Kate O'Sullivan is a British actress, singer, voiceover artist and impressionist.
A graduate of Drama Centre London latterly Central Saint Martins, she was taught by Yat Malmgren and Christopher Fettes.
Theatre
Her first job after leaving Drama Centre was in the West End playing Cecily Cardew in The Importance of Being Earnest at the Whitehall Theatre (now Trafalgar Studios) with Hinge and Bracket. She played Magenta, the extra terrestrial French maid, in the 1990/1991 West End revival of Richard O’Brien's The Rocky Horror Show starring Anthony Head and Craig Ferguson at the Piccadilly Theatre and Bristol Hippodrome Theatre. She also went on both the 1991 and 1996 UK tours of The Rocky Horror Show. Other musicals include Lust with Denis Lawson at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, and Bob Carlton's Keep On Running at Birmingham Rep in which she played the lead Kathleen Karman. O'Sullivan appeared with Eric Sykes in a nationwide tour of Ray Cooney's farce Run For Your Wife. She returned to the role of Barbara or “Lofty” in Run For Your Wife in a UK tour celebrating the play's 25th Anniversary.
Kate O'Sullivan featured as a writer/performer in Let The People Decide with Barry from Watford (Edinburgh Fringe)and performed sketches and stand-up with Sketch Department at The Merchant's Hall, Hannover St. She appeared in Q&A: a showcase for new material & improvisation with Steve Furst and Lewis MacLeod at the Leicester Square Theatre.
Television
O'Sullivan appeared in Roy Clarke's comedy Still Open All Hours twice, playing the cameo role of Mrs Teasdale. She has also appeared in Gold sitcom The Rebel starring Simon Callow as a rebellious and magnificently sweary pensioner., Henry IX, a comedy for UK Gold, written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. She appeared with Dawn French publicizing her new ITV talent series on The One Show, O'Sullivan recalling her childhood appearances as an impressionist on Crackerjack.
O'Sullivan played vet Sally Freeman in two BBC series of Home Farm Twins based on Jenny Oldfield's novels of the same name. She has appeared in Dead Ringers, Channel 4 film Bill's New Frock, directed by Pete Travis, and was a regular in BBC Scotland sketch show 2000 Not Out with Craig Ferguson. Other TV work includes Armando Iannucci's Time Trumpet, 2004: The Stupid Version, BBC 4's Don't Watch That, Watch This, four series of Bremner Bird and Fortune, and the 2008 CGI BBC3 sketch show The Wrong Door in which she voices a Smutty Alien, The World's Most Annoying Creature and myriad other extra terrestrial/android characters. She also played the lead role of 'Girl' in Dead Cat, a short film directed by Derek Jarman and David Lewis.
Impressions
First television appearance as an impressionist was as a child on Seaside Special (1976), hosted by Roger Kitter. This was followed by appearances on BBC children's show Crackerjack. In 2DTV (series 4 & 5) O'Sullivan supplied all female impressions/characters. Produced by Giles Pilbrow and directed by Tim Searle with Enn Reitel, Lewis MacLeod, and Dave Lamb. Hedz: comedy sketch show for CBBC/ BBC Scotland. O'Sullivan supplied all female impressions except the Queen, who was voiced by Peter Dickson. (Bafta:- Best Children's Light Entertainment 2008). She appeared in DoubleTake, created by Alison Jackson (Bafta for Innovation 2001). O'Sullivan's impressions, namely Nancy Dell'Olio and Ulrika Jonsson, featured in Jackson's Sven: The Coach, The Cash And His Lovers for Channel 4. O’Sullivan features as an impressionist in the topical BBC Radio 4 satire starring Rory Bremner Tonight.
Kate O’Sullivan performed stand-up and impressions at the Leicester Square Theatre, the New Players Theatre and Brighton Komedia. She performed in Funny Women Sunday Showcase at the Leicester Square Theatre.
Radio
O'Sullivan plays various roles in the story of the KLF in How To Burn A Million Quid and the roles of Auntie Megs and Zita in new dramatisation of Michael Morpurgo's Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea for BBC Radio 2. For Classic FM: The Pazza Factor: the story of the birth of Classic FM, directed by Bill Dare, producer of Dead Ringers. Written by Sean Grundy and Cara Jennings, it starred Jon Culshaw, Duncan Wisbey as Ralph Bernard and Kate O'Sullivan as Margaret Thatcher. She read for Something Understood, produced by Adam Fowler and presented by Mark Tully, also Radio 4. She was a regular on Radio 4's impression and sketch show starring Lewis Macleod, Duncan Wisbey and Julian Dutton Lewis Macleod Is Not Himself.