Carl Au

Carl Au (born 1987) is a British actor, dancer and singer. Having began his career aged eleven, he appeared in multiple musical productions, before receiving a scholarship at Arts Educational Schools, London to study acting and musical theatre. While attending the school, he was invited to feature in the Barbara Cook and Friends charity gala show, organised for Barbara Cook's eightieth birthday, and was awarded The Stephen Sondheim Society Prize for Student Performer of the Year, making him the inaugural recipient. After graduating, Au returned to stage productions, primarily in the West End of London.

Carl Au
Born	1987 (age 33–34)[1] Kirkby, Merseyside, England[2]
Occupation	Actor, dancer, singer
Years active	1998–present

He was cast in the BBC drama Waterloo Road in 2012 as troublesome student Barry Barry, marking his first television credit. He left the series over a year later and experienced guest roles in television series. Since then, he has experienced roles in plays Bright Phoenix, Ostrich Boys and High Fidelity, as well as being cast in a lead role in the 2017−2018 touring production of Cilla The Musical.

Early life

Au was born in Kirkby, Merseyside.[2] He received scholarships to three musical theatre colleges to study acting and musical theatre. Philip Key of the Daily Post called this "an unprecedented event in show business".[3] He opted to study at the Arts Educational Schools, London,[3] where he graduated from in 2008.[4]

Career

Au began his stage career aged eleven.[5] As a teenager, he appeared in Copperfield, a musical based on Dickens’ David Copperfield. He also appeared as young Benny in the stage production of Her Benny at the Liverpool Empire Theatre.[3] In August 2005, he starred in the futuristic musical Lorenzo's Quest as protagonist Lorenzo.[3] The actor featured in the 2006–2007 pantomime of Robin Hood and The Babes in the Wood at the Bournemouth Pavilion with three of his fellow Arts Educational College classmates. The run consisted of 48 performances and for the majority of the run, the actor was ill; nevertheless, he appeared in all the performances.[6] In 2007, Au was invited to feature in the Barbara Cook and Friends charity gala show, organised for Barbara Cook's eightieth birthday. He dubbed it a "remarkable experience".[4] From June to August 2008, Au appeared in the ensemble of High School Musical on Stage! for its London premiere at the Hammersmith Apollo.[7] Later that year, he appeared in the Oxford Playhouse's 2008–2009 pantomime Sleeping Beauty.[8] He went on to appear at the 2009 Brit Awards as one of the Pet Shop Boys dancers,[9] and has also performed with Lady Gaga.[10]

The actor played the role of Nephew Fred in the 2009 production of A Christmas Carol at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.[11] In March 2010, Au's casting as the mute in The Fantasticks was announced; the production began in the West End from May.[11] Between September and October 2010, Au appeared in the West End production of Bells Are Ringing at the Union Theatre, London; he portrayed Carl.[12] In December 2010, it was announced that Au would join the West End cast of Jersey Boys as Joe Pesci, from 15 March 2011.[13] At the Freedom Bar in London, the actor joined other West End actors in a one-night showcase of composer David Are songs, Slip Into Your Skin, on 18 March 2012.[14]

In 2012, Au was cast in the BBC school drama Waterloo Road as troublesome student Barry Barry. The character was introduced as part of a family headed by accredited actress Zöe Lucker.[15] The role marks Au's first television credit.[5] After appearing in two series, Au departed the drama and filmed his final scenes in October 2013.[16] Daily Mirror's Clemmie Moodie praised Au's performance in Waterloo Road, opining that he managed to "effortlessly nail [his] delivery every time".[17] The actor received a fanbase from his time on the drama and his fans continued to watch his stage roles.[5] In February 2013, Au appeared in the Let's Dance For Comic Relief competition alongside four of his Waterloo Road co-stars. They perform a Spice Girls number dressed as the girl group; Au performed as Melanie C, which he was pleased with as he was the only performer who did not wear high heels.[2] The actor told Kate Forrester of the Liverpool Echo that he relished the chance to "dance, sing and act all at the [same] time".[2]

After leaving Waterloo Road, Au moved to London where he moved into a flat with friends. Shortly after, he auditioned for the lead, Alan 'Icarus' Flynn, in new play Bright Phoenix at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.[5] The play ran throughout October 2014.[18] Au enjoyed returning to theatre as he liked "the adrenaline that you can get from the audience".[5] Au guest starred in an episode of BBC medical drama Casualty in September 2014,[19][20] and the following year, he appeared in an episode of Doctors as anxiety sufferer Karl Moran.[19] In 2016, Au was cast in the Till Death Us Do Part episode of The Lost Sitcoms series. He was delighted to be cast as his late grandfather was a fan of the sitcom.[1] That same year, the actor appeared in the Belgrade Theatre's production of Ostrich Boys. George Attwell of The Stage called the actor's performance "cartoonish yet consistently funny".[21] Au was cast as Bobby in the 2017 touring production of Cilla The Musical, a biopic musical about the early career and music of Cilla Black.[22] In September 2019, it was announced that Au would star as Dick in the UK premiere of the musical High Fidelity at the Turbine Theatre, running between October and December 2019.[23]

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2012–2014	Waterloo Road	Barry Barry	Regular role	[15]
2013	Let's Dance For Comic Relief	Melanie C		[2]
2014	Casualty	Danny Smith	Guest role	[19]
2015	Doctors	Karl Moran	Guest role	[19]
2016	The Lost Sitcoms	Mike Rawlins	Till Death Us Do Part special	[1]

Stage

Year	Production	Role	Location	Ref(s)
Un­known	Copperfield	Un­known	Un­known	[3]
2002	Her Benny	Young Benny	Liverpool Empire Theatre	[3]
2005	Lorenzo's Quest	Lorenzo	Crosby Civic Hall	[3]
2006−2007	Robin Hood and The Babes in the Wood	Un­known	Bournemouth Pavilion	[6]
2008	High School Musical on Stage!	Ensemble	Hammersmith Apollo	[7]
2008−2009	Sleeping Beauty	Ensemble	Oxford Playhouse	[6]
2009	A Christmas Carol	Nephew Fred	Birmingham Repertory Theatre	[11]
2010	The Fantasticks	The mute	The Duchess Theatre	[11]
2010	Bells Are Ringing	Carl	Union Theatre, London	[12]
2011	Jersey Boys	Joe Pesci	Prince Edward Theatre	[13]
2012	Slip Into Your Skin	Himself	Freedom Bar, London	[14]
2014	Bright Phoenix	Alan 'Icarus' Flynn	Everyman Theatre, Liverpool	[5]
2016	Ostrich Boys	Sim	Belgrade Theatre	[21]
2017−2018	Cilla The Musical	Bobby	Touring production	[22]
2019	High Fidelity	Dick	Turbine Theatre	[23]

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result	Ref(s)
2007	The Stephen Sondheim Society	The Stephen Sondheim Society Prize for Student Performer of the Year	N/A	Won	[4]

References

1. Shennan, Paddy (28 August 2016). "Kirkby actor recreates 'randy Scouse git' role for return of Till Death Us Do Part". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
2. Forrester, Kate (22 February 2013). "Kirkby-born Waterloo Road star Carl Au laces up dancing shoes for Comic Relief". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
3. Key, Philip (4 August 2005). "Arts Diary: Show a world away from Her Benny; Anne Dalton is producing a new musical. Philip Key reports". Daily Post. Retrieved 14 October 2020 – via The Free Library.
4. "SSSSPOTY 2007". The Stephen Sondheim Society. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
5. Kilkelly, Daniel (21 October 2014). "Waterloo Road's Carl Au reveals life after Barry Barry role". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
6. Porter, Hilary (4 January 2007). "Poorly pair made sure that panto went on..." Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
7. Shenton, Mark (28 June 2008). "Disney's High School Musical Makes London Premiere June 28". Playbill. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
8. "It's Panto Time 2008!". BBC Oxford. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
9. "Waterloo Road". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
10. Davy-Osborne, Stephen (14 March 2018). "REVIEW: No Surprise Surprise for Cilla's opening night success". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
11. "Lorna Want and Luke Brady Lead Cast of The Fantasticks". BroadwayWorld. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
12. "Marc Antolin, Carl Au Join Bells Are Ringing At Union Theatre". BroadwayWorld. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
13. "Jon Lee Joins Cast Of Jersey Boys UK On March 15, 2011". BroadwayWorld. 7 December 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
14. "Sharon D. Clarke and Carley Stenson to Star in Slip Into Your Skin, London, March 18". BroadwayWorld. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
15. Kilkelly, Daniel (25 June 2012). "'Waterloo Road' role for ex-'EastEnders' star Zöe Lucker". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
16. Kilkelly, Daniel (26 February 2014). "Waterloo Road: Carl Au on Barry Barry exit, future career plans". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
17. Moodie, Clemmie (5 September 2013). "School Daze; How I spent a day as an extra on kids' TV hit show.. and ended up as class dunce; Exclusive: Our Clemmie joins Waterloo Road". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 15 January 2019 – via Questia.
18. Meads, Glenn (3 September 2014). "Cast: Everyman's Bright Phoenix". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
19. Kilkelly, Daniel (12 September 2015). "Waterloo Road actor Carl Au to guest star in Doctors this month". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
20. Mark Catley (writer); Joss Agnew (director); Jonathan Phillips (producer) (20 September 2014). "Home". Casualty. BBC. BBC One.
21. Attwell, George (14 September 2016). "Ostrich Boys". The Stage. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
22. Bowie-Sell, Daisy (30 August 2017). "Full casting for Cilla the Musical". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
23. "Oliver Ormson and full cast announced for the UK première of High Fidelity: A Musical". BestofTheatre.co.uk. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2020.