IT'S NO mystery why Toyah's never out of work. This performing powerhouse barely draws breath before whip-cracking on with one project after another.

The former punk chick -- still loved for her lisp -- was this week riding the Deadwood Stage to Blackpool Opera House to play romantic tomboy Calamity Jane.

"I love Blackpool. I just think it's so much fun," she says.

"I especially love Blackpool in the winter. I like having the piers and the front to myself."

She won't have much time to dally on the Prom this week, though. Calamity Jane opened in Blackpool on Tuesday -- the last week of an extensive nationwide tour -- and then Toyah heads straight to London's West End for a three month run, starting June 12.

The show is packed with well-known numbers -- Deadwood Stage, Secret Love, Windy City, The Black Hills of Dakota to name but a few.

But this is no tribute to the cute 1953 film version starring Doris Day, Toyah says.

"Modern audiences have moved on a long way from the 1950s film. We are a very young company. Our production isn't quaint, it's very boisterous!"

Toyah Willcox (her real name) was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham on May 18, 1958.

She attended drama school at 17, joined the National Theatre a year later, and got her first big break in Derek Jarman's 1977 classic punk film, Jubilee.

A theatrical all-rounder -- "I always wanted to sing and act" -- she then formed her own band, enjoying hits with It's A Mystery and I Wanna Be Free and releasing countless albums. Her latest, Velvet Lined Shell, went on sale last month.

Her extensive film and theatre CV includes Quadrophenia and appearances alongside Katherine Hepburn and Laurence Olivier. And she plays fertility expert Dr Johnson in forthcoming comedy film, The Most Fertile Man In Ireland.

Not surprising, then, that she also holds an Honorary Doctorate in Arts and Media from Birmingham University and has 'worked every day for 25 years'.

"I don't have preferences in my work. If I had preferences I couldn't be so diverse," she explains.

And that's why you'll never catch Toyah 'just resting'. Whip crack away!

Toyah stars as Calamity Jane at Blackpool Opera House nightly until Saturday (June 7). For tickets costing £17.50-£22.50 phone the box office on 292029.

Toyah led a strong cast through the opening night of Calamity Jane and took everyone's breath away with an energetic display, leaping from the rafters to a saloon bar.

This well-paced production also featured Michael Cormick as Wild Bill Hickock (or a boy named Sioux!) and the impressive Emma Dodd as Adelaid Adams.

Feisty and suitably boyish, Toyah's exuberance would have shamed performers half her age. Cracking show and thoroughly enjoyable.

Review by Greg Morgan