Date of issue: 21st February 2006

ACCOUNTANT APPLAUDS POP DIVA'S RETURN TO THE THEATRE

Singer/songwriter Alison Moyet is preparing to return to the stage - this time to take a leading role in a play, for which she has also written the music, alongside comic legend and longstanding friend Dawn French.

One man who eagerly anticipates Alison's second foray into Theatreland is chartered accountant Michael Meakin, who has been tracking her career - and overseeing her financial interests - for the past 16 years.

Mr Meakin, who is managing partner and head of the sports and entertainment unit at Clement Keys, handles taxation compliance for Alison and also deals with image rights abuse and oversees record company auditing to ensure prompt payment of royalties.

Alison is to star in Smaller, a play which explores the relationships between a mother and her two daughters - in particular their feelings of guilt, resentment and fear - and comes to Birmingham's Alexandra Theatre from March 20-25.

Dawn French plays Bernice Clulow, a schoolteacher caring for her disabled mother, while Alison takes the role of sister Cath, who flew the nest straight from school and is now working as a singer on the Costa del Sol.

Smaller is the first play by TV scriptwriter Carmel Morgan, whose credits include Coronation Street, Brookside, Shameless and The Royle Family, and whose sitcom Teenage Supermodel is currently in development for BBC Three. The play will be directed by acclaimed actress Kathy Burke, who has starred in a host of TV and film productions but is perhaps best known for her role in Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.

Alison Moyet's most recent project was her 17-date One Blue Voice national UK tour, which finished in May last year, while her stage debut was in 2001, when she gained huge critical acclaim for her portrayal of Mama Morton in the hit musical Chicago.
Dawn French was last seen on the West End stage in 2003 in the one-woman play
My Brilliant Divorce.

"Everyone will tell you that the performing arts make for a demanding career and it is vital that singers, actors and musicians invest wisely so that they maximise their earnings potential across the whole of their career," says Mr Meakin.

"Alison has had a varied career, having established herself as one of the UK's foremost singer/songwriters, but she is always ready to try something new and her theatre work brings fresh challenges for both of us.

"I am delighted to see Alison tackling a contemporary play even though she is making sure I have my work cut out advising on the various sources of income, which this exciting new project will generate."

Smaller will tour regional theatres in England for six weeks before opening at London's Lyric Theatre on March 28.