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Audrey Brisson-Jutras is a French-Canadian actress[1] and acrobat, known as a performer and acrobat for the Cirque du Soleil and for playing Amélie in the UK production of Amélie, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award.[2]
Brisson is the daughter of Canadian composer Benoit Jutras, composer and music director for many of the Cirque du Soleil contemporary shows.[3] As a child and teenager Brisson worked with the Cirque du Soleil, both as a vocalist and an acrobat.[4]
She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.[5]
Brisson made her UK theatre debut in 2012 in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as Miss Hedgehog.[6]
Brisson played Dea in The Grinning Man, when the show opened at the Bristol Old Vic in 2016. The cast included Louis Maskell, who also played the role in the London transfer of the show, as Grinpayne, Julian Bleach as Barkilphedro, Patrycja Kujawska as Queen Angelica and Gloria Onitiri and Stuart Neal as the royal siblings.[7]
In 2017 she took the role of Jiminy Cricket in the National Theatre version of Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio, with new book by John Tiffany.[8]
In the same year Brisson also played Bella Chagall in The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk both at the Edinburgh Fringe and at the Bristol Old Vic, show focusing on the young Marc and Bella Chagall navigating their difficult life, and created by theatre company Kneehigh.[9]
She originated the title role in Amélie when the show was retooled for a UK premiere in 2019, which opened at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury before embarking on tour and closing out 2020 with a London premiere at The Other Palace. In 2021 she reprised the role when it transferred to the Criterion Theatre in the West End where it ran from May to September for a limited engagement.[10] The show's development team drew from Brisson's circus career by implementing a flying lampshade for her to swing from as well as her French-Canadian heritage by rewriting some of the script to be spoken in her native language of French.[11] The final production presented some slight differences compared to the Broadway version, starting with the cast using French accents during the show, as well as the show being presented as more intimate, with more "French" instruments and musicality.[12][10]
In 2022 she starred in Reading Rep Theatre's production of Jekyll & Hyde, Gary McNair's adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novella for solo performance.[13] She was also part of the company of Into the Woods at the Theatre Royal in Bath, where she played Cinderella, alongside Julian Bleach as the Mysterious Man, Nicola Hughes as the Witch, Rhashan Stone as the Baker and Alex Young as the Baker's Wife.[14]
Stage credits
| Year | Production | Role | Location | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe | Miss Hedgehog | Kensington Gardens | Regional |
| 2016 | The Grinning Man | Dea | Bristol Old Vic | |
| 2017 | Pinocchio | Jiminy Cricket | National Theatre, Lyttelton | |
| 2017–2020 | The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk | Bella Chagall | Bristol Old Vic and Live Stream | |
| 2019–2021 | Amélie | Amélie Poulain | Watermill Theatre | |
| The Other Palace | Off-West End | |||
| Criterion Theatre | West End | |||
| 2022 | Into the Woods | Cinderella | Theatre Royal, Bath | Regional |
| Jekyll & Hyde | Gabriel John Utterson | Reading Rep Theatre | ||
| 2023 | The Land of Might-Have-Been | Vera Brittain | Buxton Opera House |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | UK Theatre Awards | Best Performance in a Musical | Amélie | Nominated |
| 2020 | Olivier Awards | Best Actress in a Musical | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Grammy Awards | Best Musical Theatre Album | Nominated |
Brisson is in a relationship with fellow actor Chris Jared, whom she met when the two were cast in Amélie as Amélie and Nino respectively.[15] They had a daughter in 2020, whose name pays tribute to the show in which they were brought together.
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