Destiny's child

JUST AS SHE was being toasted as the rising star of London's West End for her role in Mary Poppins, British actress Laura Michelle Kelly has opened her umbrella and flown away - to join the Singapore Repertory Theatre's production of A Twist of Fate.

She's traded her role as Mary Poppins, for which she won a Laurence Olivier Award (best actress in a musical) this year, to play the orphaned Emma West in a small production with a cast of eight.

Although the 23-year-old might have been expected to capitalise on her newfound fame in the bright limelight of the London stage, she says she 'really needed a break' after more than 15 months with the West End show. 'After a while you can forget certain things that you first saw in a character,' she says. 'You've got to keep re-evaluating why you're doing it.'

The suggestion to go to Singapore came from A Twist of Fate's lyricist, Olivier award-winner Anthony Drewe (who also wrote the lyrics for Cameron Mackintosh's production of Mary Poppins). There were also more personal reasons for Kelly: the chance to be with her husband, choreographer Nick Winston, who's working on A Twist of Fate and another Singapore Repertory Theatre production, The Snow Queen.

'One of the reasons for doing this show is because it's a strong ensemble piece,' she says. 'I've headlined a lot of different things, but this time I wanted to be part of something.'

Kelly says she looks at her three-week stint in Singapore as a way of 'giving back' and sharing her passion for telling stories with a new public. 'I remember growing up on the Isle of Wight - we had all those great stars coming to perform. It was such an opportunity to learn. So in a way this is a full circle for me.'