Welsh Diva Iris Williams returns to New York with debut at the Beach Café on

September 8, 2018

New York, NY – August 01 – International song stylist Iris Williams returns to the New York cabaret scene in a solo performance in her debut at The Beach Cafe located on New York’s Upper East Side.  During Ms. Williams’ set, themed “Let the music begin” she will interpret classic American standards and other favorites. September 8 at 8.15pm. A second appearance at the same venue will be made on October 13. Cabaret — The Beach Cafe.

Ms. Williams will also be appearing at the Cabaret Convention in New York on October 12 -
The 29th New York Cabaret Convention.

In October 2015, Candace Leeds of Cabaret Scenes declared, “The stately Welsh singer, Iris Williams, made her Birdland debut …, performing to an enthusiastic sold-out house. With her low-key charm, elegant presence, and lovely, deep-throated contralto voice, she truly inhabited each of her songs. She had the audience in the palm of her hand throughout the show.”

Reviewing her performance at The Metropolitan Club in 2013, Joe Regan, Jr said, “Iris Williams has lost not a bit of her voice which was championed by Stephen Holden (“…one of the most striking voices in all of cabaret.”) and Rex Reed (“You owe it to yourself to see this great lady: Impeccable taste and elegant phrasing.”) The vivacious and elegant chanteuse always performs with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Rob Lester dubbed her voice ‘warm brandy’ and called her “The Halley’s Comet of cabaret.” Jeffrey Bruce for Cabaret Scenes, said after a recent concert in Boca Raton, ‘this woman is a star, in the truest sense of the word. Catch her if you can! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daqHUWMNa-w&feature=youtu.be.

Ms. Williams is a favorite of Presidents and Royalty. Her classical training, exceptional talent and rich, warm contralto impelled her beyond her beloved native Wales and helped Iris to thrive when her honest and touching rendition of “He Was Beautiful” went gold and launched her international career.

Iris says of her love of cabaret, “I am very drawn – musically, and especially lyrically - to The American Songbook.  I relish interpreting these lyrics with their compelling stories of love, sadness, happiness, and loss so that my audiences can connect on a personal level with the meaning of the lyrics behind the music.  I also enjoy keeping things fresh by exploring different interpretations at each performance.”

Now based in California, the much-loved songstress was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2004 by Queen Elizabeth II for her musical accomplishments and her work with charity, Iris Williams has performed with Bob Hope and Rosemary Clooney, for President Gerald Ford, the British Royal Family and has at The Algonquin’s iconic Oak Room, The Metropolitan Room and NYC’s landmark Birdland Jazz Club as well as Catalina’s in Los Angeles and the Purple Plume in Palm Springs. Catch Iris Williams at the Beach Café, 1326 2nd Avenue, New York, NY on September 8 or October 13 at 8.15pm. For reservations go to IRIS WILLIAMS Tickets, Sat, Sep 8, 2018 at 8:15 PM | Eventbrite.                                                        

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Kate Burton & Matthew Rhys and the grads after their NYC Showcase on Sept 26.

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Welsh Diva Iris Williams Returns to New York City’s Metropolitan Room

So “Let the Music Begin” at the Metropolitan Room on October 22

New York, NY – September 28, 2016– International song stylist Iris Williams returns to the Metropolitan Room for one night only on October 22 at 7pm, direct from her performance interpreting Sondheim at the Cabaret Convention on October 19.

Since her Metropolitan Room debut in 2013, Iris has sold out at Birdland Jazz in NYC and won critical acclaim for performances at Catalina’s in Los Angeles. She is looking forward to returning to the Metropolitan Room, one of the few remaining cabaret rooms in America.  Ms. Williams invites you to  ”Let the Music Begin” as she interprets standards by the likes of Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein, Nat King Cole, Carole King, Ashford & Simpson and Edith Piaf on October 22 at 7.00 pm. Metropolitan Room Buy Tickets.

To quote The New York Times’ Stephen Holden, “This demure Welsh singer has one of the most striking voices in all of cabaret...”  The vivacious and elegant chanteuse, who always performs with a mischievous twinkle in her eye - ...” – says, “The Metropolitan Room’s coziness suits me down to the ground.  It’ll let me keep the audience where I like them – up close – in a hug – or ‘cwtch’ as we say in Welsh.” Iris Williams sings “Dreams”

Ms. Williams’ rich, warm contralto impelled her far beyond the borders of her beloved homeland, Wales.  A scholarship student at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, her classical training helped Iris to thrive when her honest and touching rendition of the pop classic “He Was Beautiful” went gold and then platinum, launching the already-accomplished singing actress on an international career.

Now based in New York, the much-loved songstress still performs frequently in Wales. Awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2004 by Queen Elizabeth II for her musical accomplishments and her work with charity, Iris has performed at The Algonquin’s Oak Room, for President Gerald Ford and the British Royal Family, and with Tom Jones, Bob Hope, Rosemary Clooney and many others. She is currently filming a British TV special.

Catch Iris Williams at The Metropolitan Room on October 22 at 7.00pm. www.themetropolitanroom.com; 34 West 22 Street, New York City; 212 206 0440.

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Terrific performances from the USA/Canadian grads at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama inaugural NYC Showcase on Sept 26th at the Signature Theater. 

Kate Burton to open Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama’s

Inaugural Actors’ Showcase at the Signature Theater

in New York on September 26, 2016

New York, New York – September 20, 2016 - With the increasing numbers of UK-trained actors on the major US media channels, the time is right for The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama’s (RWCMD) inaugural US Actors Showcase in New York City.  It will be held at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theater in the Signature Theater complex on September 26, 2016.  Obviously, the US broadcast and theater industries value training and technique and this event will provide its American and Canadian graduates with the opportunity to showcase the talents they’ve honed at RWCMD to US casting directors, agents and managers.

The Showcase will be introduced by Emmy and Tony Award nominee Kate Burton, daughter of the great Welsh actor Richard Burton.

"I have been associated with the College for a long time and have been very impressed by the quality of work I have seen, so much so that I offered to introduce them to the New York entertainment community,” says Kate Burton.

RWCMD was named by The Guardian University Guide as the top drama school in the UK twice in the last three years; the acting course delivers an intensive program that concentrates on the skills most valued by the theater and film industries in the UK and US.

RWCMD attracts talented acting students from all over the US, following rigorous auditions in New York, Chicago and LA. With just 22 undergraduate slots, the College is one of the most competitive drama schools in the UK. Its resident company of final year actors, The Richard Burton Company, stages fifteen productions each year, running the gamut from the classic to contemporary repertoire.

Leading agents and casting directors regularly attend the College’s productions and the Head of Casting from the Royal Shakespeare Company auditions every acting student.  National Theatre’s (NT) Head of Casting, Wendy Spon, is also a frequent visitor, “it’s one of my favorite drama schools,” she says. “The standard of training is high and the NT consistently auditions and employs their graduates.”

The College is one of the UK’s leading schools “with a reputation for producing unusual and exciting well-trained actors that the industry is hungry for every year,” says Tony Award-winning theatre director Michael Grandage.

Christopher Farrar of the Hamilton Hodell Entertainment Agency says,    “The Royal Welsh College is an outstanding school; their ability to produce fearless, curious and exciting actors is second to none and their showcases are consistently fresh and inventive... Hamilton Hodell is extremely proud to represent many of their alumni…”

Editors’ Notes:

• “We feel confident that our students will compare favourably with those training at the top US schools. So we are now putting on our first ever US Showcase at the Signature Theatre in New York. Our London Showcase is one of the best attended in the UK and we hope that that we can go from strength to strength and emulate that. It’s an adventure and we intend to enjoy it! “   David Bond, Head of Actor Training, RWCMD

• In 2011 Kate Burton opened the Royal Welsh College’s new multi-million dollar facilities in Cardiff, where she also unveiled a bust of her father. Elizabeth Taylor had presented the bust of her late husband to RWCMD Patron Prince Charles at a royal gala at Buckingham Palace. It now stands in front of the new RWCMD Richard Burton Theatre. Kate Burton is an International Associate of RWCMD and continues to assist the College with its advancement appeals in the US. She is a graduate and trustee of Brown University and a graduate and on the board of advisors of The Yale School of Drama.

• In 2013 on March1 (St David’s Day – the Feast of Wales’ patron saint), Welsh actor Michael Sheen (Masters of Sex), who is a Fellow and International Chair in Drama at the College, unveiled Richard Burton’s star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. With the College’s President, Lord Rowe-Beddoe, Michael then launched the College’s Scholarship Appeal in the US at a reception to celebrate Welsh talent.

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Welsh Diva Iris Williams Arrives On Los Angeles Cabaret Scene

In Her Debut Performance at Catalina Jazz Club on April 13

New York, NY – February 23, 2016 – International song stylist Iris Williams arrives on the Los Angeles cabaret scene in a one night only solo performance - her debut at Catalina’s located on Hollywood’s storied Sunset Boulevard.  During Ms. Williams’ set, themed “I Wish You Love,” she will interpret classic American standards featuring composers Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington, Burton Lane, and more.  Music Director Keith Droste will be on piano, with Jeff Stover on bass and Andy Fraga on drums on April 13 at 8:30pm.

In October 2015, Candace Leeds of Cabaret Scenes declared, “The stately Welsh singer, Iris Williams, made her Birdland debut …, performing to an enthusiastic sold-out house. With her low-key charm, elegant presence, and lovely, deep-throated contralto voice, she truly inhabited each of her songs. She had the audience in the palm of her hand throughout the show.”

Reviewing her performance at The Metropolitan Club in 2013, Joe Regan, Jr said, “Iris Williams has lost not a bit of her voice which was championed by Stephen Holden (“…one of the most striking voices in all of cabaret.”) and Rex Reed (“You owe it to yourself to see this great lady: Impeccable taste and elegant phrasing.”) The vivacious and elegant chanteuse always performs with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Rob Lester dubbed her voice ‘warm brandy’ and called her “The Halley’s Comet of cabaret.” 

Ms. Williams is a favorite of Presidents and Royalty. Her classical training, exceptional talent and rich, warm contralto impelled her beyond her beloved native Wales and helped Iris to thrive when her honest and touching rendition of “He Was Beautiful” went gold and launched her international career.

Iris says of her love of cabaret, “I am very drawn – musically, and especially lyrically - to The American Songbook.  I relish interpreting these lyrics with their compelling stories of love, sadness, happiness, and loss so that my audiences can connect on a personal level with the meaning of the lyrics behind the music.  I also enjoy keeping things fresh by exploring different interpretations at each performance.”

Now based in New York, the much-loved songstress still performs frequently in Wales. Awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2004 by Queen Elizabeth II for her musical accomplishments and her work with charity, Iris Williams has performed with Bob Hope and Rosemary Clooney, for President Gerald Ford, the British Royal Family, at The Algonquin’s iconic Oak Room and NYC’s landmark Birdland Jazz Club.

Catch Iris Williams at Catalina Jazz Club – 6725 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA on April 13, 2016 at 8:30pm.  For reservations call 323 466 2210.                                                                  

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