Samantha Barks (born 2 October 1990, Laxey) is a Manx professional singer and actress who came third in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything in 2008. On Tuesday 31 January 2012, Cameron Mackintosh appeared during the curtain call of the Oliver! UK tour (then running at the Palace Theatre in Manchester) to announce that Barks (the tour's Nancy), would play Eponine in the film version of the long running musical Les Misérables. Barks later tweeted this as the 'Most incredible moment of my life'.
Samantha was born and brought up on the Isle of Man. She attended Laxey Primary School in Laxey and St Ninian's High School in Douglas before moving to London(United Kingdom) to study A levels at The Arts Educational Schools (ArtsEd) in Chiswick.
Barks has been dancing since the age of 3, training in Ballet, Modern and Tap with Dancers Barre, then Stagecoach Isle of Man, Theatrix, Stage One and the Manx Ballet Company. She was also a member of the Manx Operatic Society, which provided her with a lot of performing experience.
Edward John David "Eddie" Redmayne (born 6 January 1982) is an English actor and model. Redmayne won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in the West End and Broadway productions of the play Red. He also received the Critics Circle Award for Best Shakespearean Performance for his portrayal of Richard II at London's Donmar Warehouse.
Redmayne was born in London, England. He attended Eton College and studied History of Art at Trinity College, Cambridge, whence he graduated with a 2:1 in 2003.
Redmayne made his professional stage debut for Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in Twelfth Night at the Middle Temple Hall in 2002. He won the award for Outstanding Newcomer at the 50th Evening Standard Theatre Awards (2004) for his performance in Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, and the award for Best Newcomer at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards in 2005. Later stage credits include Now or Later by Christopher Shinn at the Royal Court Theatre. The show ran from 3 September to 18 October 2008. In 2009 Redmayne appeared in John Logan's new play Red at the Donmar Warehouse in London, for which he won the 2010 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He reprised his role in Red at the John Golden Theatre on Broadway in a 15-week run from 11 March to 27 June 2010 and won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. He portrayed King Richard II in Richard II directed by Michael Grandage at Donmar Warehouse from 6 December 2011 to 4 February 2012.
Hans Matheson (born 7 August 1975) is a British actor.
Matheson was born in Stornoway, Scotland, the son of Sheena, a therapist, and Iain (Ado), a folk musician and painter. He made his feature film debut as Johnny Silver in Jez Butterworth's critically acclaimed directorial debut, Mojo. Prior to Mojo, Matheson had appeared in various television series.
He followed his role in Mojo with Stella Does Tricks, playing a male prostitute hooked on drugs. Matheson then played Marius in Bille August's film version of Les Misérables. Matheson played guitar for the role of Luke Shand, a youthful rocker helping to invigorate an old band in the sleeper hit Still Crazy.
Matheson continued with a starring role in the acclaimed independent British hit Tube Tales, which led to his first commercialized film, Bodywork, starring with the talented cast of Beth Winslet, Charlotte Coleman, and Clive Russell . Matheson was later in Canone Inverso, as Jeno Varga.
Following Canone, he took on the role of Mordred in the American TV film The Mists of Avalon.
Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer who came to international public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV programme Britain's Got Talent on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables. Her first album was released in November 2009 and debuted as the number one best-selling album on charts around the globe.
Global interest in Boyle was triggered by the contrast between her powerful mezzo-soprano voice and her plain appearance on stage. The juxtaposition of the audience's first impression of her, with the standing ovation she received during and after her performance, led to an international media and Internet response. Within nine days of the audition, videos of Boyle—from the show, various interviews and her 1999 rendition of "Cry Me a River"—had been watched over 100 million times. Her audition video has been viewed on the internet several hundred million times. Despite the sustained media interest she later finished in second place in the final of the show behind dance troupe Diversity.
Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984, Bradford, England) is an English singer-songwriter. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show Pop Idol. Gates has sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is also known for having a stutter, and has talked about his speech impediment publicly. Gates used the McGuire Programme to manage the problem and is now a speech coach with the programme.
In 2009, Gates moved into musical theatre, playing the title role in the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre. He has recently completed an eighteen month stint as Marius, initially in the touring production and then in the West End production of Les Misérables. and takes up the role of Eddie in the new musical Loserville at the west Yorkshire Playhouse in June 2012
Gates was born in West Bowling, Bradford to father Paul and mother Wendy Broadbent (née Farry). He has three sisters, Nicola (born 1985), Charlotte (born 1991), and Jessica (born 1993) and grew up with his cousin James (born 1986) who was fostered by the family. His parents regularly foster other children.
And now I'm all alone again nowhere to turn, no one to go to
Without a home without a friend without a face to say hello to
And now the night is near
Now I can make believe he's here
Sometimes I walk alone at night
When everybody else is sleeping
I think of him and then I'm happy
With the company I'm keeping
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head
On my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone
I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found me
In the rain the pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me forever and forever
And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say, there's a way for us
I love him
But when the night is over
He is gone
The river's just a river
Without him
The world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers
I love him
But every day I'm learning
All my life
I've only been pretending
Without me
His world would go on turning
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known
I love him
I love him
I love him