Biatch”, “Kitten in Heels” and “Hairy Poppins”, which gave her the opportunity of working with the cream of London’s cabaret performers, and scoring arrangements to scripts penned by Paulus.
In 2018 she formed part of a comedy cabaret trio named “The Secret Divorce Society”. Touring south and east England with a self-written murder-mystery musical called “Till Death Us Do Part”, they later received terrific reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Another great favourite was Tanya Holt’s wonderfully clever and touching show directed by Robin Kingsland,
“Cautionary Tales For Daughters". This toured many venues across the UK, with Birgitta and colleague Jenny Gould at the piano providing accompaniment, backing vocals, partnership and the odd shake of the tambourine.
Although no longer based in London A Girl Called Fred still pops up from time to time, entertaining audiences with characters and songs (self accompanied) such as the petulant Christmas Elf, and the pseudo-racy “Filme Noire”. She includes many covers of writers such as Tom Lehrer and Sondheim: Birgitta’s favourite things are word-play and story-telling.
Birgitta is excited to offer her skill-set as a writer, performer, MD/ accompanist/ tutor in this genre.