Send us a text

For the last 30 years, Janie Dee has cemented herself as one of the greatest leading ladies to ever grace the stage. From musicals to plays to cabarets and concerts, Janie has done it all.  In this special interview, she looks back on her career and how her early struggles have led her to see each new job opportunity as a "big present". The conversation starts with her talking about her relationship with Theatre Royal, Bath where she worked with the Peter Hall Company on a number of productions and most recently returned to the Somerset theatre for An Hour and a Half Late. We also hear Janie look back on some recent musical theatre highlights such as A Little Night Music,  The Boy Friend and Follies where she earned her most recent Olivier award nomination. Janie Dee is herself a two time Olivier Award winner, winning for the National Theatre's legendary production of Carousel and also for originating the role of Jacie in Alan Ayckbourn's Comic Potential.

Today, Janie's passion seems to lie mostly with sustainability and climate action. In 2020, she organised the London Climate Change Festival which saw scientists and artists come together to discuss solutions to ongoing climate crisis. The festival led to the Song for Nature concert that was broadcast around the world, bringing together world class performers onto the London Coliseum stage with the English National Opera orchestra and chorus. In our interview, Janie voices her concerns at how slowly theatres are adapting to achieve carbon neutrality and even suggests she might stop performing in a bid further reduce her own carbon footprint. We hear her talk about the ongoing impact humans are having on the planet with landfill sites forming lakes and the impact cruise ships are having on marine life.

Ultimately, we're treated to a fascinating interview with Janie reflecting on her rich career as well as on the real-life climate crisis. Recently turning 60, we can expect Janie to continue working in some capacity and we look forward to seeing what she does next. 

Support the show