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Sheila Atim (born 1991) is a Ugandan-British actress, singer, composer, and playwright. She made her professional acting debut in 2013 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 ...
in '' The Lightning Child'', a musical written by her acting teacher Ché Walker. Following critically acclaimed stage roles 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 ...
's all-female Shakespeare Trilogy in 2016 among others, Atim won the 2018 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role as Marianne Laine in an original production of ''
Girl from the North Country "Girl from the North Country" (occasionally known as "Girl ''of'' the North Country") is a song written by Bob Dylan. It was recorded at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City in April 1963, and released the following month as the second tra ...
''. She has composed songs for several productions and premiered her play ''Anguis'' at the 2019
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 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 ...
. She has also been cast in several television series, including the cancelled ''
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 ...
'' successor series '' Bloodmoon'', the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's ''
The Pale Horse ''The Pale Horse'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1961,Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of ...
'' and
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
's '' The Underground Railroad'', directed by
Barry Jenkins Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film ''My Josephine'' (2003), he directed his first feature film '' Medicine for Melancholy'' (2008) for which he received an Inde ...
. In 2021, she starred in
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
's successful sports drama '' Bruised'', directed and produced by
Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry (; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Mis ...
. In 2022, she won another
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 ...
, this time for Best Lead Actress, for her performance in the play ''
Constellations A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the earliest constellation ...
''.


Early life

Sheila Atim was born 1991 in Uganda and moved to the United Kingdom with her mother at the age of five months. She grew up in Rainham, London, and attended the
Coopers' Company and Coborn School The Coopers' Company and Coborn School is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Upminster area of the London Borough of Havering, England. Admissions The school is (since 2005) a non-selective school described by Ofs ...
. She did some occasional modelling as a teenager after being recruited when she shaved the side of her head for a school prom. She appeared in a 2009
London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...
event, ''All Walks beyond the Catwalk'', organized by the
British Fashion Council The British Fashion Council (BFC) is a non-profit organization that aims to enable sustainable growth of British fashion in the global fashion economy. Founded in 1983, the BFC organizes biannual womenswear and menswear showcases, London Fashi ...
to showcase clothes for "real women". She later said that "modelling was never a big earner for me. I was unusual looking, so I couldn't go for commercial castings."


Career


Theatre

Atim graduated with a degree in biomedical science from
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
and trained as an actor at the Weekend Arts Centre in
Belsize Park Belsize Park is an affluent residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden (the inner north-west of London), England. The residential streets are lined with mews houses and Georgian and Victorian villas. Some nearby localities ar ...
, London. She became involved in a workshop for a new play, ''The Lightning Child'', which led to her being cast by her acting teacher Ché Walker for her professional acting debut 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 ...
in 2013. In 2020, she told the King's College
alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
magazine that "I look back and feel a strong connection between my scientific and artistic sides. Science often comes up in my work – even the way I approach things in the rehearsal room is affected by having taken BioMed. Sometimes it’s little private parallels and analogies I make for myself." ''The Lightning Child'', written by Walker and
Arthur Darvill Thomas Arthur Darvill (born 17 June 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Rory Williams, a companion of the Eleventh Doctor in the television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2012), as well as Rip Hunter in ''Legends of Tomorrow'' ( ...
, ran for several weeks from mid-September 2013 and was the first musical staged at Shakespeare's Globe. It received mixed reviews, with the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' describing it as "a bold experiment, but sadly not a successful one" and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' review calling it "oddly conventional and pointlessly excessive". ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' said that despite the production being overlong and having problems with the structure, it was "hard not to like" the show. Atim played Keira, the physical embodiment of
obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental and behavioral disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts and/or feels the need to perform certain routines repeatedly to the extent where it induces distress or impairs general ...
, in ''Ghost Town'' at the
York Theatre Royal York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to offer ...
in early 2014. ''
What's On Stage WhatsOnStage.com is a London-based website that provides information about, and offers tickets for, theatrical performances in the United Kingdom. It also organises the annual WhatsOnStage Awards. Founded in 1996, it has been owned by the Americ ...
'' praised her "mesmeric physical presence" and ''
The Yorkshire Times ''The Yorkshire Times'' is an online newspaper founded in 2011 by Richard Trinder, and the sole online-only paper in Yorkshire. Rather than employing journalists, ''The Yorkshire Times'' focuses instead on citizen journalism, with opinion, comm ...
'' review said that Atim "dominated the stage". Following this, Atim appeared with
Ako Mitchell Ako Mitchell is a British-American actor and filmmaker. Ako directed and co-wrote the short film "I'm in the corner with the bluebells" part of the international shorts competition at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Ako recently p ...
in Walker's
two-hander A two-hander is a term for a play, film, or television programme with only two main characters. The two characters in question often display differences in social standing or experiences, differences that are explored and possibly overcome as ...
''Klook's Last Stand'', being praised by ''The Guardian'' for an energetic performance and "tremendous stage presence" by ''The Daily Telegraph''. In the autumn of 2014 she appeared in ''
Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...
'' 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 ...
and followed this by joining the touring production of
Kae Tempest Kae Tempest (formerly Kate Tempest; born 22 December 1985) is an English spoken word performer, poet, recording artist, novelist and playwright. At the age of 16, Tempest was accepted into the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in ...
's ''Hopelessly Devoted''. In addition to this, Atim played three roles in
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 produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
(RSC) productions: the Attendant in ''
The Jew of Malta ''The Jew of Malta'' (full title: ''The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta'') is a play by Christopher Marlowe, written in 1589 or 1590. The plot primarily revolves around a Maltese Jewish merchant named Barabas. The original story comb ...
'', Julia in ''Love's Sacrifice'', and Assistant to Lady Politic Would-Be in ''
Volpone ''Volpone'' (, Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-perfor ...
''. Walker's ''The Etienne Sisters'', which included songs composed by Atim, opened two days before the end of her run in ''
Volpone ''Volpone'' (, Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-perfor ...
''.


Leading roles

Atim's first major stage role was the non-speaking part of The Woman in '' Les Blancs'' at the National Theatre in 2016. ''The Stage'' said of her performance that "at the centre of the narrative is its most potent character: a gaunt, stooped and silent woman." ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described a "spine-tingling production" and suggested that Atim's character may be an emblem of Africa. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' later referred to her performance as "mesmerising". Atim received acclaim for her 2016 performances 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 ...
's all-female Shakespeare Trilogy set in a women's prison, when she played Ferdinand in '' The Tempest'', Gadshill and Lady Percy in ''Henry IV'', and Lucius in ''
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
''. ''The Guardian'' said Atim was "a glorious, giddy Ferdinand and a moving Lady Percy – ndfrequently seems to be physically stabbing the text as much as speaking it" and ''The Independent'' wrote "Sheila Atim (Ferdinand) and Leah Harvey (Miranda) are adorably funny and charming as they capture the giddy gaucheries of first love." Atim won a 2018
Clarence Derwent Award The Clarence Derwent Awards are theatre awards given annually by the Actors' Equity Association on Broadway in the United States and by Equity, the performers' union, in the West End in the United Kingdom. Clarence Derwent (23 March 1884 – 6 Aug ...
, presented to best supporting actors in London productions, for her roles in ''The Tempest'' and ''Les Blancs''. Her leading role in ''Babette'' received a more mixed assessment, with ''The Times'' saying she was "the best thing about heproduction" while ''The Daily Telegraph'' review said "It's a pity ... that Babette, whose story this is, should remain, in Atim's somewhat remote performance, so distant a figure." She played Marianne Laine in the original run of the musical ''
Girl from the North Country "Girl from the North Country" (occasionally known as "Girl ''of'' the North Country") is a song written by Bob Dylan. It was recorded at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City in April 1963, and released the following month as the second tra ...
'' at
The Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...
in London from 26 July to 7 October 2017. Following the success of The Old Vic production, it transferred into London's West End at the
Noël Coward Theatre The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's ...
from 29 December for a limited 12-week run until 24 March 2018. The play is set during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and Atim's character Marianne Laine is a black woman, who was adopted by a white couple that run a struggling guesthouse. The character is pregnant and appears to have been forsaken by the father of her unborn child. The music for the show consists of songs by
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
and amongst the numbers that Atim performs are his "
Tight Connection to My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love) "Tight Connection to My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love)" is a song by Bob Dylan that was released on his 1985 album '' Empire Burlesque''. As a single, it was a Top 40 Hit in New Zealand and Belgium. An earlier version of the song, entitled ...
" and " Idiot Wind". ''The Guardian'' described Atim as "outstanding" in the role, with delivery of "Tight Connection to My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love)" being "direct, unaffected and perfectly poised" and her performance of " Idiot Wind" a "beautiful reading". ''The Times'' stated that "Atim, in a strong cast, is standout," in an article that was headlined "She sings Dylan better than Bob." For her ''Girl from the North Country'' role, she received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Play at the 18th
WhatsOnStage awards The WhatsOnStage Awards (WOS Awards), formerly known as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com. The awards recognise performers and productions of British theatre with an emphasis on London's West ...
and won the 2018 Laurence Olivier award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.Douglas Mayo
"Olivier Awards 2018 – The Winners"
'', 9 April 2018 (Retrieved: 15 June 2019) In 2018, she played Emilia opposite
Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a British actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Laurenc ...
's Iago in ''
Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...
'' at Shakespeare's Globe, where according to ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', "she unleashed a fury that blew the greatest actor of his generation off the stage." Atim presented her first play as an author, ''Anguis'', at the 2019
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 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 ...
. It features Cleopatra being interviewed by a scientist and singing, Atim also having composed the songs. ''The Times'' considered it to be an "intriguing look at female power ... that marks timas a playwright to watch", whereas ''The Scotsman'', while praising the songs and some performances, lamented that "the stories of the hugely privileged queen and the stressed-out modern black Londoner never quite come together as strongly as the situation promises."


Television, film, and music

Atim played Viola and Sebastian in a film version of Shakespeare's ''
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 ...
'', and won the Screen Nation 2019 Best Female Performance film award.Screen Nation Official Winners List 2019
www.screennation.org. Retrieved 16 July 2019. In 2018 she portrayed Limehouse Nell in
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
's ''
Harlots Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
''. Atim plays piano, violin, bass, and drums. She composed the score for the play ''Time Is Love'' at London's
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 ...
in 2019, the year that she was named one of the cast of the ''
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 ...
'' prequel series '' Bloodmoon''. The planned series was cancelled following the pilot episode. She appeared as an alleged witch in the 2020 BBC adaptation of
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
's ''
The Pale Horse ''The Pale Horse'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1961,Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of ...
'' and in 2021 she appeared in the television series '' The Underground Railroad'' and ''
The Irregulars ''The Irregulars'' is a British mystery adventure crime drama streaming television series created by Tom Bidwell for Netflix. Based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it features the Baker Street Irregulars working for Dr. Watson saving L ...
'' and the film '' Bruised''. In June 2019, Atim was named an
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...
for her services to drama. She is also on the Board of Trustees of The Old Vic Theatre Trust.


Credits


Theatre


Television


Film


Radio


Awards and nominations


Notes


References


External links

*
Sheila Atim
at Sue Terry Voices
Sheila Atim performs Bob Dylan's 'Tight Connection to My Heart'
on YouTube (The Old Vic)
Vogue Meets: Sheila Atim
on YouTube (British Vogue) {{DEFAULTSORT:Atim, Sheila Living people 1991 births 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English actresses Alumni of King's College London Black British actresses British musical theatre actresses Clarence Derwent Award winners Critics' Circle Theatre Award winners English stage actresses English women dramatists and playwrights Laurence Olivier Award winners Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Rainham, London