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Tamara Lawrance

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Tamara Lawrance
Born1994 (age 29–30)
Wembley, London, England
EducationSt Dominic's Sixth Form College
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
OccupationActress

Tamara Naomi Lawrance[1] (born 1994)[1][2] is a British actress. She is known for her performances as Prince Harry's republican girlfriend in the 2017 BBC television film King Charles III, and as Viola in the 2017 production of Twelfth Night at the National Theatre cinecast internationally on NT Live. In 2018 she received the second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for this performance as Viola.[3][4]

WhatsOnStage named her one of "10 theatre faces to look out for in 2017"[5] and The Guardian listed her in "20 talents set to take 2017 by storm".[6]

In December 2018 she starred as Miss July, a former slave on a sugar plantation in 19th-century Jamaica, in the three-part BBC adaptation of Andrea Levy's novel The Long Song. In October 2023 she appeared in the BBC's prison drama Time, playing the role of Abi, who is serving a life sentence. In 2024, she played the title role in the miniseries Get Millie Black.

Early life and education

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Lawrance was born in 1994 in Wembley, London.[1][2][7] Her mother was a hospital clinical technician originally from Jamaica, and her father was a delivery driver.[7][8]

She began acting in school plays at the age of six.[7] When her secondary school did not offer theatre as an option until year 10, she convinced the drama teacher to set up a theatre club for younger students.[7] At the Shakespeare Schools Festival, she played Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream and the title role in Macbeth.[7]

As a teenager, she lived in Enfield, and attended St Dominic's Sixth Form College in Harrow, London.[9] In 2012, at the age of 17, she was one of eight winners in the Poetry Society's nationwide poetry competition SLAMbassadors UK.[9][10][11]

Attending RADA, she graduated in 2015.[12]

Career

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Lawrance began her professional career filming in the 2016 BBC miniseries Undercover, starring Adrian Lester and Sophie Okonedo; she played their eldest daughter Clem.[2] She was then on stage, as Ma Rainey's girlfriend Dussie Mae in the 2016 revival of August Wilson's play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the National Theatre. The New Statesman noted her "electrifying presence and vocal nuance",[13] and The Guardian called her "eye-catching".[6]

She subsequently co-starred opposite Matt Smith at the Royal Court Theatre in Anthony Neilson's new play Unreachable (2016), about an obsessive film director. The experimental play received somewhat mixed reviews but Lawrance was widely praised, described as "extraordinary" (WhatsOnStage),[14] "superb" (The Stage),[15] and having "astonishing candour and directness" (The Guardian).[16] The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Lawrance was "required to switch fluidly among different accents and emotional registers, with the most weighty dramatic monologues resting on her young shoulders. Bigger, brighter roles will surely follow."[17] At year's end WhatsOnStage named her one of "10 theatre faces to look out for in 2017"[5] and The Guardian listed her in "20 talents set to take 2017 by storm".[6]

In 2017 she was Viola in Twelfth Night at the National Theatre, and a performance of the production was cinecast live around the world on NT Live. Reviewers called her performance "compelling"[18] and "passionate",[19] and Time Out called her "charismatic and loveable".[20] She won second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for the performance.[3][4] She was Cordelia opposite Ian McKellen's Lear in the Chichester Festival Theatre's 2017 production of King Lear; critics praised her "heartfelt simplicity"[21] and called her a "rising star".[22][23]

On television, following Undercover (2016), she had a leading role as Prince Harry's revolutionary girlfriend in the 2017 BBC television film King Charles III. The work is a Shakespearean-style future history imagining of the current British royal family; The Guardian noted that "It's Lawrance who makes the blank verse sound least theatrical and most natural."[24] Her next television appearance was as the client in one of the six episodes of the 2018 legal drama The Split. She also has a recurring role as Bonnie Sands in series 3 of the crime drama No Offence.

In film, in 2017 she had a supporting role in On Chesil Beach.

In December 2018 Lawrance starred as a slave on a sugar plantation in 19th-century Jamaica in the three-part BBC adaptation of Andrea Levy's novel The Long Song; her co-stars were Jack Lowden and Hayley Atwell.[25][26][27][28][29] She also co-starred in Anthony Neilson's adaptation of Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart at the National Theatre beginning in December 2018 through 8 January 2019.[30][31][32]

Acting credits

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Theatre

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Year Title Role Director Playwright Theatre
2016 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Dussie Mae Dominic Cooke August Wilson National Theatre
Unreachable Natasha Anthony Neilson Anthony Neilson Royal Court Theatre
2017 Twelfth Night Viola Simon Godwin Shakespeare National Theatre
King Lear Cordelia Jonathan Munby Shakespeare Chichester Festival Theatre
2018–2019 The Tell-Tale Heart Celeste/Camille Anthony Neilson Anthony Neilson National Theatre
2024 The Comeuppance Ursula Eric Ting Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Almeida Theatre, London

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2016 Undercover Clem Johnson Miniseries
2017 King Charles III Jess TV movie
2018 The Split Jaynie Lee Episode: #1.3
No Offence Bonnie Sands Series 3 (Recurring)
The Long Song July 3-part TV movie
2023 Time Abi Cochrane Main cast, series 2
2024 Mr Loverman Maxine Walker Main cast
2024–present Get Millie Black Millie-Jean Black Lead, miniseries

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2017 On Chesil Beach Molly
2020 Kindred Charlotte
2022 The Silent Twins Jennifer Gibbons [33]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Birth Registry, Brent Registration District, County of London, August 1994, Volume 2211D, p. C50D.
  2. ^ a b c Bowie-Sell, Daisy. "Tamara Lawrance: Columbo made me want to act". WhatsOnStage. 14 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b Masso, Giverny. "Natalie Simpson wins 2017 Ian Charleson Award". The Stage. 18 May 2018
  4. ^ a b "And the winners are... Find out who triumphed at the Ian Charleson Awards". The Sunday Times. 27 May 2018.
  5. ^ a b Hewis, Ben. "10 theatre faces to look out for in 2017". WhatsOnStage.com. 27 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Logan, Brian; Makrell, Judith; Gardner, Lyn; et al. "Get ready, here I come: 20 talents set to take 2017 by storm". The Guardian. 7 January 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e Lawson, Mark. "Night fever: breakout star Tamara Lawrance on exploding Shakespeare". The Guardian. 2 February 2017.
  8. ^ "BBC – Tamara Lawrance plays July – Media Centre". BBC. Retrieved 20 December 2018. My mother is Jamaican. My grandmother is Jamaican
  9. ^ a b Slater, Anna. "Teen wins national poetry competition". Harrow Times. 20 March 2012.
  10. ^ "SLAMbassadors: Decade Update". Poetry Society. 2012.
  11. ^ "I SLAM therefore I am". Poetry Society. 2012.
  12. ^ "Tamara Lawrance: BA in Acting Degree (H Level)". RADA. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  13. ^ Lawson, Mark. "Tamsin Greig's 'Malvolia' shines in a Twelfth Night with an LGBTQ feel". New Statesman. 2 March 2017.
  14. ^ Crompton, Sarah. "Unreachable (Royal Court)". WhatsOnStage. 9 July 2016.
  15. ^ Tripney, Natasha. "Unreachable review at Royal Court, London – ‘a powder keg’". The Stage. 9 July 2016.
  16. ^ Billington, Michael. "Unreachable review – Matt Smith searches for the magic hour". The Guardian. 10 July 2016.
  17. ^ Dalton, Stephen. "Unreachable: Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 9 July 2016.
  18. ^ Tripney, Natasha. "Twelfth Night review at the National Theatre – ‘Tamsin Greig is resplendent’". The Stage. 23 February 2017.
  19. ^ Billington, Michael. "Twelfth Night review – Tamsin Greig is brilliant in a show full of fun". The Guardian. 23 February 2017.
  20. ^ Lukowski, Andrzej. "Twelfth Night". Time Out. 23 February 2017.
  21. ^ Cooter, Maxwell. "Review: King Lear (Minerva Theatre, Chichester)". WhatsOnStage. 2 October 2017
  22. ^ Hitchings, Henry. "King Lear, theatre review: Ian McKellen's detailed, intelligent performance is a triumph". London Evening Standard. 2 October 2017
  23. ^ Lewis, Paul. "King Lear with Ian McKellen". OneMinuteTheatreReviews.co.uk. 16 October 2017.
  24. ^ Wollaston, Sam. "King Charles III review – a Shakespearean tragedy with added phone hacking". The Guardian. 11 May 2017.
  25. ^ "BBC One announces cast for adaptation of Andrea Levy’s The Long Song". BBC. 13 July 2018.
  26. ^ White, Peter. "Hayley Atwell & Tamara Lawrance To Star In David Heyman’s BBC Drama The Long Song". Deadline Hollywood. 12 July 2018.
  27. ^ Munn, Patrick. "Tamara Lawrance & Hayley Atwell Set As Leads In BBC One’s Andrea Levy Adaptation The Long Song". TVWise. 13 July 2018.
  28. ^ "Tamara Lawrance, Haley Atwell, & More to Star in BBC One's The Long Song". Broadway World. 13 July 2018.
  29. ^ Dowell, Ben. "Hayley Atwell, Lenny Henry and Tamara Lawrance cast in new BBC period drama The Long Song". Radio Times. 13 July 2018.
  30. ^ Bowie-Sell, Daisy. "Peter Brook returns to National Theatre in new season". WhatsOnStage. 19 June 2018.
  31. ^ "Alexander Hanson and Joanna Riding Set for Return of National Theatre’s Follies; Additional Season Roster Announced". Playbill. 19 June 2018.
  32. ^ "The National Theatre Announces More Season Details, Including Follies Casting". Broadway World. 19 June 2018.
  33. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (8 April 2021). "Focus Features Acquires 'Silent Twins' With Letitia Wright & Tamara Lawrance". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
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