Maimuna Enya Memon (born 1992) is a British actress, singer, composer, and playwright. She won a
Laurence Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...
for her performance in the musical ''
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812'', having previously been nominated for her role in ''
Standing at the Sky's Edge''.
Early life
Memon was born in
Preston, Lancashire
Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston, Lancashire, City of Preston local government district. Preston ...
to an Irish mother and a Pakistani father and spent her early childhood in
Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners".
The A666 road, A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to ...
. As a teen, her family moved to Australia, where they settled in
Chuwar, a suburb of
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
near
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. Upon returning to England at the age of 18, Memon studied at the
Oxford School of Drama
The Oxford School of Drama is a drama school in the United Kingdom. It is based at Wootton, ten miles north of Oxford.
The school is an independent, vocational drama school which runs a three-year acting course and a one-year acting course, bo ...
, graduating in 2015.
Career
Upon graduating from drama school, Memon made her professional stage debut as Florinda in the
Manchester Royal Exchange
The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal Exc ...
production of ''
Into the Woods
''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.
The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...
''. The following year, she made her television debut in an episode of the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
medical soap opera ''
Doctors
Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to:
Titles and occupations
* Physician, a medical practitioner
* Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree
** Doctorate
** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...
'', and appeared in ''The Busker's Opera'' at the
Park Theatre and ''
Lazarus
Lazarus may refer to:
People
*Lazarus (name), a surname and a given name
* Lazarus of Bethany, a Biblical figure described as being raised from the dead by Jesus
* Lazarus, a Biblical figure from the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus
* Lazar ...
'' at King's Cross Theatre.
In 2017, Memon played Mary Magdalene in ''
Jesus Christ Superstar
''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...
'' at
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London, established in 1932. Originally known for its Shakespearean productions, the theatre now features a wide variety of performances, including musicals, ope ...
. She wrote the music and lyrics for, and performed in, James Meteyard's ''Electrolyte'' in 2019.
Memon originated the role of Nikki in
Richard Hawley
Richard Willis Hawley (born 17 January 1967) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. After his first band Treebound Story (formed while he was still at school) broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Long ...
's musical ''
Standing at the Sky's Edge'', which premiered in 2019 at the
Sheffield Crucible
The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to Crucible steel#History of production in England, crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 174 ...
. Memon reprised her role when the musical returned to Sheffield in 2022, and in 2023 at the
National Theatre in London. For her performance, she was nominated for the
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.
Memon began releasing music in 2022, beginning with the singles "First Born Child" and "Calling". Her one-woman play ''Manic Street Creature'' premiered at the 2022
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
, where it won a Fringe First Award, before having a London run at
Southwark Playhouse
Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London with two venues, both located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations.
History
The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They ident ...
in 2023. She also composed a score for ''
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
'' at
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...
and, as of 2023, was in the midst of composing a score for ''Portia Coughlan''.
In 2024, she portrayed Sonya in the London premiere of ''
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812'' at
Donmar Warehouse
The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977.
Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...
from December until February 2025. She received widespread acclaim for her performance, which earned her the
.
Discography
EPs
* ''More Than I Bargained For'' (2023)
Singles
* "First Born Child" (2022)
* "Calling" (2022)
* "Sinner" (2023)
* "Insomnia" (2024
* "Selling" (2023)
Filmography
Stage
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
Maimuna Memonat Spotlight
{{DEFAULTSORT:Memon, Maimuna
1992 births
21st-century British actresses
Actresses from Queensland
Actresses from Preston, Lancashire
Alumni of the Oxford School of Drama
English musical theatre actresses
English musical theatre composers
English television actresses
English people of Irish descent
English people of Pakistani descent
English women dramatists and playwrights
Laurence Olivier Award winners
Living people
Musicians from Preston, Lancashire
People from Darwen
People from Ipswich, Queensland