A Performance Fit For A King!

We meet a Coronation performer who's rather more than head and shoulders above the rest...

- CLARE CASSY

At 2.6 metres tall, there's no messing with Bridie the tea lady as she swings her posh tea trolley through the crowds.

Singing along to crooners Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra or Tom Jones, she'll do an energetic twirl or two in between dishing out cups of tea or tempting the crowd with her trolley of fondant fancies.

Bridie, aka Julie Simpson, is an actor, professional stilt artist and street performer who loves engaging with a crowd.

"I first learned to walk on stilts about thirty years ago," remembers Julie. "It wasn't so much learning the technical skill, which does take a bit of time, but more importantly overcoming the fear of doing something that doesn't usually come naturally. Then it was becoming more confident to go from basic walking to dancing and high kicks!"

Originally from Derry, Northern Ireland, Julie now lives in London with her partner, a piano vocalist, their dog, Dusty and cat, Bart.

"I don't come from a theatrical family," explains Julie, "but they were musical. My father and cousin were involved in the local operatic society. I remember my mother holding me up as a toddler so I could watch them through a window. I remember a vision of colour, bright lights and people in costumes!"

Julie first came to England to study in 1981 in her mid-twenties. Working hard in a variety of random jobs, she paid her entire way through drama school. Various roles in theatre and film followed, along with a couple of TV commercials, before Julie found her true calling.