Anna Madeley

Anna Madeley

Anna Madeley (born 1977) is a British actor. She has been described by the British Theatre Guide's Philip Fisher as one of the United Kingdom's "brightest and most versatile young actresses".

Biography

Madeley grew up in London, attending North London Collegiate School, and began her career as a child actress. She then trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Madeley has performed three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company: 2001–2002; and 2003–2004. She acted in The Roman Actor opposite Sir Antony Sher.

2005 was Madeley's breakout year. She appeared in three acclaimed off-West End productions (Laura Wade's Colder Than Here, as well as The Philanthropist (directed by David Grindley) and The Astronaut's Last Message..., both at the Donmar Warehouse), and rounded off the year with a starring role in the National Theatre's adaptation of Jamilla Gavin's novel Coram Boy.

In 2006, Madeley starred in two BBC TV movies – firstly as the title character in The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton, as well as in the original drama Aftersun – and the high profile ITV drama The Outsiders.

In 2007, Madeley appeared in Channel 4's Consent, which combined a dramatised vignette about an alleged date rape with a "real life" sequence in which lawyers and a jury made up of members of the public participated in a trial. In February 2007, Madeley played Nina in a production of The Seagull for a time, when the main actress fell ill.

She was the only cast member to reprise her role in Grindley's 2009 Broadway production of The Philanthropist.

She will appear in a new BBC2 film, The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister. Based on a script by Jane English, the TV movie will star Maxine Peake as Anne Lister, a nineteenth century industrialist who was Britain's "first modern lesbian" and kept a detailed journal.

Selected credits

Stage

• The Merry Wives of Windsor (1986, RSC)
• Be My Baby (1998, Pleasance Theatre)
• Sense & Sensibility (2000, UK tour)
• Eye Contact (2000, Riverside Studios)
• Madness In Valencia (2001, RSC) as Erifila
• Love In A Wood (2001, RSC) as Martha
• A Russian In The Woods (2001, RSC) as Ilse
• The Malcontent (RSC) as Maria
• The Roman Actor (RSC) as Domita
• Ladybird (2004, Royal Court Theatre) as Yulka
• The Rivals (2004, Bristol Old Vic) as Lydia Languish
• Colder Than Here (2005, Soho Theatre) as Jenna
• The Cosmonaut's Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union (2005, Donmar Warehouse) as Nastasja/Claire
• The Philanthropist (2005, Donmar Warehouse) as Celia
• Coram Boy (2005-6, RNT) as young Alexander/ Aaron
• Contractions (2008, Royal Court Theatre) as Emma

Television and film

• Claudia (1985, feature film)
• Cold Feet (1998, one episode)
• A Dinner of Herbs (2000)
• The Royal (2003-5, TV series)
• Lewis (2006, TV series) as Anne Sadikov
• Affinity (2008, feature film) as Margaret Prior
• Brideshead Revisited (2008, feature film)
• Crooked House (2008, BBC Four)
• In Bruges (2008, feature film) as Denise
• Sense and Sensibility as Lucy Steele
• Hustle as Jennifer Hughes

Radio

• Shadows in Bronze (2005, radio series) as Helena
• Venus in Copper (2006, radio series) as Helena
• The Iron Hand of Mars (2007, radio series) as Helena
• Poseidons Gold (2009, radio series) as Helena