Bronté is currently playing the role of Katherine Plumber in the London premiere production of Newsies at the Troubadour Theatre in Wembley.
Bronté’s work in theatre includes 'Kathy' in Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder (Edinburgh Festival), 'Mary' in What's New Pussycat' (Birmingham Rep), ‘Ado Annie’ in Oklahoma at Chichester, starring as ‘Carole King’ in the first UK tour of the musical Beautiful, ’Jane’ in the concert version of Girlfriends at the Bishopsgate Institute, ‘Nadine' in Drew McOnie’s production of The Wild Party at The Other Palace, ‘Little Match Girl’ in Striking 12 at the Union Theatre, ‘Helen/Vinnie’ in The Donkey Show (Proud London) and ‘Princess Fiona’ in the UK tour of Shrek, and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ before this. She started performing at a very young age in her hometown of Macclesfield. In 2010 she was selected as one of the final 10 in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s search for Dorothy - Over the Rainbow’. Following this, Bronté attended Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts where she gained the Gyearbuor Asante prize for Acting and graduated with first-class honours.
After finishing Mountview she made her professional debut as ‘Odette’ in Carnival of the Animals (Riverside Studios).
We caught up with Brontè about her time in Newsies!
You are currently playing Katherine in the long-awaited and now Olivier award-winning production of Newsies. Thinking back to when you got the audition, how did you feel about potentially playing this part when you were going through that process?
I saw Newsies on Broadway around 2014 / 15 and it was my first trip to New York - and I think it was the first musical that I watched there. I just remember being blown away and thinking ‘If that ever comes over, that is the Disney part that I want to do, she’s so strong and so interesting and I love to tap and it’s a period piece with such an important message’ so it was my dream show.
I remember I flew back to London from a different holiday and the audition came through. I was chuffed because I’d worked with Max and Jane before in Oklahoma and I’d heard they were going to be doing it but I’d been waiting for ages. I’d been asking my agent ‘please get me seen for it when it comes here!’ I’d heard people had gone in for the Newsies and I hadn’t gotten an audition through, so I was worried I wasn’t going to be seen!
