The Stage

Charles Shirvell

Published Tuesday 21 October 2008 at 11:50 by Daniel Evans

Actor and singer Charles (Charlie to his friends) Shirvell was perhaps best known for his performance as Mary Sunshine in the 1997 revival of Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre.

Born in Hampshire on May 25, 1961, Shirvell began his professional life in hotel management before capitalising on his natural good looks and significant talent as an actor and a singer. After training at the Actors’ Centre, Shirvell quickly became a regular on the West End stage, appearing in Metropolis, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon and The Phantom of the Opera. He appeared in Nicholas Hytner’s Carousel at the National Theatre (1990), in The Devil and Mr Stone at the Donmar Warehouse and many times on the fringe, ranging from Michael John LaChiusa’s Hello Again at the Bridewell (2001) to, most recently, Porter’s Black and White Ball at the King’s Head Theatre (2008). His work on tour included Jekyll and Hyde with Paul Nicholas (2004) and, again, Carousel (this time directed by Matthew White), in which he played Mr Snow (2000).

Shirvell was a gifted baritone and a consummate performer of cabarets and concerts. Once a backing vocalist to Cliff Richard, he sang at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra and regularly appeared with the Westenders on tour throughout the UK.

But it was his glorious performance as Mary Sunshine in Chicago (opposite Ruthie Henshall and Ute Lemper) that brought Shirvell most accolades. Indeed, the current production of Chicago turned out to be a touchstone to which Shirvell would return again and again - each time in a different guise. He understudied and played the role of Billy Flynn and returned in 2006 as resident director. He was also the associate director on the 2007 UK tour. Last year, Shirvell revived his Mary Sunshine for the production’s tenth anniversary celebration.

To his close-knit community of friends, Shirvell was known as a generous bon vivant, whose spirited personality allowed him a wide-ranging social circle. It is a terrible irony that he battled with severe depression during his final months, before tragically taking his own life at the age of 47, on September 10 at home in Leytonstone.