Buzz chats to founding member Sarah Perryman about the growth of the Welsh 1940s singing troupe, The Siren Sisters, and their hopes for the future.
Where did the idea for the Siren Sisters first germinate?
I founded The Siren Sisters when I moved back to Cardiff after living in London for four years. I went to London to train as a musical theatre actress at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, but I missed Cardiff so much I decided that I wanted to create my own performance opportunities rather than wait for my agent to call. Naturally, I asked my sister Jo to be a part of it (the brunette in the group), and then we set about auditioning for the third girl. Unfortunately our younger brother Chris wouldn’t wear a dress and join us. Helena has been part of the Siren Sisters for about a year and a half now after graduating from the musical theatre masters course at RWCMD. We also have two cover Siren Sisters, Anja and Alison.
Why did you decide to adopt the vintage 1940s music and style?
Ever since I was really young Jo and I used to sing together in harmony on car journeys and suchlike. I would sing the top and she would sing the bottom. If we were lucky, sometimes we would be able to persuade our younger brother Chris to join in. When I did my music degree I sang a lot of early music, and I love madrigals and classical pieces that were written in many parts. Jo and I were also part of a theatre group and did shows every year in St David’s Hall. In one of the shows we did a 1940s medley and about 15 girls dressed up in army style uniforms. It was amazing fun and the audience loved it. I also noticed how nostalgic people were, and some of the older members of the audience were crying because it stirred up memories of their childhood and their experiences of World War Two. This really interested me because it made them happy but also sad at the same time; they loved being transported back to a different time but it did make them sad. This is everything that theatre should be: an emotional journey. The idea of the 40s trio meant that I could combine my love of part singing with theatrical nostalgia and musical theatre which I was trained in. It was a combination of all of that and the fact that no-one else in Wales was doing it that led to me setting up The Siren Sisters.
How would you characterise a typical Siren Sisters performance?
We get asked to do a lot of different types of performances from one or two songs in someone else’s show to our own two-hour musical. A typical Siren Sisters performance would be two half an hour sets of 1930s, 40s and early 50s songs, with opportunities for the audience to sing along and dance at various points. The gigs are not just the three of us standing at microphones. Because of my background, and the previous experience of the other girls in musical theatre, the gigs include dance and a real sense of theatre. Sometimes our live band joins us too, which we love!
Where will audiences normally be able to see you perform, and what has been your favourite performance to date?
We perform a lot locally and the venues vary a lot. We regularly sing at the Wales Millennium Centre where audiences young and old enjoy our performances. Also, we are regular guests on the Roy Noble show on BBC Radio Wales. We still wear full costume and makeup even though it’s radio. We also do places like Gwdihw in Cardiff where the cool, vintage-inspired, twenty-somethings dance and sing along. The music festivals outside of Wales are always fun, too. And then there are places like some of the theatres that we toured to in the South Wales valleys where older audiences can get the bus and watch our afternoon show before getting the bus home before it gets dark. We love that we appeal to such a big audience. Our favourite performance was definitely The Wales Festival of Remembrance in St David’s Hall. We only did our five minute medley, but the place was sold out and it was an honour to be a part of it because it meant so much to so many people. We also really enjoyed our slot on Noson Lawen on S4C recently. This was our most challenging performance to date because we had to learn a song in Welsh and none of us are fluent in Welsh. The great thing about it was that we were able to watch when it was aired. We don’t usually get to watch our own performances.
What are your main hopes for the Siren Sisters in 2012?
We really want to do more gigs with our band. I want us to do more television and to keep making a name for ourselves. We are planning a tour in the summer and also another Christmas With The Siren Sisters when Christmas comes around again. The main thing is that we keep working hard, gigging as much as we can, and enjoying ourselves. We would also like to have over 1000 Facebook fans; we’ve got about 750 now.
All of the dresses worn by the Siren Sisters are provided by Vivienne Of Holloway: www.vivienofholloway.com
