Meet the Welsh actress receiving rave reviews as Anna in Frozen
Laura Dawkes is the Welsh actress who used to dress as Anna from Frozen for kids’ parties and made all her dreams come true when she landed that very role in the Frozen musical in the West End.
To add to the fairytale nature of the Cardiff performer’s remarkable story, the role was her actual stage debut.
Now, she’s sprinkled even more fairy dust, or should that be snowflakes, on her incredible career tale, by reprising her role as Anna in a recording of the show for Disney Plus.
The acclaimed musical arrived on the streaming platform on Friday and Laura’s sublime performance has been described as the ‘beating heart’ of the show.
She stars alongside stage veteran Samantha Barks (who plays her royal sister Elsa) in the much-loved musical, which is currently the number one streamed movie on the platform.
If you don’t know (where have you been?) the story centres on the relationship between two sisters who are princesses, Elsa and Anna. Elsa has magical powers to freeze objects and people, which she does not know how to control. After inheriting the throne, Elsa flees, inadvertently causes the kingdom to become frozen in an eternal winter, and nearly kills her sister. She must sacrifice and show true love to save the day.
For Laura, every day must seem like a pinch me moment. As a teenager she worked for Belle of the Ball Princess Parties dressing up as Anna being hired out to children’s parties in Cardiff.
“When you turned up the little children really believed you are the real thing. I loved that,” she said of her schoolgirl days putting smiles on little faces.
The Disney Plus version of the stage musical is a masterly recording of a show that wowed hundreds of thousands of theatregoers at Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 2021 to 2024.
A review of the film by What’s On Stage said: ‘Samantha Barks’ stoic Elsa thaws and soars as her frosty exterior gives way to heartwarming charm – “Let It Go” is as much a showstopper on film as it was on stage. It’s fantastic to have a fully realised version of the new number “Monster” also committed to camera.
‘Just as impressive is Laura Dawkes, arguably the beating heart of the show as younger sister Anna. Cartwheeling, skating and can-caning her way through the frozen tundra with comedic verve, it’s startling to think that this is her stage debut – and wonderful that a rising talent will be given an international platform to show her skills.’
Laura is a 2023 graduate from Emil Dale Academy who made her professional stage debut in the final year of the West End production of Frozen, when she also bagged a nomination for Best Professional Stage Debut.
The budding Welsh star has also appeared in the Cabaret Venue at the Wales Millennium Centre and is part of the ensemble Welsh of the West End.
In an interview with Spotlight, Laura explained the whirlwind process of becoming Anna on the West End stage.
“I graduated and did my London showcase on a Friday, and the next week, I signed with my agent at Gavin Barker Associates. He told me they were struggling to find an ‘Anna’ and did I want to go for it? My only worry was that I was so young and a graduate, but I said yes, thinking I probably won’t get it, but I might get considered for first or second cover. I just wanted them to take a chance on me. So I went to the audition thinking I’ve got nothing to lose and I’m a nobody at this point – no one knows who I am.
“First, I had to self-tape. They must’ve seen a lot of people at this point, so they wanted to make sure they were getting the right people in. From the get-go, it was all the material for ‘Anna’ – none of it was my own stuff. There were people in the audition room that I knew were in their second or third round, and I thought maybe they’ve already found someone if this is the case. It’s so hard to not distract yourself in an audition situation like that. But again, I just thought, ‘I’ve got nothing to lose, let’s just go in and do my best’.
“They used to say at college that auditions are scary, but they were so lovely and, at the end of the day, it’s your two minutes to show what you do best. I left thinking, “If I don’t get it, it was still amazing just to be in the room.” I had to wait over a bank holiday weekend and found out on Tuesday that I had a recall – I couldn’t believe it! I did two more rounds, and in the final round there were just four of us, and I was so young compared to the others. The final round was dancing with some of the male cast from the show, and I didn’t think it went great. I found out a week later that I got it, and it was just the best process ever.
“People must think I’m crazy in my approach to auditions, but I just love it. I think it’s so fun and it’s your chance to literally stand there and say, “This is what I do.” I think, because I was fresh out of drama school, I was in that buzzy vibe. I was so prepared to just do whatever. But the timing couldn’t have been more perfect if I tried. I genuinely thought, “How has this happened to me? It’s just crazy!” but so fun.
“You never hear success stories, especially coming out of drama school. It’s so unheard of, and that was my mindset going in. But I worked so hard in college and the teachers that have supported me are always saying that. I feel like it has paid off. It’s the most amazing feeling.”
She also gave a detailed insight into filming Frozen the Musical for Disney+.
“It was the best week of my life – it was so different. When I got the part, and when we were rehearsing, there were so many quirks and things that I do just off my own back. I would think, ‘I don’t feel like it reads well for a stage audience’, but for screen, I knew it was going to pay off and it would be so great to have certain things for close-ups.
“With my part, I’m on stage a lot, and the guys that were directing it were great and so excited about it. He was like, ‘All those little quirks you’re doing, just do it because I love it!’ and I thought, ‘Everything’s paying off’. But the week was intense. We were there from 9am until 10pm most days, and it wasn’t in the order of the show, it was all mix and match, but I loved every second.
“We had our make-up done every day, and the wigs were HD wigs, and everything was prim and proper, and you got several takes. We’d go in full ham, crying and things like that – it was so fun.
“We did TV screen stuff in college, nothing too in-depth, but I think it’s one of those things I learnt on the job. I feel like I’ve learnt so many things from that. It was also the first week ever doing it with Sam [Barks], so that was another layer to the whole experience. I cannot wait for it to come out because it looks incredible. We’ve seen the b-roll and it’s going to be amazing!
“I thought, ‘This is crazy’, my future kids, if I have any, will be able to watch that, and people in my family, like my nan who can’t make it up to see the show, she’ll be able to see it, and that’s just lovely. When we were performing on Christmas Eve, I was thinking this could be a family’s Christmas tradition to watch this show. I don’t think I realised how big it’s going to be, it’s going to change my life, but I can’t wait.”
She’s not wrong!
Watch Frozen the Musical on Disney Plus HERE
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