Peter Polycarpou
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Peter Polycarpou (born 31 March 1957) is an English-Cypriot actor, playwright and singer, known for playing the roles of Chris Theodopolopodous in the television comedy series '' Birds of a Feather'' from 1990 to 1994 and Louis Charalambos in the 2014 biographical drama '' The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies''.


Early life

Peter Polycarpou was born in
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
in 1957 as son of a family of Greek Cypriots.Sarah Barrell:
Travel: The Place that Changed Me – Peter Polycarpou
'. independent.co.uk, 23 October 2011.
Together with his sister Eve Polycarpou he spent his first years in the St. Angela's Children's Home in Brighton. When he was six years old, he and his sister could return to live with their family.


Career

Polycarpou's work in movies includes '' Evita'' (alongside
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
) in 1996, ''
Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...
'' in 1999, and '' De-Lovely'' in 2004. On stage, he was the first actor to play the role of John Thomas in the musical ''
Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a sung-through musical theatre, stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...
'' on the West End in London. He was an original cast member of the musical ''
Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
'', being an understudy for the role of Enjolras while playing Jean Prouvaire (a role he reprised in 1995's ''Les Misérables: The Dream Cast in Concert''), he later played Grantaire and Thénardier. He has also played
The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...
in Andrew Lloyd Webber's '' The Phantom of the Opera''. He has also appeared in the UK première of '' The Woods'' by
David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...
at the
Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...
, London. Television work has included ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
'', ''
Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...
'', '' Casualty'' and '' Waking the Dead''. In 1992, he sang the theme tune to ''Love Hurts'' charting on the UK Singles Chart at number 26. In 1998 and 1999, he played Ali Hakim in ''
Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...
'' opposite Hugh Jackman as Curly McClain. He also played Dr. Neville Craven in the original West End production of ''
The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is seen as a classic of English c ...
''. In February 2006, Polycarpou appeared in ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'', playing Yannis Pappas, father-in-law of character Carly Wicks ( Kellie Shirley) for 3 episodes. He played a leading role in the movie '' O Jerusalem'', released in 2007. He also starred in a short film ''Broken'' alongside Michelle Collins playing the leading role of Solomon. The film, about a Greek Cypriot immigrant family in 1960s London, won several international awards. He wrote and co-directed his own short film ''Mad George'' with ex-musician and long time friend John Hoare. The film has shown at several international film festivals. Later he played Gash in Bryony Lavery's play ''Last Easter'', directed by Douglas Hodge, at the Door Theatre in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, and had the leading role of Daniel Warshowsky in the musical '' Imagine This'' at the New London Theatre in 2008. In 2010, Polycarpou starred alongside
Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre. Retaining his ...
and Charlotte Rampling in the terrorist thriller '' Cleanskin'', which was released in 2012. He also appeared in the eighth series of '' Hustle'' for
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...
directed by actor
Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey on 14 August 1968) is a British actor. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the London stage, an ...
. Between 2010 and 2011, he appeared alongside Emma Williams and Michael Xavier in the Chichester Festival Theatre's '' Love Story''. It later transferred to the Duchess Theatre where it had a short run. He also appeared at Chichester Festival Theatre between 24 September and 5 November 2011 – playing Beadle Bamford in '' Sweeney Todd'' (alongside ''Love Story'' producer Michael Ball as Sweeney Todd). He returned to Chichester in 2014 to star as Nathan Detroit alongside Sophie Thompson in '' Guys and Dolls''. Later that year he played the Hollywood mogul Buddy Fiddler in Larry Gelbart '' City of Angels'' at the Donmar Theatre, London. In 2015 he appeared in 9 episodes of the FOX TV drama ''Tyrant'' playing Colonel Mahmoud Al-Ghazi. In September 2017, Polycarpou played Ahmed Qurie in J.T. Rogers stage play ''
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
'' at London's National Theatre, accompanying the production when it transferred to the West End in the following month. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Ahmed Qurie at the 2018 Laurence Olivier Awards. In March 2018, Polycarpou played the fictional Palestinian detective Omar Yussef in two
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
dramatisations of novels by Matt Beynon Rees. In July 2018, he narrated Raja Shehadeh's biographical ''Where the Line is Drawn: Crossing Boundaries in Occupied Palestine'' for
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
's Book of the Week. In 2019, he played
Sancho Panza Sancho Panza (; ) is a fictional character in the novel ''Don Quixote'' written by Spain, Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote and provides comments throughout the novel, ...
in '' Man of La Mancha'' for
English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...
at the
London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...
opposite
Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained fame for his role as the psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984–1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993–2004, and again F ...
as
Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...
/
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
, Danielle de Niese as Aldonza/Dulcinea and Nicholas Lyndhurst as the Governor/Innkeeper. As a playwright, Polycarpou has staged his plays about UK Cypriots searching for their roots and identity ''Searching for the Lemons'' and ''Cypriot Graffiti'' at Theatro Technis.


Other activities

Polycarpou was once a member of the Green Party and stood for local election in the Muswell Hill ward. He is patron of the United Kingdom Thalassaemia Society and has run in the
London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...
three times. Polycarpou is also a drama teacher and has developed a one-day workshop which he teaches in youth theatres and schools throughout the UK. He has directed a production of the ''Les Misérables'' schools edition for the Act Too Youth theatre in
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, UK and the musical '' Rent''. Polycarpou is the patron of First Stages, a musical theatre youth group based in Devizes, Wiltshire. Polycarpou took an active interest in the Cypriot Film Festival UK. He has been a Director of The Royal Theatrical Fund since 2011. He has played cricket for the Lord's Taverners as a wicketkeeper.


Stage credits


References


External links

* *
Peter Polycarpou
at United Kingdom Thalassaemia Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Polycarpou, Peter 1957 births Living people Alumni of Middlesex University British male stage actors British male television actors British people of Greek Cypriot descent Male actors from Brighton British male musical theatre actors 20th-century British male actors 21st-century British male actors