Sarah Payne (born 1959) is a British actress and

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

. She has worked extensively in London's West End, and has played various roles in theatre, comedy, musical theatre, and opera. She is best known for the role of Lina Lamont in the 1983 West End production of ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Rita Moreno a ...

''; a role for which she was nominated for an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

Career

Payne initially trained as a musician, and studied music at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. She was offered a part in a musical, and within two years she received a Best Actress of the Year in a Musical

nomination for creating the role of Lina Lamont in ''

'' (1983) at London's Palladium Theatre. She returned to that theatre in 1985 in the title role of pantomime ''Cinderella''. Her major theatre credits also include such shows as ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...

'' (1979), ''

Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He wa ...

'' (1981), ''

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

'' (1986), ''

The Mystery of Edwin Drood ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirm ...

'' (1987), ''Risky Kisses'' (1990), ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

'' (1991), ''

Showtune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. Th ...

'' (1998, then titled ''The Best of Times''), '' High Spirits'' (2001), and ''

Follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot centers on a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Follies ...

'' (2006). She also appeared in the 1985

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

. Payne sings on the 1986 studio cast recording of the concept musical ''Josephine'', and on the 1992 London concert album of ''

Nine 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

''. She sang Donna Elvira in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'' at the

Greenwich Theatre Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London. Theatre first came to Greenwich at the beginning of the 19th century during the famous Eastertide Greenwich Fair at which the Ri ...

in 1990.

References

External links

Sarah Payne
film and television acting credits at the

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, d ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Sarah 1959 births Living people British stage actresses British musical theatre actresses British television actresses English operatic sopranos 20th-century British women opera singers 21st-century British women opera singers 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Alumni of Durham University