Our new Princess Jasmine is a homegrown Perth girl

min read

Perth superstar Shubshri Kandiah is currently living every musical theatre graduate’s (and Disney lover’s) dream. Despite being only 22 years old and having graduated from university just last year, Shubshri has landed the role of Princess Jasmine in the Australian production of Aladdin the Musical - basically meaning she’s currently flying red carpets for a living.

Back to her roots

With a talent like hers, it’s no surprise that Shubshri’s love of music and theatre can be traced back to her childhood where she grew up in a family that was heavily involved in the Indian arts. “I always knew that I loved music and loved performing but I didn’t start singing until a bit later, but then I realised that’s what I loved the most.”

Like every Disney lover ever, Shubshri has fond (and only slightly cringe-worthy) memories of growing up with Disney musicals.

“When I was a kid if I was watching a movie, I’d pause the movie and run to my dad’s computer and search the lyrics for something, print them out and then come back and singalong with the songs.”

This early exposure to Disney singalongs means simply being able to sing the music is her favourite part about being Princess Jasmine, as well as the lightness of the show. “It’s a fun show to be in and I’m lucky it’s my first show.”

While attending high school in Perth, Shubshri was always involved in musicals and choirs, but didn’t realise musical theatre could be a job. After studying primary education for two years at Curtin University, Shubshri decided to pursue musical theatre seriously and was accepted into the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University in Brisbane. And as they say, the rest is history!

Becoming Princess Jasmine

Fast forward to the present day and Shubshri is just weeks away from kicking off the Perth run of Aladdin the Musical. In addition to the songs you know and love from the movie, Aladdin the Musical features a bunch of new songs written specifically for the stage. One of them is A Million Miles Away, which also happens to be Shubshri’s favourite song to perform.

“It was never my favourite one to learn, but onstage it’s the one I have the most fun with. It’s a really cool moment with Ainsley [Melham, in the role of Aladdin].”

Shubshri’s life as Princess Jasmine coincidentally began on her birthday in late May, after she succeeded Hiba Elchikhe during Aladdin’s Brisbane run. “The amount of people I went to uni with that came to my opening night - all my teachers came, all my peers came, my mum flew over from Perth to be there. Everyone in the cast was really lovely and kept coming to me bring me presents. It was really special.”