Not everyone can say Britney Spears changed their life.

Perhaps not everyone would want her to have that honour.

Chris "leave Britney alone" Crocker certainly had his life-changing moment thanks to the pop star. Kevin Federline and Justin Timberlake can probably claim some life changes too.

So can Melbourne performer Christie Whelan Browne.

Now a familiar face to most Australians through her star turn on Ten's The Wrong Girl, Whelan Browne's career was at a standstill before Britney made a side entrance into her life.

Having appeared in the ensemble of a few musicals, Whelan Browne was struggling to find work, until she got a call from writer/director Dean Bryant enquiring whether she would be interested in doing a cabaret show about Britney Spears.

"I was at a real standstill career-wise, no one would hire me," she said.

"I had done a couple of musicals but I really wasn't getting anywhere.

"Dean had this idea and called me to see if I was interested.

"He didn't know I was a huge Britney fan. My cat is called Britney."

That was eight years ago.

The show, Britney Spears The Cabaret, debuted in the Adelaide Cabaret Festival to an audience of about 60 people.

"There was an eight-year-old and an 80-year-old and everyone in between, but it was received well," Whelan Browne said.

It was something of an out-of-town tryout, because seasons in Sydney and Melbourne followed and that is where Whelan Brown says the show found its feet, and casting directors found Whelan Browne.

"After the cabaret I got my first job at the Melbourne Theatre Company because they came to see it in Melbourne," she said.

Through this new-found interest from MTC she came to the attention of director Simon Phillips and was cast alongside Geoffrey Rush in the company's production of The Drowsy Chaperone. 

Both have become huge advocates of her career and guided her into a score of theatre productions and musicals since.

From 60 people in Adelaide, Whelan Browne has gone on to play lead roles to packed houses in major musicals around the country.

But now it is time to bring Britney back.

After a few years in hiatus, Whelan Browne will take the show to London for the first time for a stint on the famous West End.

But first, Melbourne is getting a taste of the blonde diva in action, as she explores the pop star's highs and lows (and very lows) through her famous hits.

Written at the peak of Spears'  most bizarre behaviour, the show imagines Britney if she took a step off the world stage and onto the cabaret stage.

"I have just been watching it again to get back into my brain," Whelan Browne says.

"Even though there is the darker stuff, it is really funny and fun."

The Melbourne season presents audiences with a rare opportunity to catch Whelan Browne in an intimate setting.

After returning to from London she will head straight into rehearsals for the Sydney Theatre Company production of Muriel's Wedding The Musical ahead of The Wrong Girl returning to our screens later this year.

Britney Spears The Cabaret plays The Chapel off Chapel from August 9-12.

Tickets and info: chapeloffchapel.com.au