1986–2000 Dee's first West End production was
Gillian Lynne's 1986 revival of
Cabaret in which she played Gertie and understudied the role of
Sally Bowles. This led to an invitation from
Wayne Sleep, who played the Emcee in that production, to join his UK tour as The Singer. Subsequently, the choreographer Bill Deamer invited her to the
Salisbury Playhouse to perform in
A Chorus of Disapproval and as Jack in
Jack and the Beanstalk at Christmas 1987. This led to leading roles in musical theatre, including Sarah Brown in
Guys and Dolls, Ellie May Chipley in the award-winning
Royal Shakespeare Company and
Opera North production of
Show Boat at the
London Palladium, Bombalurina in
Andrew Lloyd Webber's
Cats,
Duke Ellington's
Sophisticated Ladies, Claudine in
Cole Porter's
Can-Can, and Ado Annie in the national tour of
Oklahoma!. Dee's portrayal of
Carrie Pipperidge in the 1993
Royal National Theatre's production of
Carousel earned her an
Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical. The role gained her an invitation from
Sir Richard Eyre to play her first major straight role of Julie in
Johnny on a Spot at the National Theatre. She subsequently went on to play
Helen of Troy in
The Women of Troy. Dee has had an important working relationship with the playwright and director
Alan Ayckbourn. This began with Paul Todd's fringe production of
Between The Lines for which Ayckbourn wrote song lyrics and was followed by
Dreams From A Summerhouse at the
Stephen Joseph Theatre in
Scarborough. She returned to work with Ayckbourn in 1996 in
Neil Simon's ''
They're Playing Our Song after which Ayckbourn wrote Comic Potential'' 'with Janie in mind'. Her performance as Jacie Triplethree at Scarborough, subsequently in the West End and then at the
Manhattan Theatre Club in New York, won her the aforementioned Best Actress Awards in London and New York, as well as considerable critical acclaim. In
New York Magazine,
John Simon wrote "Miss Dee's creation is a spectacular achievement. I am not sure that I have ever seen its equal, but I am certain I have never seen, nor ever will see, it's superior."
2001–2010 Dee is known for her versatility as a performer. She was invited by opera director
David Pountney, to play Lidotchka in his production of
Shostakovich's
Paradise Moscow for Opera North. She followed this playing Masha in
Brian Friel's translation of
Chekhov's
Three Sisters and Edyth Herbert, opposite
Tim Flavin in the
George Gershwin musical
My One and Only, both at the
Chichester Festival Theatre.
My One and Only subsequently transferred to the West End and Dee was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. As a result, in 2003,
Sir Peter Hall asked Dee to star in his season at the
Theatre Royal, Bath, playing Gilda in
Noël Coward's
Design for Living and Emma in
Harold Pinter's
Betrayal, opposite
Aden Gillett and
Hugo Speer.
Betrayal subsequently transferred to the
Duchess Theatre in the West End. Hall then invited her to play Beatrice in his production of
Much Ado About Nothing. In 2005 Pinter invited Dee to play Kate in
Old Times at the
Gate Theatre, Dublin and to participate in a celebration of his work, including a reading of his play
Celebration, with
Jeremy Irons,
Derek Jacobi,
Sinéad Cusack,
Penelope Wilton,
Michael Gambon,
Stephen Rea and Stephen Brennan. Producer,
Michael Colgan, subsequently transferred the piece to London's
Noël Coward Theatre, for 3 performances, with
Charles Dance playing the Maitre D. Six months later
Celebration was filmed for
Channel 4, with
Colin Firth playing the role of Russell, opposite Dee as Suki. In 2006, Dee returned to musical theatre to play
Mabel Normand in
John Doyle's production of
Jerry Herman's
Mack and Mabel opposite
David Soul at the
Criterion Theatre. She followed this with the role of Lady Driver in
Michael Frayn's ''
Donkeys' Years'' at the
Comedy Theatre. At the end of the run, Dee helped organise a reading for charity of
William Nicholson's play
Shadowlands which deals with the relationship between
C. S. Lewis and the American writer
Joy Gresham. In 2007, Hall, Pinter, and Dee were reunited for the National tour of
Old Times with
Susannah Harker and
Neil Pearson. Later that year, Dee was reunited with director Michael Barker-Caven and Charles Dance in the West End Production of
Shadowlands. The production began at
Wyndham's Theatre and subsequently transferred to the
Novello Theatre. In 2008 Dee returned to the
Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park to play Olivia in
Twelfth Night opposite her
Carousel co-star,
Clive Rowe. Ayckbourn then invited Dee back to Scarborough to play the title role of Susan in a revival of his play
Woman in Mind for which she won critical acclaim and the production subsequently transferred to the
Vaudeville Theatre in London. In 2009 Dee returned to Theatre Royal Bath to play Orinthia in
George Bernard Shaw's
The Apple Cart, directed by Sir Peter Hall, and took over the role of Annie in
Calendar Girls by
Tim Firth in the West End. In 2010, Dee played The Countess of Roussillion in ''
All's Well That Ends Well'' at
Shakespeare's Globe which was filmed for DVD release by Opus Arte. She also appeared as
Anna Leonowens in
Rodgers and Hammerstein's
The King and I at the
Curve, Leicester, and as Natalya in
Jonathan Kent's production of
A Month in the Country at Chichester.
2011–2020 In 2011 she played Belinda in the
Old Vic revival of Michael Frayn's
Noises Off which was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Revival and subsequently transferred to the
Novello Theatre. In 2012, Dee was offered the role of women's magazine editor, Miranda in
NSFW, a new play by
Lucy Kirkwood at the
Royal Court Theatre for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. At Christmas 2012 Dee played Dolly Levi in Paul Kerryson's revival of
Hello Dolly! at the Curve, Leicester for which she won the
TMA Theatre Award UK for Best Performance in a Musical. In 2013 she appeared in the
Stephen Sondheim revue,
Putting It Together for four performances in Guildford, alongside
David Bedella, Daniel Crossley, Damian Humbly and
Caroline Sheen which subsequently transferred for a three-week run at the St James Theatre, London in January 2014. From March until June 2014, Dee co-starred in the London revival of Noël Coward's
Blithe Spirit at the
Gielgud Theatre, opposite
Dame Angela Lansbury, who reprised her 2009
Tony Award-winning Broadway performance as
Madame Arcati. The London cast included
Charles Edwards,
Jemima Rooper,
Serena Evans,
Simon Jones and
Patsy Ferran. From September until December 2014, Dee played Titania/Hippolyta in
Dominic Dromgoole's production of ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream'' on a tour of Asia & Russia by
Shakespeare's Globe. The production opened at the
Rose Theatre, Kingston and then toured to
Aylesbury Waterside Theatre before travelling to China, Taiwan, Russia, Singapore & Hong Kong. The cast included
Aden Gillett as
Oberon/
Theseus and Trevor Fox as Bottom. In January 2015 Dee starred as Desiree Armfeldt in a Gala Concert performance of Sondheim's
A Little Night Music at London's Palace Theatre to mark the 40th anniversary of the original London production. The concert also starred
Anne Reid, David Birrell,
Joanna Riding,
Jamie Parker, Anna O'Byrne,
Fra Fee and Laura Pitt-Pulford. It was directed by Alastair Knights and the producer and musical director was
Alex Parker. Later the same year she played
Helene Hanff in a revival of
84, Charing Cross Road at
Salisbury Playhouse, co-starring
Clive Francis as
Frank Doel and directed by
James Roose-Evans. In April/May she starred in a revival of
Eugene O'Neill's
Ah, Wilderness! at the
Young Vic. Whilst appearing in the O'Neill play, Dee also performed a special one-off show,
Dream Queen in the
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe, as part of the London Festival of Cabaret. It drew on her experiences on the Shakespeare's Globe tour of Asia and Russia with inspritations from
Elizabeth I and
Shakespeare. She was joined by special guests,
Juliet Stevenson and
Kit Hesketh-Harvey. In the summer she played Irina Arkadina in
Torben Betts' version of
The Seagull, directed by
Matthew Dunster at
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. In 2016 she starred in the West End transfer of Tony-nominated Broadway comedy
Hand to God at the
Vaudeville Theatre in London, alongside
Harry Melling,
Neil Pearson,
Jemima Rooper and Kevin Mains. The production was nominated for an Olivier Award in 2016 as
Best New Comedy. In April 2017 Dee completed a critically acclaimed run playing the title role in
Linda by Penelope Skinner at
Manhattan Theatre Club, New York City for which she was nominated for an
Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play. She also starred as Phyllis Rogers Stone in
Follies at the
National Theatre in London, opposite
Imelda Staunton,
Tracie Bennett and
Philip Quast. The role earned her nominations for the
Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, the
Evening Standard Award for Best Musical Performance, and the
WhatOnStage Award for Best Actress in a Musical. In 2018 Dee starred in
Monogamy, a dark comedy by
Torben Betts. That year, she also appeared in
Moonlight, directed by Lyndsey Turner and
Night School, directed by
Ed Stambollouian as part of the
Jamie Lloyd Company's
Pinter at the Pinter season. The following year Janie starred in the UK premiere of
Christopher Durang's Tony Award-winning play
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Theatre Royal Bath, directed by
Walter Bobbie which subsequently transferred to the Charing Cross Theatre in London. She played Fosca in Stephen Sondheim's musical
Passion at the Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte di Montepulciano, Italy directed by
Keith Warner and returned to London to star in Off-Broadway play
The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess at the Finborough Theatre opposite Moronkẹ Akinola. This was followed by a revival of Sandy Wilson's
The Boy Friend at the Menier Chocolate Factory. In May 2019, she reprised her role of Carrie Pipperidge in at concert staging of
Carousel at
Cadogan Hall opposite
Joanna Riding and
Hadley Fraser.
2021–present In spring 2022, Dee starred opposite
Griff Rhys Jones in
An Hour And a Half Late at Theatre Royal Bath and on a UK tour. In May, Dee, along with a host of West End stars, paid tribute to the late Stephen Sondheim in ''Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends A Celebration.
The production was staged by Matthew Bourne and Maria Friedman, with choreography by Stephen Mear, and produced by Cameron Mackintosh at the Sondheim Theatre. Further Sondheim tributes took place at Cadogan Hall, conceived and conducted by Alex Parker with his Luminaire Orchestra, at the Garrick Club, and the Victoria & Albert Museum, where Dee performed a cabaret as part of The Art of Making Art: Staging Sondheim''. From September to October 2024, Dee starred in ''Janie Dee's Beautiful World of Cabaret''. The show featured a range of music from different artists and composer, performed by Dee. The performance mixed
cabaret and spoken word, exploring the idea of being more
environmentally friendly. ==Film and television career==