Camille O'Sullivan

愛(ài)爾蘭女歌手、演員、畫(huà)家、建筑師
Born in London of a French mother and Irish father, Camille moved to Cork, Ireland when she was a child. Prior to running away with the ‘circus’ ‘The Famous Spiegeltent’ and La Clique touring the world, she took a circuitous route to becoming a performer. She studied Fine Art Painting for a year and then went to UCD and graduated as an Architect, winning the prestigious Architectural Association of Ireland Award in 2000. She lectured in University and exhibited in the Royal Hibernian Academy as a painter.
Self taught as a singer with a background in acting, it was whilst living in Berlin, she became intrigued by the narrative direct music of Weimar composers Eisler, Hollaender and Weill, described as ‘a(chǎn)rt song: exploring themes of politics, sexuality, life’s degenerates, democracy seedier side of life, desolate love’, and on her return home was inspired by the late great Agnes Bernelle performances back in Dublin’s now defunct Da Club where O’Sullivan had also started to sing. After she had a serious car accident- with a year to recuperate she decided to leave architecture to become a performer.
As much storyteller as singer, Camille has a respected international reputation for her interpretations of the songs of Jacques Brel, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Kurt Weill and shows a fearlessness in her work with her emotional intense performances. Chameleon like on stage, each song has a different character with its own story to tell and emotion to inhabit.
‘inspired by these dramatic narrative songs: dark & light: bittersweet stories, songs that held a mirror up to the stranger side of society. They were not out to please the audience but more to provoke them, to question what is around them and what exists in them, in a way what theatre does; the crack within oneself, comfort of black humor, melancholy, darkness versus innocence, exposing and celebrating your madness and vulnerability.
Fierce, amusing and mesmerizing, Camille transforms each song she performs into a grippingly theatrical experience, inextricably drawing her audience into a world inhabited by the bizarre and wonderful. She has been inaccurately described by some as a burlesque artist or just simply labeled as a Cabaret artist, however she would rather descibe it as a mixture of rock, theatre with a nod to German Weimar Kabaret -She sees herself as a performer trying to make sense of a song, like an actress analyzing a monologue, finding it’s truthful emotion or just simply singing and getting off on the music rocking out!
As an actress she has appeared in the films Over the Edge, November Afternoon (Director Once: John Carney). After being spotted by Ewan Bremner (Spud from Trainspotting) in La Clique, Camille appeared in the Oscar-nominated Mrs. Henderson Presents alongside Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins and Will young directed by Stephen Frears. Theatrical productions include of One Night Stand, Tonight Lola Blau and Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd at the gate theatre, Dublin. She has been a special guest panelist several times on John Kelly’s arts programmer The View (RTé One).
More recently Camille was invited to perform on the BBC’s seminal music programme, Later With Jools. She was a guest star in the legendary Oliver award winning La Clique, of which she is an original cast member, in London’s West End. She recently toured with Shane McGowan and Sharon Shannon. She appeared in the Barbican alongside Jarvis Cocker, Mary Margaret O'Hara and a tribute to the music of Nick Drake performing with Martha Wainwright, Graham Coxon, Beth Orton, Harper Simon, Vashti Bunyan and Stuart Murdoch. She performed recently at the Barbican tribute to Jacque Brel with Marc Almond, Diamanda Galas and Momus

With 5-star sell out seasons in UK, New York, Australia tour inc Sydney Opera House, Edinburgh and recent 2 sell-out shows at London’s legendary Roundhouse Theatre and QEH Southbank this year, O'Sullivan recently took The Dark Angel on a six week UK tour, Latitude & Glastonbury Festivals. She shall be supporting Jools Holland on his autumn tour 09 commencing in the Royal Albert Hall., her own 6 week run in the West End London at the Apollo Theatre and returning to Sydney Opera House to perform in Hal Wilners Rogue Galleries with Marianne Faithful and Tim Robbins outside on the forecourt...as Camille would say MEOW!!