Cush Jumbo
Encyclopedia
Cush Jumbo is an English
actress, known for playing Lois Habiba in the third series of British science fiction
drama
Torchwood
, Children of Earth.
Jumbo was born on the 23rd of September 1985 in Kings College Hospital, Lambeth, London to parents Angela and Marx Jumbo. Her mother is British and her Father Nigerian. The second of six children she grew up in the boroughs of Lewisham and Southwark. Jumbo began dance classes at the age of three learning Tap, Ballet and Modern and went on to learn Street Dance, Contemporary and Ballroom and Latin in later years. Between the ages of 11 and 15 she trained at the Francis Cooper School of Dance whilst attending Cator Park School for Girls but at 14 she left Cator Park to pursue straight Acting more seriously at The Brit School for Performing Arts in Croydon. Jumbo graduated with a first from the BA (Hons) Acting course at Central School of Speech and Drama before starting her professional career.
, Liquid Gold at the Almeida
and Love's Labour's Lost
at Shakespeare's Globe
. She has also appeared in productions of The Cherry Orchard
, The Crucible
, The Caucasian Chalk Circle
, Richard III
and As You Like It
. Pygmalion at the Royal Exchange Theatre for which she received MEN and Ian Charleson award nominations and as Rosalind in William Shakespeare's
As You Like It at the Royal Exchange Theatre
in Manchester
. Clare Brennan in the Guardian raved about Cush's performance in this and Pygmalion last year saying "If these performances truly reflect her talent, Jumbo looks set to become one of the best actresses of her generation". Jumbo will play Constance Neville in She Stoops to Conquer at The National Theatre in 2012.
Jumbo co-wrote the musical Rebels and Retail, a shortlisted entrant in the Perfect Pitch West End
Showcase 2008. She is also the author of 'Jai Deux Amour' The Josephine Baker Story, a one woman show which she performed at the Etcetera Theatre Camden. The show is currently being developed for transfer and as a screenplay by a London producing house.
Jumbo is the co-author of 101 Dance Ideas for 5-11 yr olds which is published by A&C Black and old worldwide.
On television, Jumbo has appeared in My Family, Harley Street
, as receptionist
Hannah Fellows, and in all five episodes of Torchwood
: Children of Earth, as Lois Habiba, and as Becky on BBC3's drama series Lip Service
. As well as Casualty and Getting On in which she was directed by fellow Torchwood actor Peter Capaldi.
Jumbo is currently filming Vera Series 2 for ITV1 with Brenda Blethyn and David Leon.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress, known for playing Lois Habiba in the third series of British science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
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...
Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
, Children of Earth.
Jumbo was born on the 23rd of September 1985 in Kings College Hospital, Lambeth, London to parents Angela and Marx Jumbo. Her mother is British and her Father Nigerian. The second of six children she grew up in the boroughs of Lewisham and Southwark. Jumbo began dance classes at the age of three learning Tap, Ballet and Modern and went on to learn Street Dance, Contemporary and Ballroom and Latin in later years. Between the ages of 11 and 15 she trained at the Francis Cooper School of Dance whilst attending Cator Park School for Girls but at 14 she left Cator Park to pursue straight Acting more seriously at The Brit School for Performing Arts in Croydon. Jumbo graduated with a first from the BA (Hons) Acting course at Central School of Speech and Drama before starting her professional career.
Career
Jumbo's theatre credits include Brixton Stories at The Lyric, HammersmithLyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
, Liquid Gold at the Almeida
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of...
and Love's Labour's Lost
Love's Labour's Lost
Love's Labour's Lost is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s, and first published in 1598.-Title:...
at Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, located on the south bank of the River Thames, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt 1614 then demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction is an academic best guess, based...
. She has also appeared in productions of The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
, The Crucible
The Crucible
The Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
, The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a better mother than its natural parents....
, Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
and As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
. Pygmalion at the Royal Exchange Theatre for which she received MEN and Ian Charleson award nominations and as Rosalind in William Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
As You Like It at the Royal Exchange Theatre
Royal Exchange, Manchester
The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed Victorian 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...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Clare Brennan in the Guardian raved about Cush's performance in this and Pygmalion last year saying "If these performances truly reflect her talent, Jumbo looks set to become one of the best actresses of her generation". Jumbo will play Constance Neville in She Stoops to Conquer at The National Theatre in 2012.
Jumbo co-wrote the musical Rebels and Retail, a shortlisted entrant in the Perfect Pitch West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
Showcase 2008. She is also the author of 'Jai Deux Amour' The Josephine Baker Story, a one woman show which she performed at the Etcetera Theatre Camden. The show is currently being developed for transfer and as a screenplay by a London producing house.
Jumbo is the co-author of 101 Dance Ideas for 5-11 yr olds which is published by A&C Black and old worldwide.
On television, Jumbo has appeared in My Family, Harley Street
Harley Street (TV series)
Harley Street is a British television medical drama shown on ITV in 2008.The series was made by Carnival Films and was set in Harley Street, London...
, as receptionist
Receptionist
A receptionist is an employee taking an office/administrative support position. The work is usually performed in a waiting area such as a lobby or front office desk of an organization or business...
Hannah Fellows, and in all five episodes of Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
: Children of Earth, as Lois Habiba, and as Becky on BBC3's drama series Lip Service
Lip Service (TV series)
Lip Service was a programme broadcast in the UK on ITV2.Holly Willoughby, of ITV's Dancing on Ice, and Spencer Brown take a look at the best, weirdest and funniest bits from celebrity chat shows around the world....
. As well as Casualty and Getting On in which she was directed by fellow Torchwood actor Peter Capaldi.
Jumbo is currently filming Vera Series 2 for ITV1 with Brenda Blethyn and David Leon.
Filmography
| Year(s) | Title | Role | More information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | My Family | Girlfriend | One episode: Dutch Art and Dutch Courage |
| 2008 | Harley Street Harley Street (TV series) Harley Street is a British television medical drama shown on ITV in 2008.The series was made by Carnival Films and was set in Harley Street, London... |
Hannah Fellows | Six episodes |
| 2009 | Torchwood Torchwood Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from... |
Lois Habiba | Series three: Children of Earth |
| Casualty Casualty (TV series) Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The... |
Zara Finchley | One episode: Every Breath You Take | |
| 2010 | Lip Service Lip Service (TV series) Lip Service was a programme broadcast in the UK on ITV2.Holly Willoughby, of ITV's Dancing on Ice, and Spencer Brown take a look at the best, weirdest and funniest bits from celebrity chat shows around the world.... |
Becky | Six episodes |
| 2010 | Getting On | Damaris | Episode #2.5 |
| 2011 | The Inbetweeners Movie | Jaime | Feature film |