Bishanyia Vincent

Notes

AWARDS/NOMINATIONS 2018 Sydney Theatre Awards BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION - Nell Gwynn (Nomination) BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL - Evie May (Nomination) REVIEWS NELL GWYNN “As Nell, Bishanyia Vincent has to be one of the leading role discoveries of the year. She has a near-perfect grasp of subtle comedy and the more riotous style of the Restoration; her ease and wit are backed up by substance and the evening is anchored by her charismatic performance.” - Stage Noise “It is a play that hangs off the title role. And Bishanyia Vincent is superb, filling our formidable heroine with vitality, determination and cheek. "Ï can dance, I can sing, I can do the other thing." Indeed she can and more.” - SMH “As one can expect though, this production lives or dies on the casting of its titular lead, and fortunately holds an embarrassment of riches in the performance of Bishanyia Vincent as Nell Gwynn. With an earthy presence and electric charisma, she personifies the role of Nell as a woman both simple and complex, shaped by her past but unashamed and emboldened by it, someone who has learned to live on her shrewdness and charm. Always looking out for number one, yet coming across as neither callous nor calculating, Nell is portrayed as an open-hearted women who loved men and performing alike, but one who was smart enough to not allow herself to ever become too vulnerable. Yet it is capturing a sense of personal vulnerability that makes Vincent’s performance so layered, as her comedic verve and sassy energy would seem shallow without the counterbalance of this contrasting emotional heft.” - Australian Stage “Actor Bishanyia Vincent is marvellous in the title role, spirited and intelligent, for an interpretation that is as inspiring as it is entertaining. There is a lightness to the character that endears, but Vincent takes every opportunity to imbue complexity and depth, offering insights that are emotional, or sometimes political, making Nell Gwynn a tale that is unmistakably relevant to our times.” - Suzy Goes See “Jones has cast the piece very solidly and she has a near-perfect Nell. Vincent is across everything: the brassy wit, the warmth, the hints of shrewdness.” - Audrey Journal “Bishanyia Vincent has the intelligence and attractive light witty comic style to sustain the journey of Nell throughout the play - to be its, necessary beating heart - and handles her surrounding supporting actors with generosity and good sense.” - Kevin Jackson “The standout performance is from leading lady Bishanyia Vincent's portrayal of Nell Gwynn. She ensures that the gutsy guttersnipe is seen as both endearing and a force to be reckoned with. She delivers Nell's comic lines with a wicked precision and fabulous confident cheekiness particularly when delivering Nell's bawdy ditties designed to embarrass and scandalize the genteel folk she delivers them too. Whilst the music is bold raw troubadour ballads, Vincent delivers them with solid vocals. Vincent is definitely a brilliant performer to keep an eye out for.” -Broadway World “Just as Nell is a perfect fit for Dryden’s comedies, so too is Bishanyia Vincent as Nell. She possesses a mischievous streak that combined with her vivacious spirit is put to good use as Nell.” - The Buzz “Pepys said of Nell Gwynn – “hath the notions and carriage of a spark … It makes me, I confess, admire her.” So might he well say of Bishanyia Vincent whose performance of Nell Gwynn in Deborah Jones’ production of NELL GWYNN is the spark that ignites Jessica Swale’s splendid script and flagrates a crackling ensemble cast. There’s more than merit in Vincent’s meretricious portrayal of a forthright and feisty woman. Impassioned, intelligent and intrepid, she skilfully navigates Nell’s trajectory from instinctive banterer to accomplished performer.Vincent’s delivery has more pith than the oranges Nell hawked at the theatre before her ascension to the stage and she is never less than mesmerising throughout the show.” Sydney Arts Guide “Bishanyia Vincent is true and comfortable as Nell, the fun-loving but straight-talking Cockney starlet.” - Stage Whispers LIGHTEN UP "Bishanyia Vincent plays not only Janelle, the Aussie girlfriend, but some seven other characters. Ms Vincent manages to create a comic character of some note as Janelle but also convinces with astute choice of cliche gesture other identities to keep the play robustly flowing (I suspect with the scrutiny of Magda Szubanski's repertoire)." Kevin Jackson "Bishanyia Vincent is an outrageous presence whose every entrance is greeted with sparkling laughter. Her ability to find comedy in every line is a major contribution to the show’s deceptive but pertinent congeniality." Suzy Wrong "In contrast to her recent sensational solo turn in Where Do Little Birds Go?, Bishanyia Vincent revels and excels in a multitude of characters ranging from Green's gormless ex girlfriend to a Cockney tour operator and a series of sophisticates and sillies." Australia Stage Online "Bishanyia Vincent finds some very funny caricatures in a variety of different characters." Daily Review "Bishanyia Vincent, who masters all six of her roles to perfection." Arts Hub "Bishanyia Vincent perpetuates her reputation for comedy genius in the production, taking her sense of vocal comedy and skewering Aussie inner-westycism." Broadway World WHERE DO LITTLE BIRDS GO? "Bishanyia Vincent gives a winsome and winning performance as Lucy.." - Australian Stage Online "Vincent’s Lucy is funny, artless and charming. Her singing is strong, her London accent precise. Whether she’s warbling some long-forgotten showstopper (supported by onstage pianist Liam D Kemp) or showing the grim details of her ordeal, Vincent is never less than captivating." - Jason Blake SMH "Vincent is the show here and can deftly hold an audience’s attention for a full hour run. Alternately charming, mirthful and devastating. Powerful for Vincent’s well-considered performance and ability to jump between the material’s tragic and comic highlights, Where Do Little Birds Go? shows just how far one strong performance can take a play." Performing Arts Hub "The play has a clean, clear unsentimental, uncluttered story construct of mounting 'horror' that is beautifully, charmingly told, impersonated, by Bishanyia Vincent. Lucy's dream was to be a singer/entertainer and constructed between some wistful singing (accompanied by Liam D Kemp) Ms Vincent avoids the melodrama of Lucy's predicament and high lights the simple-matter-of-fact acceptance of 'her lot' at that time in history (1966). The tragedy is all endowed by us. The experience is not proselytising nor is is it just an entertainment. It is a sympathetic piece of writing told naturally by Ms Vincent, gently Directed by Giles Gartrell-Mills. You know, dear readers, how much I abhor monologues, but this one woman show was a 'play' of some affect." - Kevin Jackson's Theatre DIary TOP GIRLS "Bishanyia Vincent scores twice, in her daring casting as Lady Nijo, but tops that work in an absolutely wonderful reading of a gorgeously revealing and satirical monologue as Win in the Employment Agency of the second act - Ms Vincent's presence very striking, indeed;" - Kevin Jackson's Theatre Diary HARVEST "The role of Laura has a similarly vast age range for actor Bishanyia Vincent to explore, and she certainly rises to that challenge, shining especially brilliantly at the older stages. Vincent’s presence is unassuming but solid, and she surprises with increasingly captivating instances of creativity as the plot unfolds, culminating in a surprisingly riveting final scene." Suzy Go See