Northern Ireland’s top Dolly Parton tribute Donna Stewart has revealed the Queen Of Country inspired her to marry her soulmate.
For the last decade Donna has performed all over the UK and Europe as Dolly spending tens of thousands of pounds on her costumes, hair, make-up and look.
However, with three marriages under her belt and a string of health complaints, Donna was worried she’d never perform again.
Thanks to her new husband Niall Toman and his support for her need to express herself creatively Donna is now back on the road with her new show Dolly’s Jukebox.
As she prepares for her latest show at Belfast’s Strand Arts Centre on August 22 Donna has been reflecting on her latest marriage, her health battles and how much happier she is in 2019.
“Dolly says ‘If you don’t like the road your walking on, pave another one,” she said.
“I believe everyone should live by that. If I hadn’t changed my life, I wouldn’t be with Niall now. Dolly’s a genius. If you listen to ‘Here You Come Again’ by Dolly, you’ll understand why I think of Niall when I sing it, not forgetting ‘Old Flames’ which is a perfect way to describe how I feel now.”
However, when Donna first met Niall when they playing in a theatre production of Little Shop of Horrors they were initially not impressed with each other.
“When we first actually met, Niall had blonde hair styled like Billy Idol and had trousers on that wouldn’t look out of place on a clown.
“I wasn’t exactly impressed, and the feeling was mutual I’m sure” said Donna.
Overtime they became close friends, and after her third marriage ended in 2013 Donna turned to Niall for comfort.
“We had both grown up a bit, wised up a lot and knew we should be together,” she explained. “He does drive me mad sometimes, (and vice versa) but I wouldn’t want to be without him. I have never felt that way before.”
For Donna the love she shares with Niall comes at a time she has re-discovered her lust for performing. After a series of illnesses, dealing with the symptoms of M.E she ended up having to cope with a brain aneurysm.
With incredible determination the 47-year-old is still bringing the best of the Queen of Country’s hits to the stage.
“Eventually I realised I couldn’t be without Dolly in my life any longer so thanks to my wonderful husband Niall Toman and the rest of the Dolly show crew Anne McAteer, Chantelle McAteer, Chris Logan, Tom Savage and Kenneth McClure, we’re back and bigger than ever before. It’s very much a team effort.
“Let’s face it why wouldn’t I want to do it I get to do is to dress up as Dolly.”
Her devotion to Niall is the rock behind the musician, singer, and theatre producer.
“It seems like it took forever but we are finally together and it’s great,” Donna said. “I know I will be with Niall for the rest of my life. He understands my illnesses and how I still need a creative outlet in some form.”
Donna has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a brain aneurysm, osteoarthritis in her spine, heart valve leak and other illnesses, a lot for a new husband to deal with but she knows that Niall can empathise.
“He also has a hidden disability,” she said. “He has lymphedema in his leg but he fights to live a normal full life and so we both get to do all we want, but we take our time and do things in stages, we support each other in every way. We are so lucky we have each other.”
Her wedding is something she looks back with real fondness, not least because of her children’s attitude.
“The wedding day started with both my sons Scott (22) and Jack (20) walking me down the aisle,” Donna explained.
”Just before we walked down the aisle, Scott said ‘Mum I’m glad your marrying Niall, he’s a good man’
“Jack also had a word, he said ‘Why did you not marry him sooner?’ Then the music started, and we walked in. I was so proud of my boys. I always am. It was so special seeing all our good friends and family surrounding us whilst we finally got married.”
Although she has had three previous husbands Donna doesn’t look back with regrets.
“Looking back on my marriages, I can now say with confidence I should never have got married. I never genuinely felt love.
“I hear about other women being devastated at divorcing their husbands and I never understood that, as I genuinely felt very little and just got on with things as usual. It was more of a nuisance than a life changing situation to me.
“Most people have lots of boyfriends in their twenties, I had very few, and the few I had I married.
“No sense at all, but I think I craved security as my dad died when I was nine and I remember feeling lost and lonely because he’d gone.
“Mum did her best, working two jobs, but that kept her away from the house and my sisters were a good bit older than me and married or never in, my brother was at university, so I was alone quite a bit. Now I’m a mum I realise she did a great job with the four of us all on her own.”
With her soulmate at her side Donna is all revved up to once again rock.
The Holywood Road arts centre will see the County Down singer have the audience dancing in the aisles in a packed show of fan favourites that will have everyone singing along to the likes of 9to5, Coat Of Many Colours, I Will Always Love You and Jolene. The show not only has lots of Dolly hits, but also some of the biggest country rock and pop favourites.
“The show aims to emulate country icon Dolly Parton at her 80’s best right up until now, we also play songs from classic country, we aim to please everyone,” she said.
“We carefully chose the greatest hits that people love and remember and even if you’re not a die-hard Dolly fan you’ll certainly catch yourself toe tapping and singing along at some point throughout the night.
“Having spent many years in musical theatre as a director and producer and a performer we make sure to include the pizazz and vibrancy of a West End show no matter how big or small the venue we play in.”
Donna is a stickler for attention to detail and has studied Dolly’s voice and performances since the 1980s – even the intonation of Dolly’s voice she uses to introduce songs.
During this show Donna plays custom made Dolly replica guitars & banjo, whilst wearing reproduction costumes made and updated in coordination with Dolly and with real hair wigs styled by the best hair stylists Northern Ireland has to offer – it literally takes thousands to be Dolly.
In the last decade Donna has spent a whopping £50,000 on her act with a staggering £20,000 of that on creating Dolly’s look alone.
Donna said: “Dolly Parton once said that ‘it takes a lot of money to look this cheap’ and she wasn’t wrong.
“But I’m not the kind of person that does things by halves.”
Donna Stewart will perform as Dolly Parton with the Dolly’s Jukebox show at The Strand, East Belfast on August 22. To book go to www.strandartscentre.com