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Akiya Henry is a British actress. She is best known for her theatre work, winning a WhatsOnStage Award and earning a Laurence Olivier Award nomination.
Akiya Henry | |
|---|---|
| Born | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | Eugene O'Neill Theater Center |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2001–present |
Early life edit
Henry was born in London and, at six months old, placed in foster care with her siblings, through which she was raised in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset by a British-Maltese couple named Joyce and George Dymock.[1][2] Henry joined the National Youth Music Theatre. She earned a scholarship to study at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut[3][4] and also trained with Gail Gordon, then Head of Dance at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Career edit
In 2001, Henry made her professional stage debut as one of Billie's Babes in the Pet Shop Boys musical Closer to Heaven at the Arts Theatre. Henry also featured as a vocalist on the original cast recording. The following year, she made her television debut with a guest appearance in an episode of the BBC medical soap opera Doctors. Henry had roles in the ensemble of Anything Goes and then in Love's Labour's Lost at the National Theatre in 2002 and 2003 respectively, and in Trevor Nunn's Skellig at the Young Vic.
In 2004, Henry made her feature film debut with a small role in De-Lovely and appeared in A Midsummer Night's Dream in Chichester in 2004 as Hermia, a role she would reprise on tour in 2013. She played the Zebra in the musical Just So, also in Chichester, and featured on the cast recording, originated the role of Toby in Helen Edmundson's 2005 play Coram Boy at the National Theatre, and appeared in the comedy film Unhitched. This was followed by role in Coriolanus and Under the Black Flag at Shakespeare's Globe in 2006.[5]
Henry appeared in every episode of the 2008 CITV series Captain Mack. In 2009, she played Miranda in The Tempest and Minnie Fay in the London revival of Hello, Dolly, both at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.
Henry voiced Amma in the CBeebies series Bing from 2014 to 2019, and Jolli and Willi in the CBBC series Bottersnikes and Gumbles from 2015 to 2017. Her stage work at the time includes Deposit at the Hampstead Theatre[6] and The Little Match Girl back at Shakespeare's Globe.[7] She starred in Medea at Bristol Old Vic in 2018.[8]
Also in 2018, Henry starred as Lady Macbeth opposite Mark Rowley in Kit Monkman's film adaptation of Macbeth.[9] She would play Lady Macduff in The Tragedy of Macbeth at the Almeida Theatre in 2021. For her supporting performance in the latter, Henry won a WhatsOnStage Award[10] and was nominated a for Laurence Olivier Award. She also starred in Giles Terera's The Meaning of Zong at Bristol Old Vic had a number of voice roles in the Disney series 101 Dalmatian Street, CITV series The Rubbish World of Dave Spud, and the Sky series Moominvalley. She went on to star in Much Ado About Nothing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre as Beatrice[11] and Mad House at the Ambassadors Theatre in 2022,[12] and Phaedra at the National in 2023.[13]
Filmography edit
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | De-Lovely | Chorus | |
| 2005 | Unhitched | Bride | |
| 2018 | Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | |
| Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures | Various | Voice role |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Doctors | Echo Doyle | Episode: "Shattered Dreams" |
| 2005 | Casualty | Mona Rachu | 2 episodes |
| Little Britain | Rochelle | 1 episode | |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Lissa Borden | Episode: "Smile" |
| 2008 | Captain Mack | Yolanda Yummy / Rosie Raucous / Wendy Whizz | 52 episodes |
| 2009 | Noddy in Toyland | Voice role, 5 episodes | |
| 2010 | Silent Witness | Ruth Gardiner | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Tinga Tinga Tales | Woodpecker | Voice role, episode: "Why Caterpillar is Never in a Hurry" |
| 2014–2019 | Bing | Amma | Voice role, 41 episodes |
| 2015–2017 | Bottersnikes and Gumbles | Jolli / Willi | 11 episodes |
| 2016 | Obsession: Dark Desires | Jeneane | Episode: "Beauty in the Bronx" |
| Holby City | Blake Summerton | Episode: "Song of Self: Part Two" | |
| 2018–2020 | 101 Dalmatian Street | Various | Voice role, 10 episodes |
| 2019–present | Moominvalley | Snorkmaiden | Voice role |
| 2019–present | The Rubbish World of Dave Spud | Little Sue | Voice role |
| 2020 | Shaun the Sheep: Adventures from Mossy Bottom | Voice role | |
| Hilda | Additional Voices | Voice role, 13 episodes | |
| 2021 | Dodo | Kayla Madani | Voice role, 7 episodes[14] |
| Ninja Express | Voice role | ||
| 2022 | Best & Bester | Rocky | Voice role
Cyan - Colourblocks (voice role) |
| 2022–present | Supertato | Broccoli | Voice role |
| 2024 | Death in Paradise | Oona Martin | Episode: "#13.2" |
Stage edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Closer to Heaven | Babe | Arts Theatre, London |
| 2002 | The Singing Group | Chelsea Theatre, London | |
| Anything Goes | Ensemble | Royal National Theatre, London | |
| 2003 | Love's Labour's Lost | Moth | |
| Skellig | Mina | Young Vic, London | |
| 2004 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hermia | Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester |
| Ain't Misbehavin | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield | ||
| 2005 | Just So | Zebra | Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester Cast recording |
| Coram Boy | Toby | Royal National Theatre, London | |
| 2006 | Coriolanus | Valeria | Globe Theatre, London |
| Under the Black Flag | |||
| The Enchanted Pig | Dot / Day | Tour | |
| 2007 | Safe | Dionne | West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds |
| Carmen Jones | Myrt | Southbank Centre, London | |
| 2008 | Varjak Paw | Varjak Paw | Linbury Theatre, London |
| 2009 | The Tempest | Miranda | Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London |
| Hello, Dolly! | Minnie Fay | ||
| 2010 | Swallows and Amazons | Titty Walker | Vaudeville Theatre, London |
| 2011 | Oat's Beggar's Opera | Jenny Diver | Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London |
| The Colored Museum | Talawa Theatre Company, Victoria & Albert | ||
| 2012 | Mottled Lines | The Sparkle | Orange Tree Theatre, London |
| 2013 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hermia | Tour |
| 2014 | Perseverance Drive | Joylene Gillard | Bush Theatre, London |
| The Nutcracker and the Mouse King | Marie | Unicorn Theatre, London | |
| 2015 | Deposit | Hampstead Theatre, London | |
| Sense of an Ending | Sister Alice | Theatre503, London | |
| 2016 | Cake and Congo | Amba | |
| A Pacifist's Guide to War on Cancer | UK tour | ||
| The Little Match Girl | Various | Globe Theatre, London | |
| 2017 | Medea | Medea / Maddy | Bristol Old Vic, Bristol |
| 2018, 2019 | The Dark | Ovalhouse, London / Tron Theatre, Glasgow | |
| 2019 | Dirty Crusty | Jeanine | Yard Theatre, London |
| 2021 | The Meaning of Zong | Bristol Old Vic, Bristol | |
| The Tragedy of Macbeth | Lady Macduff | Almeida Theatre, London | |
| 2022 | Much Ado About Nothing | Beatrice | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon |
| Mad House | Lillian | Ambassadors Theatre, London | |
| 2023 | Phaedra | Omolara | Royal National Theatre, London |
Awards and nominations edit
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Play | The Tragedy of Macbeth | Won | [15] |
| Laurence Olivier | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Nominated | [16] |
References edit
- ^ Sutherland, Gill (12 March 2012). "INTERVIEW: Akiya Henry on her inspirational upbringing and playing a fiesty Beatrice in the RSC's Much Ado About Nothing". Stratford Herald. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ Fox, Killian (24 July 2022). "'Every one of us has a different story': a historic portrait of care system success". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ "Pride Loves… Akiya Henry In 'Sense Of An Ending'". Pride. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ Maxwell, Dominic (2 February 2022). "Meet the RSC's new Beatrice and Benedick". The Times. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ "Akiya Henry". BBA Shakespeare. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ Peterson, Tyler (20 February 2015). "Ben Addis, Akiya Henry & More to Star in DEPOSIT at Hampstead Downstairs". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ "Akiya Henry". Shakespeare's Globe. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ Booth, Martin (13 March 2019). "My Bristol Favourites: Akiya Henry". Bristol 24/7. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "An interview with actor Akiya Henry (part one)". Macbeth. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Bell, Amy (7 July 2022). "Akiya Henry". ReVamp. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Akiya Henry lead actor in RSC's Much Ado About Nothing talks about "this whole beautiful Afro-futuristic concept"". Alt-Africa. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Millward, Tom (6 May 2022). "Akiya Henry and more to join David Harbour and Bill Pullman in Mad House". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
- ^ "Akiya Henry". National Theatre. January 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ "Singer Ricky Wilson, 'Derry Girls' Dylan Llewellyn Join 'Dodo'". www.animationmagazine.net.
- ^ Wood, Alex (9 December 2021). "Nominees for 22nd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards announced". WhatsOnStage.
- ^ Underwood, Kitty (8 March 2022). "Nominations Announced for the Olivier Awards 2022 with Mastercard". Society of London Theatre. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
External links edit
- Akiya Henry at IMDb
- Akiya Henry at United Agents