Melissa Madden Gray, stage name Meow Meow, is an Australian-born actress, dancer and cabaret performer who tours internationally. Gray has been particularly active in the UK where she appeared in La Clique at the Roundhouse and created the role of the Maîtresse in the West End musical adaptation of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at the Gielgud Theatre. In 2010 Meow Meow was awarded the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Prize. In January 2011 she premiered "Meow Meow in Concert" for three nights at the Apollo Theatre on London's West End. She was named Best Cabaret Performer at the 2012 Helpmann Awards for her show, Little Match Girl."Letters and Emails", Trinity Today, no. 79 (November 2012): 26. She debuted "An Audience with Meow Meow" at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California as part of their Fall 2014 season.
Training As an undergraduate, Gray studied at the University of Melbourne where she was a resident student at Trinity College."Alumni News", Trinity Today], no. 82 (November 2014): 31. She took the degrees of Bachelor Laws and Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts and German (with honours).
Gray is also a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, and has been a soloist with the Young Dancers Theatre (Victoria).
Style Gray performs a style of cabaret that has been called "kamikaze cabaret". She may stagger onto the stage, appear later than scheduled, experience wardrobe malfunctions, shout unexpected things, and interact with audience members. However, "... this is a polished presentation of the spectacle of failure – a ruse that underlines the necessary collaboration between performer and audience, and creates a shabby frame within which Meow Meow's exquisite voice can shine all the brighter", as written in a 2018 Guardian article.
Theatre YearShowRoleNotes 2001 Dennis Cleveland Opera, Octagon Theatre, Perth Festival2008VampHerselfMalthouse Theatre Sydney Opera House2008Insert the Person You LoveHerselfPilgrim Theatre (Sydney Festival)2009 La CliqueHerself Roundhouse 2010 Meow MeowHerself Cabaret show, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011 Meow Meow in ConcertHerself Cabaret show, Apollo Theatre, London (3 nights)2011–12Meow Meow's Little Match GirlHerselfCommissioned by Malthouse Theatre (2011) Spiegeltent (Sydney Festival 2012) Southbank Centre (2012)2011The Umbrellas of CherbourgMaîtresseDir: Emma Rice at the Gielgud Theatre2014–15 An Audience with Meow MeowHerself Berkeley Repertory Theatre, California (2014) Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston (ArtsEmerson, 2015) 2016–17SouvenirHerselfTheatre Royal, Hobart (Festival of Voices 2016) Theatre Royal, Brighton (Brighton Festival 2017) Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide (2017)2016A Midsummer Night's DreamHippolyta / TitaniaDir: Emma Rice2016Meow Meow's Little MermaidHerselfMalthouse Theatre2017The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic BulletsMalthouse Theatre (in conjunction with Victorian Opera)2014–19Apocalypse Meow: Crisis is BornHerselfCommissioned by Southbank Centre (2014) Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (2017) Malthouse Theatre (2019) Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM Next Wave Festival 2019) [Presented as BAM: A Very Meow Meow Holiday Show]2015–21Meow Meow's PandemoniumHerselfWith Oregon Symphony at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (Time-Based Art Festival 2015) With London Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall (2016–17)
With Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra at Grieg Hall (Berlin Festival 2018)
With Sydney Symphony Orchestra at Sydney Opera House (Sydney Festival 2018)
With Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall (2019)
With Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at Hamer Hall, Melbourne (2021)2025Meow Meow's The Red Shoes HerselfMalthouse Theatre2026Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetMrs LovettBirmingham Repertory Theatre2026A Night With Meow Meow & Ramin KarimlooHerselfBirmingham Repertory Theatre
Filmography
Film YearShowRoleNotes 2019 Cats Griddlebone Feature film 2012 Little Match Girl TV fim 2003 The Honourable Wally Norman Rebecca-Jane Thompson Feature film 2000 Risk Colleen Feature film
Television YearShowRoleNotes 1998 Murder Call Rowena Brewster TV series, S2E19: Bone Dead 2015 The Divorce Ellen TV miniseries, 4 episodes 2010 Lowdown Receptionist TV series, 1 episode 2003-04 Big Bite Various characters TV series, 15 episodes
Reviews Barry Humphries' Weimar Cabaret, Cadogan Hall, London, reviewed by Tim Ashley The Guardian July–August 2016 Apocalypse Meow, Southbank Centre, London, reviewed by Claudio Giambrone, South Bank London December 2014 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Gielgud Theatre, London, reviewed by Paul Taylor, The Independent, 24 March 2011 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Gielgud Theatre, London, reviewed by Michael Billington, The Guardian, 23 March 2011 Soho Theatre, London, reviewed by Brian Logan, The Guardian, 29 March 2010
References
External links