description
A classically-trained vocalist, actor and presenter with special interests in music theatre, jazz and children's entertainment. Allison performs beautifully solo, as a duo with Andrew Short and with trio "Swoon". An exceptional performer whose credits include prominent Tasmanian Festival of Voices, Community Christmas Carols and numerous lead roles in major theatre musical productions. Allison can adapt to a number of styles (including pop, folk, country, classical and music theatre).
If you want to add a touch of class to your event Island Entertainment will work with you and Allison to find the perfect show stopper.
Allison Farrow
Equally at home in front of an orchestra or in a country music hall, Allison is a versatile performer with almost 30 years of performing experience across a number of genres. She has performed throughout Australia, Europe and Asia and has been involved in festivals worldwide, including Edinburgh Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Ten Days on the Island, Festival of Voices, MONAFOMA and TasPride.
A classically trained soprano, Allison has played roles including Christine in The Phantom of the Opera, Lily in The Secret Garden, Papagena in The Magic Flute, Cosette in Les Miserables, Johanna in Sweeney Todd, Claudia in Nine, Judy/Ginger in Ruthless! The Musical, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and Sylvia in the world premiere of For the Term of His Natural Life.
Her one-woman cabarets I’m a Stranger Here Myself: the Songs of Kurt Weill, In the Still of the Night: an evening with Cole Porter, and Dumb Blonde: the genius of Dolly Parton have played to popular and critical acclaim. In 2013 she presented Spring Fever: Allison Farrow with Kelly Ottaway and band with the Theatre Royal, Hobart.
For Bel Canto Young Opera, Allison has performed the role of Serpina in Pergolesi’s The Perfect Wife and the title role in Peter Maxwell Davies’ Cinderella. She has also worked with IHOS opera, in productions including Rapture and The Divine Kiss, and recorded a solo work for soprano, Incantation Echo, which was broadcast on Classic FM. Allison performed in Dylan Sheridan’s chamber opera, starchild, as part of MONA FOMA in 2013.
Allison provided the voice for ‘Betty Bug’ in Blue Rocket’s animated television series Buzz Bumble and featured numerous times with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, narrating/singing for Little Red Riding Hood in 2014, Maximus Musicus Visits the Orchestra in 2015 (and again in May 2019) and The Tale of Gibson in 2016. Her children’s shows have been a regular fixture in the Festival of Voices and include Sing a Rainbow (2016), Rhymes My Nanna Taught Me (2017), More Rhymes My Nanna Taught Me (2018) and Jazz Hands (2019).
Allison performs regularly with her jazz quintet Allison Farrow & Friends for corporate and festival events, and is a member of the glamorous female harmony trio Swoon.
Allison Farrow and Andrew Short
Allison and Andrew have been performing together for more than 25 years, sharing the stage as the Cosette and Marius in Les Miserables (2000), Christine and Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera (2013), and Eliza and Freddy in My Fair Lady (2019).
Known as the gorgeous couple behind the Festival of Voices perennial sell-out event, Afternoon at the Ritz, the duo have also featured for the Clarence Jazz Festival with their show Lullaby of Broadway, and featured in Judy Tierney’s Burning Desire Festival in 2020. Allison and Andrew are both local artists with extensive lists of individual credits.