Alexis Zegerman is a British actress and writer.

Early life and training

Zegerman grew up in a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in London, and trained at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

Acting career

Film and TV

Zegerman won a British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Zoe, Poppy's best friend and roommate, in

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...

's comedy-drama film '' Happy-Go-Lucky''. The role also garnered a

London Film Critics The London Film Critics' Circle is the name by which the Film Section of The Critics' Circle is known internationally. The word London was added because it was thought the term Critics' Circle Film Awards did not convey the full context of th ...

award nomination. This was her second collaboration with Leigh. She played the part of Daliah Sofer in ''Storm'' which premiered at the

59th Berlin International Film Festival The 59th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 February to 15 February 2009. The opening film of the festival was Tom Tykwer’s '' The International'', screened out of competition. Costa-Gavras's immigrant drama ''Eden Is West'' serv ...

in 2009, and Gemma in ITV drama '' U Be Dead''. She also appeared in the films ''

Albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North P ...

'', '' The Wedding Video'', and '' Disobedience''.

Theatre

In 2005 Zegerman appeared in the original cast of Mike Leigh's play ''Two Thousand Years'', at the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

in London. In 2009, she also appeared in '' Seven Jewish Children'', a play by

Caryl Churchill Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes.

at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal ...

. She played Cissie in the revival of

Arnold Wesker Sir Arnold Wesker (24 May 1932 – 12 April 2016) was an English dramatist. He was the author of 50 plays, four volumes of short stories, two volumes of essays, much journalism and a book on the subject, a children's book, some poetry, and ot ...

's '' Chicken Soup with Barley'' from June 2011 at the

. She appeared onstage in ''Travelling Light'' at the

, directed by artistic director

Nicholas Hytner Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner (; born 7 May 1956) is an English theatre director, film director, and film producer. He was previously the Artistic Director of London's National Theatre. His major successes as director include ''Miss Saigon'', ''Th ...

. She recently appeared as Eva Jacobowicz in the world premiere of

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's play

Leopoldstadt Leopoldstadt (; bar, Leopoidstod, "Leopold-Town") is the 2nd municipal district of Vienna (german: 2. Bezirk) in Austria. there are 103,233 inhabitants over . It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau (20th distri ...

at the Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End. In 2022, Hampstead Theatre put on Zegerman's new play, ''The Fever Syndrome,'' directed by Roxana Silbert and starring Robert Lindsay as Professor Richard Myers, fictional inventor of an IVF treatment.

Writing career

Plays

Zegerman began writing on the Royal Court Young Writers’ Programme. She has written plays for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

including ''Ronnie Gecko'' (Richard Imison Award commendation, '' Are You Sure?'', '' The Singing Butler'', '' Jump'', and the comedy series ''School Runs''. She also wrote the play ''

Déjà Vu ''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is a French loanword for the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford Univers ...

'', a co-production between the BBC and

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, pl ...

in France, which was simultaneously broadcast in both countries in February 2009. The play was a finalist for the Prix Europa 2009. Zegerman became Pearson Writer-in-Residence at

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director sin ...

in 2007, where her play ''Lucky Seven'' premiered in November 2008. It has since received further productions in the UK and abroad. Short plays include ''I Ran the World'' for the Royal Court, and ''Noise'' at

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

(Westminster Prize for New Playwriting 2003). Her play ''Killing Brando'' opened at the Young Vic as part of Paines Plough's Wild Lunch in 2004, and was later produced at Òran Mór in Glasgow for their ‘A Play, a Pie and a Pint’ season. She has been named a finalist for the prestigious 2011–2012

Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...

. Her play Holy Sh!t had its world premiere at the off-West End

Kiln Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

, and was the first play to open the Kiln's inaugural season after its refurbishment. The play starred Claire Goose,

Daniel Lapaine Daniel Lapaine (born 15 June 1971) is an Australian stage, film and television actor, currently residing in London. He also works as a writer and director. Career Born in Sydney, New South Wales to an Italian father and an Australian mother ...

, Dorothea Myer-Bennet and Daon Broni. In March 2022, Hampstead Theatre premiered Zegerman's play, ''The Fever Syndrome,'' directed by Roxana Silbert and starring Robert Lindsay as Professor Richard Myers, fictional inventor of an IVF treatment.

Screenwriting

Zegerman wrote the screenplay for ''The Honeymoon Suite'' (2010).

References

External links

*
Guardian article: First Sight – Alexis Zegerman

First Sight: The Guardian

Profile at Zegerman's literary agent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zegerman, Alexis Living people Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama English film actresses English stage actresses English radio actresses English television actresses Year of birth missing (living people)