Rob Madge (born 2 August 1996) is an English actor, writer and musical theatre performer. Madge first rose to prominence as a child actor, appearing in the West End musicals ''Mary Poppins'' and ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'' before appearing as

Gavroche Gavroche () is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. He is a boy who lives on the streets of Paris. His name has become a synonym for an urchin or Street children, street child. Gavroche plays a short yet si ...

in ''Les Misérables'' in the 25th Anniversary Concert at

The O2 The O2 (formerly known as the Millennium Dome) is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, Town square, piazzas, ...

. As an adult, they are best known for writing and starring in the

WhatsOnStage Award The WhatsOnStage Awards (WOS Awards), formerly known as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com. The awards celebrate outstanding achievements in UK theatre, with categories covering both regional p ...

winning and

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 ...

-nominated autobiographical solo show ''My Son's A Queer (But What Can You Do?)'', which has been performed in the West End, as well as appearing in the world premiere UK and Ireland tour of ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'' and the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

pantomimes.

Career

Early career

Madge discovered their love for performing at a young age and made their professional debut at the age of 9, when they starred as Michael Banks in the original West End production of ''Mary Poppins'' at the

Prince Edward Theatre The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London. History The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Mar ...

from 2005 to 2007. In autumn 2007, they played

Fleance Fleance (also spelled Fléance, ) is a figure in legendary Scottish history. He was depicted by 16th-century historians as the son of Lord Banquo, Thane of Lochaber, and the ancestor of the kings of the House of Stuart. Fleance is best known a ...

in ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' at the

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 994 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and ...

starring

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...

and

Kate Fleetwood Kate Fleetwood (born 24 September 1972) is an English actress and voice over artist. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Lady Macbeth in ''Macbeth'', at Chichester Festival Theatre and the West End and Broadway and an O ...

, directed by

Rupert Goold Rupert Goold (born 18 February 1972) is an English director who works primarily in theatre. He is the artistic director of the Almeida Theatre, and was the artistic director of Headlong Theatre Company (2005–2013). Since 2010, Goold has be ...

. They then appeared in the role of the

Artful Dodger Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. The Dodger is a pickpocket and his nickname refers to his skill and cunning in that occupation. In the novel, he is the leader of th ...

in the West End revival of ''Oliver!'' at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

, also directed by Goold shortly followed by their acclaimed performance as

in ''Les Misérables'' at the Queen's Theatre as well as getting the opportunity to perform the role in the 25th Anniversary Concert at

in October 2010. Madge also played Reginald in the world premiere of '' Matilda'' at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

from November 2010 to January 2011.

Recent career

Madge had their first adult role in the ''Les Misérables'' UK and Ireland tour beginning October 2019, playing the role of student Jean Prouvaire before being cut short due in March 2020 to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic. In August 2021, Madge began touring as Norton the Fish in ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'', which premiered at the Theatre Royal in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. They followed this with a month's run at

The Other Palace The Other Palace is a theatre in London's Off West End which opened on 18 September 2012 as the St. James Theatre. It features a 312-seat main theatre and a 120-seat studio theatre. It was built on the site of the former Westminster Theatre, ...

, starring in a new musical, ''Millenials: A Pop Song Cycle'', in July 2022. In December 2022, Madge appeared in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

as Pat The Cow in ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' at the

. In December 2023, they returned to the Palladium pantomime as Tink in ''Peter Pan'' and returned in December 2024 as The Spirit of Sherwood in ''Robin Hood''. In October 2023, Madge won The Theatre Award in the '' 2023 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards''. In September 2024, Madge played Alex in '' Buyer & Cellar'' at the

King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. The original venue was the oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2024, the pub theatre, and the King's Head Theatre now operates from a purpose-b ...

, Off-West End before transferring to The Drum at

Theatre Royal, Plymouth Theatre Royal, Plymouth, is a theatre venue in Plymouth, Devon. It consists of a 1,300-seat main auditorium, The Lyric, which regularly hosts large-scale musicals, opera and ballet; a 200-seat studio, The Drum; and a 50-seat studio, The Lab. ...

. In May 2025, Madge will play The Emcee in the West End revival of

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

at the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt in ...

(now called The Kit Kat Club for the production) for a limited run alongside Hannah Dodd until September 2025.

''My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?)''

''My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?)'' is a one-person play written and performed by Madge (with lyrics by Madge and Pippa Cleary and Music by Cleary), directed by Luke Sheppard, which is a coming of age, autobiographical story of Madge when they were a child attempting to stage a full-blown one-person

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

show in their home; it also explores Madge's uplifting and inspiring discovery that they are

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

. The show premiered at the

Turbine Theatre The Turbine Theatre was a commercial theatre on the banks of the River Thames at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth, which opened in 2019. The theatre was established as part of the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station. The inaug ...

in June 2021,winning the 2022 WhatsOnStage Award for Best Off-West End show in 2022. The show transferred to the

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 ...

in August 2022. before transferring to the West End at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ...

in October 2022 and the Ambassadors Theatre in January 2023 for limited runs where it was nominated for the 2023 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. The show was scheduled to open at the Lyceum Theatre on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

on 27th February 2024 for 16 week limited engagement. before announcing it would be postponed until the following 2024-25 season with an unconfirmed theatre and dates. Madge wrote and performed a new show in response to the postponement called ''Rob Madge's Regards to Broadway'' which played at the Garrick Theatre on 26 May 2024. In July and August 2024, the show toured the UK tour before returning to the Edinburgh Fringe. In June 2025, the show played for 5 performances at the

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

Personal life

Madge identifies as

and uses they/them pronouns.

Stage credits

As actor

As writer

* ''My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?)'' (2021 -

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 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 ...

/ West End / UK tour) * ''Rob Madge's Regards to Broadway'' (2024 -

) * ''Charley's Aunt'' (2025 - Watermill Theatre, adaptation based on

Brandon Thomas Brandon Thomas may refer to: *Brandon Thomas (playwright) (1848–1914), English actor and playwright who wrote the hit farce, ''Charley's Aunt'' * Brandon Thomas (musician) (born 1980), American rock band singer *Brandon Thomas (American football) ...

' farce)

References

External links

*
Robert Madge on TwitterRobert Madge on Instagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madge, Robert 1996 births Living people Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School English child actors English stage actors English television actors English LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights English non-binary actors English non-binary writers Non-binary dramatists and playwrights Male actors from Coventry 21st-century English actors 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English LGBTQ people Royal Shakespeare Company members