Maimuna Enya Memon (born 1992) is a British actress, singer, composer, and playwright. She received a nomination for the

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

in 2023.

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 local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

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 passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the sout ...

. As a teen, her family moved to Australia, where they settled in Chuwar, a suburb of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

near

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. 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, bot ...

, 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 the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

production of ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story ...

''. 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 network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

medical soap opera ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'', and appeared in ''The Busker's Opera'' at the Park Theatre and '' Lazarus'' 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 Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' 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. The theatre Established in 1932, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest theatres in London (1,256 seats) and is situated in Queen Mary� ...

. 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 Longp ...

's musical '' Standing at the Sky's Edge'', which premiered in 2019 at the

Sheffield Crucible The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...

. 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 Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

, where it won a Fringe First Award, before having a London run at

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London, 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 identified the need for a h ...

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 best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

'' at

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

and, as of 2023, was in the midst of composing a score for ''Portia Coughlan''.

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 Memon
at Spotlight {{DEFAULTSORT:Memon, Maimuna Living people 1992 births Actresses from Queensland Actresses from Preston, Lancashire Alumni of the Oxford School of Drama British actresses of Asian descent 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 Musicians from Preston, Lancashire People from Darwen People from Ipswich, Queensland