Les Miserables star Patrice Tipoki gets to bring special fans on the road

SHE is best known as Fantine in the acclaimed production Les Miserables, but Patrice Tipoki’s greatest role is mum.

Pic of Patrice Tipoki, who stars as Fantine in Les Mis, in her dressing room with her young daughters Libby, 5 and Addy, 2.

SHE is best known as Fantine in the acclaimed production Les Miserables, but Patrice Tipoki’s greatest role is mum.

And, like billions of mothers around the world, she has become adept at juggling her busy career with the needs of her kids — Libby, 5, and two-year-old Addy.

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“I took Addy along to auditions for Les Mis when she was a baby and both girls are no strangers to dressing rooms, back stage areas and theatres.

“You do what you have to do to make it work — mums everywhere do it every day.”

Patrice Tipoki, who stars as Fantine, in her dressing room with daughters Libby, 5, and Addy, 2.

While Tipoki and her chiropractor husband Richard usually call the Sunshine Coast home, the family has been based in Perth and now Sydney as Les Miserables travels the country.

“After a year in this role there are not many rehearsals. It’s mostly just at show times that I’m away from the girls,” Tipoki said.

“But they don’t know any different. They know Mummy does ‘pretend’ for work and they just ­accept this is normal.

“My parents performed for the QLD Arts Council when we were kids and we were schooled by correspondence for most of primary school as we travelled around.”

Children are a common sight among the Les Mis cast, many of whom have their kids visit often. Simon Gleeson, who plays Jean Valjean, has two children, Molly, 8, and Raffery, 3, who have become friends with Patrice’s daughters, and ensemble member Lisa Sontag has twins the same age as Libby.

“The kids all know each other well and get on,” Tipoki said.

Les Miserables stars Simon Gleeson (Jean Valjean), Patrice Tipoki (Fantine) and Hayden Tee (Javert) at the Capitol Theatre.

“In Perth during summer, we would take them to the beach. They like to hang out, it’s a nice atmosphere for them.”

Squeezed into her busy schedule, Tipoki found time to record her debut album, A Musical Heart, released last week and featuring favourites from her stage career including I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables and Defying Gravity from Wicked.

She will be performing her songs tomorrow at the annual David Jones Mother’s Day high tea with her children and own mother, Vickie, by her side.

“I‘ll be so nice to have three generations together for Mother’s Day this year; my girls, myself and my mum as well as my brother and sister,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”