Anjana Vasan (born 31 January 1987)[1] is an Indian actress.[2] Born into a Tamil family in India, she is based in the United Kingdom. For her stage work, Vasan has won a Laurence Olivier Award.[3] On television, she stars in the Channel 4 sitcom We Are Lady Parts (2021–2024), for which she was nominated for a British Academy Television Award. Her films include Wicked Little Letters (2023).
Anjana Vasan | |
|---|---|
 Vasan in 2017 | |
| Born | 31 January 1987 Madras, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Education | National University of Singapore (BA) Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (MA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2010–present |
Early life and education
editVasan was born in Madras (now known as Chennai), India to a Tamil Hindu family and moved to Singapore when she was four years old.[4][5][6] She took theatre studies at the National University of Singapore before relocating to the United Kingdom, where she graduated in 2012 with a Master of Arts in Acting from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.[7][8]
Career
editIn 2011, Vasan made her television debut as Lauren in two episodes of the Channel 4 comedy-drama Fresh Meat. After completing drama school the following year, she had small roles in the National Theatre Wales production of The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning, the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Much Ado About Nothing, as well as Golgotha at the Tristan Bates Theatre in London.
Vasan played a witch in Kenneth Branagh's Macbeth at the Manchester International Festival and for its New York run at the Park Avenue Armory.[9] In 2015, she made her feature film debut with a small role in the live-action version of Cinderella.
In 2018, Vasan played Zahra Alsaadi in the Channel 4 sitcom Hang Ups and had a role in the anthology film London Unplugged. She played Rosa in Summer and Smoke at the Almeida Theatre and Duke of York's Theatre, marking her West End debut. This was followed by roles Rutherford and Son at the National Theatre and A Doll's House at the Lyric Hammersmith, the latter of which earned her an Evening Standard Theatre Award nomination.
Vasan starred in the 2020 Riz Ahmed-written and starring drama film Mogul Mowgli. She then reprised her role from the 2018 short Lady Parts as lead guitar player Amina in We Are Lady Parts on Channel 4 in 2021.[10] For her performance, Vasan received nominations at the British Academy Television Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, and Gotham Awards. She also appeared in Joe Wright's Cyrano.
Vasan joined the main cast of the BBC spy thriller Killing Eve for its fourth and final series as Pam. She returned to the stage as Stella Kowalski in the London revival of A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Paul Mescal and Patsy Ferran. The production opened at the Almeida Theatre in 2022 and moved to the West End's Phoenix Theatre in 2023.
Her performance as Stella won Vasan the 2023 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.[11]
In 2023, Vasan starred in the Black Mirror episode "Demon 79" as Nida Huq, a woman in 1970s Britain who discovers a talisman. She had previously made a brief appearance in a previous Black Mirror episode, "Nosedive".[12]
She has a role in the comedy film Wicked Little Letters as PC Gladys Moss.[13]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Macbeth | Third Sister | National Theatre Live |
| 2015 | Cinderella | Maid | |
| Behind the Beautiful Forevers | Manju Waghekar | National Theatre Live | |
| 2016 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hermia | Recording |
| 2017 | Double Act | Manager | Short film |
| The Children Act | Kate | ||
| King Lear | Cordelia | Recording | |
| 2019 | Spider-Man: Far From Home | Reporter | |
| 2020 | Mogul Mowgli | Vaseem | |
| Dara | Hira Bai | National Theatre Live | |
| 2021 | Cyrano | Sister Claire | |
| 2023 | Wicked Little Letters | PC Gladys Moss |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Fresh Meat | Lauren | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Call the Midwife | Tripti Valluk | Series 5, episode 8 |
| 2017 | Ill Behaviour | Shazia | Miniseries |
| 2018 | Lady Parts | Amina | Comedy short |
| Hang Ups | Zahra Alsaadi | 5 episodes | |
| 2019 | Brexit: The Uncivil War | Interviewer | Television film |
| Pls Like | Lorna | Episode: "Kids" | |
| Sex Education | Abortion clinic protester | Series 1, episode 3 | |
| Temple | Katie | 2 episodes | |
| 2021-2024 | We Are Lady Parts | Amina | Main role, 2 series |
| 2022 | Killing Eve | Pam | 7 episodes |
| 2023 | Black Mirror | Nida Huq | Episode: "Demon 79" |
| TBA | Towards Zero | Mary Aldin | Filming[14] |
Stage
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning | National Theatre Wales, Cardiff | |
| Much Ado About Nothing | Servant | Royal Shakespeare Company | |
| Golgotha | Loretta | Tristan Bates Theatre, London | |
| 2013–2014 | Macbeth | Third Sister | Manchester International Festival / Park Avenue Armory, New York |
| 2014 | The Taming of the Shrew | Tranio | RSC tour |
| Behind the Beautiful Forevers | Manju Waghekar | National Theatre, London | |
| 2015 | Dara | Hira Bai | |
| Image of An Unknown Young Woman | Leyla | Gate Theatre, London | |
| 2016 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hermia | Globe Theatre, London |
| 2017 | Life of Galileo | Virginia | Young Vic, London |
| King Lear | Cordelia | Globe Theatre, London | |
| 2018 | An Adventure | Jyoti | Bush Theatre, London |
| 2018–2019 | Summer and Smoke | Rosa/Nellie/Rosemary | Almeida Theatre and Duke of York's Theatre, London |
| 2019 | Rutherford and Son | Mary | National Theatre, London |
| A Doll's House | Niru | Lyric Hammersmith, London | |
| 2022–2023 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Stella Kowalski | Almeida Theatre and Phoenix Theatre, London |
| 2024 | BRACE BRACE | Sylvia | Royal Court Theatre, London |
| 2025 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Stella Kowalski | Noël Coward Theatre, London / Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York[15] |
Audio
edit- Goblin Market (BBC)
- The Man Who Wore Sanitary Pads (BBC)
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Evening Standard Theatre Award | Best Actress | A Doll's House | Nominated | [16] |
| 2021 | Gotham Award | Outstanding Performance in New Series | We Are Lady Parts | Nominated | [17] |
| 2022 | British Academy Television Award | Best Female Comedy Performance | Nominated | ||
| Independent Spirit Award | Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series | Nominated | |||
| 2023 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | A Streetcar Named Desire | Won | [18] |
| Evening Standard Theatre Award | Best Actress | Won | |||
| 2024 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best Supporting Performer in a Play | Nominated | [19] | |
| British Academy Television Award | Best Actress | Black Mirror: Demon 79 | Nominated | [20] |
Discography
editAlbums, EPs
editReferences
edit- ^ Roberts, Charlotte; Harry, Aaliyah (19 June 2023). "Black Mirror's Anjana Vasan: 'I Would Love To Explore Demon 79 Again – But In A Different Universe'". Grazia. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ Gyamfi, Akua (17 May 2017). "#TBB10 with Anjana Vasan starring in Young Vic production of Life of Galileo". The British Blacklist. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ Hood, Alun (21 November 2018). "Review: Summer and Smoke (Duke of York's Theatre)". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ Patel, Vibhuti (14 July 2014). "Witching Hour". Outlook. Retrieved 20 June 2021.(subscription required)
- ^ "The Cast of 'Mogul Mowgli' on Representation and Breaking Barriers". Brown Girl Magazine. 24 November 2020. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ ""Chennai. Singapore. London. I'm made up of three places and cultures. I often feel like I'm split in three."". Mogul Mowgli. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ "Anjana on Singapore, Shakespeare and Sir Ken". RWCMD. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ Mountford, Fiona (10 September 2019). "Anjana Vasan on A Doll's House: 'I didn't know if someone who was foreign and brown would have a career here'". INews. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ "Anjana Vasan". BBA Shakespeare. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ Seth, Radhika (14 May 2021). "'We Are Lady Parts', A Comedy Series About An All-Female Muslim Punk Band, Is About To Bring The House Down". British Vogue. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ The Guardian (2 April 2023). "Olivier awards 2023: full list of winners". TheGuardian.com.
- ^ Saville, Alice (14 June 2023). "Anjana Vasan on Black Mirror, Paul Mescal and bad reviews". i. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- ^ Jones, Ellen E (24 February 2024). "Wicked Little Letters review – a deliciously sweary poison-pen mystery". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ Ford, Lily (5 June 2024). "Anjelica Huston, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Mimi Keene to Star in Agatha Christie Adaptation 'Towards Zero'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ Culwell-Block, Logan. "Paul Mescal-Led A Streetcar Named Desire Sets U.S. Debut Off-Broadway". Playbill.com. Playbill. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ Paskett, Zoe (25 November 2019). "The 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Awards winners in full". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
- ^ Lewis, Hilary (21 October 2021). "Gotham Awards: 'The Lost Daughter,' 'Passing' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ "Singaporean actress Anjana Vasan wins best supporting actress in a play at Britain's Olivier awards". CNA. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
- ^ Millward, Tom (7 December 2023). "Nominations in full: the 24th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ Goldbart, Max (20 March 2024). "'The Crown' Dominates BAFTA TV Noms As Netflix Achieves Record Haul". Deadline. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Too Dark For Country, by Anjana Vasan". Anjana Vasan. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "Strange Country Jukebox, by Anjana Vasan". Anjana Vasan. Retrieved 24 February 2022.