Christina Bennington (born 30 January 1992) is a Northern Irish actress and singer. She is best known for originating the lead role of Raven in '' Bat Out of Hell: The Musical'', in various productions of the show from 2017 to 2019 in both the UK and North America.

Early and personal life

Christina was born in

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

, just outside Belfast. She attended

Methodist College Belfast Methodist College Belfast (MCB), locally known as Methody, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Belfast, located at the foot of the Malone Road, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland and is one of e ...

, where she served as head girl. She went on to study at

Guildford School of Acting Guildford School of Acting (GSA) is a drama school in Guildford, Surrey, England. It is an academic school in the University of Surrey. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Overview The school is part of the University of Surrey ...

in Surrey, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Musical Theatre awarded by the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

. She attributes her energy levels needed to perform 8 shows a week to a Pilates regime and vegan diet.

Career

Theatre

Bennington has starred as Raven in all English-language productions of ''Bat Out Of Hell The Musical'' since the show's launch in Manchester 2017, with the exception of the ill-fated 2018 North American tour (where Raven was played by Emily Schultheis), as this ran concurrently with the show's West End run at the Dominion Theatre, London. The show's author / composer

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

is quoted to have said of her: "Christina is so petite but she's got an incredibly big voice and stage presence. She plays Raven with the perfect amount of youthful enthusiasm and coming of age curiosity. She's beautiful and strong." According to one of the musical's producers

David Sonenberg David Alan Sonenberg is an American music manager, and the founder of the music management company DAS Communications. He is the producer of the Oscar-winning film ''When We Were Kings'' (1997). Early life and education Born and raised in New ...

, the show itself has been "unbelievably profitable" and by August 2018 had played to over 500,000 people. It also broke box office records at the Dominion Theatre, taking £350,000 in its first day of ticket sales.

Discography

Bennington features heavily on the cast recording for ''Bat Out Of Hell The Musical'' in her role as Raven, singing the song ''Heaven Can Wait'' as a solo, duetting on the songs ''Making Love Out Of Nothing At All'' and ''For Crying Out Loud'', and featuring as a lead in the songs ''It's All Coming Back To Me Now'' and ''I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)''. In late 2018, Bennington joined two groups in recording charity singles - as one of

The Celebs The Celebs are a celebrity supergroup created by Grahame and Jack Corbyn with the intention of raising money for charity. The group was formed in 2018 and consists of a changing mix of TV presenters, musicians, radio DJs, actors and sports pers ...

in a charity record Rock With Rudolph, which was written and produced by Grahame and Jack Corbyn. It was a Christmas song which aimed to raise funds for the

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS F ...

and was released digitally on independent record label Saga Entertainment on 30 November 2018. The music video debuted exclusively with ''

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'' on 29 November 2018, and had its first TV showing on '' Good Morning Britain'' on 30 November 2018. The song peaked at number two on the iTunes pop chart. She also participated in the "West End Friends" recording the

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

song ''You Got A Friend'' to raise money for

Barnardo's Barnardo's is a global charity headquartered in Barkingside in the London Borough of Redbridge. It was founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children. As of 2013, it raised and spent around £200 million each ye ...

. In 2020 amid the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

crisis Bennington returned to join

which now included

Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title from 1995 to 1996. At regional level, he held the European heavyweight ...

and X Factor winner

Sam Bailey Samantha Florence Bailey (born 29 June 1977) is an English Pop music, pop singer who won the The X Factor (British series 10), tenth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor'' in 2013. Following her win, her debut single, a c ...

to raise money for both

Alzheimer's Society Alzheimer's Society is a United Kingdom care and research charity for people with dementia and their carers. It operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while its sister charities Alzheimer Scotland and Alzheimer Society of Ireland co ...

and

Action for Children Action for Children (formerly National Children's Home) is a United Kingdom, UK children's charity created to help vulnerable children and young people and their families in the UK. The charity has 7,000 staff and volunteers who operate over 4 ...

. They recorded a new rendition of

Merry Christmas Everyone "Merry Christmas Everyone" is a festive song recorded by Welsh singer-songwriter Shakin' Stevens. Written by Bob Heatlie and produced by Dave Edmunds, it is the fourth and to date last number one single for Shakin' Stevens on the UK Singles Ch ...

Shakin' Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although ...

and it was released digitally on 11 December 2020, on independent record label Saga Entertainment. The music video debuted exclusively on Good Morning Britain the day before release. The song peaked at number two on the iTunes pop chart.

Televised theatre performances

She also appeared as Raven in several televised performances of songs from ''Bat Out Of Hell''. On UK television, this includes appearances on

Tonight at the London Palladium ''Tonight at the London Palladium'' is a British television variety show that is hosted from the London Palladium theatre in the West End. Originally produced by ATV for the ITV network from 1955 to 1969, it went by its original name ''Sunday ...

, This Morning, Britain's Got Talent, and as one of the contributing acts in the 2018

Proms In The Park The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

, accompanied by the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...

. And on US television, as part of the cast performing on The Today Show.

Concerts

Bennington performed two sold out solo shows at The Crazy Coqs in London on January 7, 2019.

Television

Bennington portrays Cortana in season 2 of ''

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''.

Awards and nominations

Bennington was nominated for "Understudy of the Year" in the BroadwayWorld UK Awards for Magnolia in ''Showboat'' at the New London Theatre in 2016. For her role as Raven in ''Bat Out Of Hell The Musical'', Bennington received nominations for "Best Actress in a Musical" in two award ceremonies: the 2017 BroadwayWorld UK Awards, and the

2018 WhatsOnStage Awards The WhatsOnStage Awards, founded in 2001 as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are a fan-driven set of awards organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com, based on a popular vote recognising performers and productions of English theatre, with an ...

. The show ''Bat Out Of Hell The Musical'' won The Evening Standard's "Best Musical" award in 2017, and Bennington accepted the award alongside co-star Andrew Polec.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennington, Christina Living people 1992 births 21st-century women singers from Northern Ireland Actresses from Belfast Alumni of the Guildford School of Acting Musicians from Belfast Musical theatre actresses from Northern Ireland Sopranos from Northern Ireland