Alexis Zegerman
Encyclopedia
Background and career
She grew up in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
.
Film and TV actress
She is probably most famous as Zoe, Poppy's best friend and roommate, in Oscar-nominated Mike LeighMike Leigh
Michael "Mike" Leigh, OBE is a British writer and director of film and theatre. He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and studied further at the Camberwell School of Art and the Central School of Art and Design. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid 1960s...
's comedy-drama film Happy-Go-Lucky
Happy-Go-Lucky
Happy-Go-Lucky is a 2008 British Comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh. The screenplay focuses on a cheerful and optimistic primary-school teacher and her relationships with those around her...
for which she won a British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and a London Film Critics' nomination. This was her second collaboration with Mike Leigh. She has also played the part of Daliah Sofer in Storm which premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival
59th Berlin International Film Festival
The 59th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 February to 15 February 2009. The opening film of this year's festival was Tom Tykwer’s The International, screened out of competition...
in 2009, and Gemma in ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
U Be Dead
U Be Dead
U Be Dead is a British TV movie first broadcast in New Zealand in 2009. The film is based on a true story. The film was shown in the United Kingdom on 5 September 2010 on ITV1, and released in France on 2 July 2010 on television Arte HD, and in Australia premiered as a telemovie on the ABC in...
Theatre actress
In 2005 She appeared in the original cast of Mike Leigh's play Two Thousand Years, which premiered at the Royal National TheatreRoyal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in London same year. In 2009, she also appeared in Seven Jewish Children
Seven Jewish Children
Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza is a controversial six-page, 10-minute play by British playwright Caryl Churchill, written in response to the 2008-2009 Israel military strike on Gaza, and first performed at London's Royal Court Theatre on 6 February 2009...
, a play by Caryl Churchill
Caryl Churchill
Caryl Churchill is an English dramatist known for her use of non-naturalistic techniques and feminist themes, the abuses of power, and sexual politics. She is acknowledged as a major playwright in the English language and a leading female writer...
at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
. She plays the part of Cissie in the revival of Arnold Wesker
Arnold Wesker
Sir Arnold Wesker is a prolific British dramatist known for his contributions to kitchen sink drama. He is the author of 42 plays, 4 volumes of short stories, 2 volumes of essays, a book on journalism, a children's book, extensive journalism, poetry and other assorted writings...
's Chicken Soup with Barley
Chicken Soup with Barley
Chicken Soup with Barley is a 1956 play by British playwright Arnold Wesker. It is the first of a trilogy and was first performed on stage in 1958 at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, where Wesker's two other plays of that trilogy—Roots and I'm Talking About Jerusalem—also premiered...
(June 2011 - ) at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
.
Playwriting
Zegerman has written plays for BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
including Ronnie Gecko, Are You Sure?, The Singing Butler, Jump, and the comedy series School Runs. She also wrote the play Déjà Vu, a co-production between the BBC and ARTE
Arte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
in France, which was simultaneously broadcast in both countries in February 2009. Her stage play Lucky Seven had its premiere at the Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
in London in November 2008.