Samantha Spiro (born 20 June 1968) is an English actress and singer. She is best known for portraying
Barbara Windsor
Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.[Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick
''Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick'' is a 1998 play written by the English dramatist Terry Johnson, who also directed the original production at the National Theatre.
The play is about the off-screen love affair between ''Carry On'' film st ...]
'' and the
television films
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
''
Cor, Blimey!
''Cor, Blimey!'' is a 2000 TV film that follows the relationship between ''Carry On'' film actors Sid James (played by Geoffrey Hutchings) and Barbara Windsor (played by Samantha Spiro).
The film, first broadcast on ITV in April 2000, was adapte ...
'' and ''
Babs Babs or BABS may refer to:
People
* Nickname of Barbara Windsor (1937-2020), British actress
* Babs McMillan, Australian actress
* Babs Olusanmokun, American actor
* Babs Reingold, American artist
* Babs Fafunwa (1923-2010), Nigerian educationist ...
'', DI Vivien Friend in ''
M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team'', Melessa Tarly in the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
series ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
'' and Maureen Groff in ''
Sex Education
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...
''. She has won two
Laurence Olivier Awards
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 ...
.
Background
Born in
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
, London, England,
Spiro grew up in
Radlett
Radlett is a village in Hertfordshire, England, between Elstree and St Albans on Watling Street, with a population of 8,042. It is in the council district of Hertsmere in the south of the county, and is covered by two wards; Aldenham East and ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
.
She is Jewish.
Spiro decided to be an actress at the age of ten after seeing a production of ''
Androcles and the Lion'' at the
Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
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 joined the
National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and registered charity in London. Its aim is to develop and nurture young people through creative arts and theatrical productions. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth th ...
and later trained at the
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Webber may refer to:
*Webber, Kansas, a US city
*Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA
*Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA
*Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA
*Webber (surname)
Webber (/ˈwɛbər/) i ...
.
Spiro attended
Bancroft's School
Bancroft's School is a co-educational independent day school located in Woodford Green, London Borough of Redbridge. The school currently has around 1,000 pupils aged between 7 and 18, around 200 of whom are pupils of the Preparatory School a ...
from 1982 to 1985 and subsequently returned in 2016 for an Arts & Drama masterclass
Spiro spoke about how her time at Bancroft's had fuelled her enthusiasm for a career in the Arts.
Spiro married actor Mark Leadbetter, whom she met at drama school, in February 2002.
They have two daughters and live in
Queen's Park, London
Queen's Park is an area located partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Brent. Some of the area within Westminster forms a civil parish, the first to be created in London since the right of communities to establish ...
.
Career
Theatre
Spiro's first acting job after graduating from drama school was with the
Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
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†...
, in productions of ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
'', ''The Boys From Syracuse'' and ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
''.
Her many theatre credits include ''
As You Like It
''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...
'', ''Teechers'', ''The Tragic Roundabout'', ''Jumpers'', ''On the Piste'', ''Roots'', ''
How the Other Half Loves
''How the Other Half Loves'' is a 1969 play in two acts by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It is a farce following the consequences of an adulterous affair between a married man and his boss’s wife and their attempts to cover their track ...
'' and ''Glyn and It'', opposite
Penelope Keith
Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith, (née Hatfield; born 2 April 1940) is an English actress and presenter, active in film, radio, stage and television and primarily known for her roles in the British sitcoms '' The Good Life'' and ''To the Man ...
.
Spiro played
Barbara Windsor
Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.[Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick
''Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick'' is a 1998 play written by the English dramatist Terry Johnson, who also directed the original production at the National Theatre.
The play is about the off-screen love affair between ''Carry On'' film st ...]
'' at the
National Theatre, a production she credits as her first big break, which "open
da lot of doors".
She has also appeared in the
Minerva Theatre production of ''
Funny Girl'' and the first
West End revival of
Alan Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of ...
's ''
Bedroom Farce''.
Spiro played Rachel in
Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...
's production of ''Two Thousand Years'' at the National Theatre. This was the first Jewish role of her career. She said:
For English/Jewish artists in this business, we’re English first and the Jewish thing comes down the line. Whereas in the United States, Jewishness is a much celebrated thing. Jewishness is a part of their very being.
Here, I think, we repress it and, far from celebrating it, almost shy away from it. After ''Two Thousand Years'', I suddenly felt that there is a place for people like me. Until that point I hadn’t had a career playing Jewish people. I had got that stuff out of the way by the time I came to play Fanny Brice n ''Funny Girl''who is very much a Jewish character.
In 2009, Spiro played Maria in the
Donmar Warehouse
The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977.
Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Micha ...
production of ''
Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
'' at the
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c.1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the archit ...
, alongside
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King ...
, and Beatrice in ''
Much Ado About Nothing
''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...
'' at the
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†...
.
Most recently, she appeared in the acclaimed Open Air Theatre production of ''
Hello, Dolly!'', playing Dolly Levi.
In 2013, Spiro played
Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy '' Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...
in ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'' 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 ...
, alongside
Billy Boyd and
Joseph Millson
Joseph Millson (born 27 April 1974) is an English actor and singer. He trained at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup, London.
Personal life
Millson married singer and actress Caroline Fitzgerald in the summer of 1999. The ...
.
Discussing whether she prefers acting in the theatre to television or film, Spiro said: "I think theatre prefers me. These days you have to do both, but it never feels as if the TV casting people are beating down my door to offer me work. I just feel that in this business you are lucky if you’re doing something you enjoy."
Television, film and radio
Spiro reprised the role of Barbara Windsor in the television adaptation of ''Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick'', ''
Cor, Blimey!
''Cor, Blimey!'' is a 2000 TV film that follows the relationship between ''Carry On'' film actors Sid James (played by Geoffrey Hutchings) and Barbara Windsor (played by Samantha Spiro).
The film, first broadcast on ITV in April 2000, was adapte ...
'', starring opposite
Geoffrey Hutchings
Geoffrey Hutchings (8 June 1939 – 1 July 2010) was an English stage, film and television actor.
Early life and career
Hutchings was born in Dorchester, Dorset, England. After attending Hardye's School, he studied French and Physical Educati ...
.
Her other television credits include ''
The Bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983.
The programme focused on ...
'', ''
Cold Feet'', ''
Plebs
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizenship, Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both ...
'', ''
Coupling
A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end mov ...
'', ''
After You've Gone'' and ''
M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team'', in which she played the lead role of DI Vivien Friend. She described the role of Friend as "quite an unusual departure for me...I've done quite a bit of comedy and I've played characters who are light-hearted and characters who are tarts with hearts. In M.I.T. there is no tart or heart!"
In order to research the part, Spiro spent time with a female Detective Inspector with the real-life
Murder Investigation Team
Major Investigation Teams (MIT) are the specialised homicide squads of the Metropolitan Police in London, England. Forming part of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, there are 24 MITs within the Met. MITs investigate cases of murder, manslau ...
.
From 9 August 2010, Spiro starred in the BBC comedy ''
Grandma's House
''Grandma's House'' is a sitcom television series broadcast on BBC Two. Written by Simon Amstell and long-term collaborator Dan Swimer, the series stars Simon Amstell playing a version of himself: an ex-television presenter searching for meaning ...
''. She plays the part of
Simon Amstell
Simon Marc Amstell (born 29 November 1979) is a British comedian, writer and director. He wrote and directed the films '' Carnage'' (2017) and ''Benjamin'' (2018). His work on television has included presenting '' Popworld'' and '' Never Mind th ...
's aunt Liz. In 2012 she also appeared in the SkyArts comedy series ''Psychobitches'', where she played various female icons including Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Mary Whitehouse.
In September 2013, Spiro joined the cast of the
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
sitcom ''
Bad Education'' as Professor Celia Green, the new deputy headmaster and adversary to Jack Whitehall's character.
In 2013 Spiro starred in an episode of the
Sky Atlantic
Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HBO ...
series ''
Little Crackers
''Little Crackers'' is a British Christmas comedy-drama that was broadcast on Sky1. It consists of a series of short films featuring stars of British and Irish comedy, including Stephen Fry, Catherine Tate, Chris O'Dowd, Kathy Burke, Victoria Wo ...
'', an autobiographical comedy written by
Rebecca Front
Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for ''The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...
in which Spiro played Front's mother.
In 2016 she joined the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
series ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
'' in
Season 6
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
as
Melessa Tarly
George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others bey ...
, the mother of
Samwell Tarly
Samwell Tarly, or simply Sam, is a fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The charact ...
. That year she also joined ''
Tracey Ullman's Show
''Tracey Ullman's Show'' is a British sketch comedy television series starring Tracey Ullman. ''Tracey Ullman's Show'' premiered on BBC One on 11 January 2016. The programme marks her first project for the broadcaster in over thirty years, and ...
'' in the recurring role of Birgit, the fictitious fridge-magnet-loving personal assistant and confidante to
Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman, 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows ''A Kick Up the Eighties'' (wi ...
's impression of
German Chancellor
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ger ...
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
. She reprised her role in Ullman's ''
Tracey Breaks the News
''Tracey Breaks the News'' is a British topical comedy programme starring Tracey Ullman. It premiered on BBC One on 27 October 2017 following a one-off special that aired on 23 June.
After the success of the one-off special on 13 September 201 ...
''. In 2017 Spiro reprised her role of Barbara Windsor in the
BBC1
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, ...
drama
Babs Babs or BABS may refer to:
People
* Nickname of Barbara Windsor (1937-2020), British actress
* Babs McMillan, Australian actress
* Babs Olusanmokun, American actor
* Babs Reingold, American artist
* Babs Fafunwa (1923-2010), Nigerian educationist ...
, a biopic based on the life of Windsor. She also appeared in the ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' episode "
The Doctor Falls
"The Doctor Falls" is the twelfth and final episode of the tenth series of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was written by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay, and was broadcast on 1 July 2017 on BBC One. I ...
", as Hazran.
Spiro has appeared in the films ''Beyond Bedlam'' (1994), as WPC Foster, and ''Tomorrow La Scala!'' (2002), as Janey. She also played
Martha Tabram
Martha Tabram (née White; 10 May 1849 – 7 August 1888) was an English woman killed in a spate of violent murders in and around the Whitechapel district of East London between 1888 and 1891. She may have been the first victim of the still-uni ...
in ''
From Hell
''From Hell'' is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions.
Set during the Whitechapel murders of ...
'' (2001), opposite
Johnny Depp
John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
.
Her
radio drama
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
credits include ''
The Casebook of Inspector Steine'', ''Gospel According to Mary'', ''Little Cinderellas'', ''Beside the Seaside'',
''
Show Boat
''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...
'' in which she played Magnolia Hawks, Sarah Kahn in ''
Chicken Soup with Barley
''Chicken Soup with Barley'' is a 1956 play by British playwright Arnold Wesker. It is the first of the 'Wesker trilogy' – being followed by ''Roots'' and ''I'm Talking About Jerusalem'' – and was first performed on stage in 1958 at the Bel ...
'' and the Guy Meredith play ''Spring Forward, Fall Back'' for
BBC Radio 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British Digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio broadcasting, radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a ...
.
[Chichester Festival Theatre: What's On: Samantha Spiro](_blank)
Retrieved on 8 July 2009.
In 2018 Spiro played the role of Mrs Erlynne in
Kathy Burke
Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke (born 13 June 1964) is an English actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director. She achieved fame with her appearances on sketch shows such as ''French and Saunders'' (1988–1999) and her recurring role as Mag ...
's production of
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
's ''
Lady Windermere's Fan
''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London.
The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband i ...
'' at London's Vaudeville Theatre. This production was recorded and shown in cinemas under the "More2Screen" initiative.
From 2019, Spiro has portrayed the recurring character Maureen Groff in
Laurie Nunn's British comedy-drama series ''
Sex Education
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...
''.
Awards
In 2001, Spiro was awarded the
Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awa ...
for her performance in the 2000 season
Donmar Warehouse
The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977.
Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Micha ...
production of ''
Merrily We Roll Along''. She won a Whatsonstage.com award for Best Actress in a Musical for the same production.
In 2010, Spiro was once again awarded the
Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awa ...
for her performance in ''
Hello, Dolly!'' at the
Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
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†...
.
Spiro won a 2004
Joseph Jefferson Award
The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater sta ...
for Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical, for the production of ''
A Little Night Music
''A Little Night Music'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', it involves the romantic lives of several couples. ...
'' at the
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is a non-profit, professional theater company located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. Its more than six hundred annual performances performed 48 weeks of the year include its critically acclaimed Shakespeare s ...
in Chicago,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
.
[Samantha Spiro – Biography](_blank)
IMDB. Retrieved on 8 July 2009.
In the 2011 British Comedy Awards she won the Best Female Comedy Breakthrough Artist award for her performance in ''
Grandma's House
''Grandma's House'' is a sitcom television series broadcast on BBC Two. Written by Simon Amstell and long-term collaborator Dan Swimer, the series stars Simon Amstell playing a version of himself: an ex-television presenter searching for meaning ...
''.
Filmography
Film
Television
Theatre
* ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' Vaudeville Theatre, West End (2018)
* ''The House They Grew Up In'' Chichester Minerva (2017)
* ''Guys and Dolls'' Phoenix Theatre
* ''The Taming Of The Shrew'' d: Toby Frow, Shakespeare's Globe
* ''Filumena'' d: Michael Attenborough, Almeida Theatre
* ''Company'' d: Jonathan Munby, Sheffield Crucible
* ''Chicken Soup With Barley'' d: Dominic Cooke, Royal Court Theatre
* ''Hello Dolly'' (Dolly) d:Tim Sheader, Regents Park
**Best Actress in a Musical – 2010 Olivier Awards
* ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (Beatrice) d: Tim Sheader, Regents Park
* ''Twelfth Night'' (Maria) d: Michael Grandage, Donmar / Wyndhams
* ''Funny Girl'' (Fanny Brice) d: Angus Jackson, Chichester Festival
* ''The Family Plays'' (Mother) d: Joe Hill-Gibbons, Royal Court Theatre
* ''Two Thousand Years'' d: Mike Leigh, Royal National Theatre
* ''A Little Night Music'' (Charlotte) d: Gary Griffin Chicago Shakespeare's Theatre
**Winner: Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, Joseph Jefferson Awards 2004
* ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (Titania/Hippolyta) d: Michael Grandage Crucible, Sheffield
* ''Bedroom Farce'' (Jan) d: Loveday Ingram
Michael Codron
Sir Michael Victor Codron (born 8 June 1930) is a British theatre producer, known for his productions of the early work of Harold Pinter, Christopher Hampton, David Hare, Simon Gray and Tom Stoppard. He has been honoured with a Laurence Olivi ...
Plays
* ''Merrily We Roll Along'' (Mary Flynn) d: Michael Grandage Donmar Warehouse
**Olivier Awards 2001 & Whatsonstage.com Awards 2001 – Best Actress in a Musical
* ''As You Like It'' (Celia) d: Michael Grandage Crucible & Lyric
* ''Jumpers'' (Dorothy Moore) d: Bill Alexander Birmingham Rep
* ''Cleo Camping''...(Barbara Windsor) d: Terry Johnson Royal National Theatre
* ''Roots'' (Beatie Bryant) d: John Retallack Watford Palace/Oxford
* ''As You Like It'' (Phoebe) d: Polly Irvin W. Yorkshire/Bristol
* ''Teechers'' (Gail Saunders) d: Graham Watts Hull Truck & No 1 Tour
* ''On The Piste'' (Bev Ryan) d: Graham Watts Hull Truck
* ''How The Other Half Lovers'' (Mary) d: Penelope Keith Theatre Royal, Windsor
* ''Glyn & ‘It’'' (Clara Bow) d:
Richard Cottrell
Richard Cottrell (born 15 August 1936) is an English theatre director. He has been the Director of the Cambridge Theatre Company and the Bristol Old Vic in England, and of the Nimrod Theatre in Sydney, Australia. He has also directed for the Ro ...
Yvonne Arnaud & tour
* ''Midsummer Night's Dream (Hermia) d: Delena Kidd London & Middle East
* ''Tons Of Money'' (Simpson) d: David Conville Mercury Th, Colchester
* ''Midsummer Night's Dream'' (First Fairy) d: Ian Talbot Regents Park Open Air
* ''As You Like It'' (Audrey) d: Maria Aitkin Regents Park Open Air
* ''Lady Be Good'' (Daisy) d: Ian Talbot Regents Park Open Air
* ''Macbeth'' (Witch) d: Bill Baunt Regents Park Open Air
* ''The Boys From Syracuse'' (Courtesan) d: Judi Dench Regents Park Open Air
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiro, Samantha
1968 births
Living people
Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
English musical theatre actresses
English stage actresses
English television actresses
English film actresses
English radio actresses
Jewish English actresses
Actresses from London
Laurence Olivier Award winners
People from Mill Hill
English Shakespearean actresses
English people of German-Jewish descent
National Youth Theatre members
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses
Actresses from Hertfordshire
People from Radlett
People educated at Bancroft's School