Debbie Chazen
Encyclopedia
Debbie Chazen is an English
actress. She is most famous for playing the roles of Annie in the BBC
comedy The Smoking Room
, Big Claire in Mine All Mine
and various roles in the BBC sketch show Tittybangbang
.
film Topsy Turvy, Gimme Gimme Gimme, the final episode of Mile High
, EastEnders
and Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married
, as well as playing the role of Fred's maid in the 1999 version of A Christmas Carol
and of Fanny Squeers in the 2001 version of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
.
Her theatre work includes Mother Clap's Molly House
at the National Theatre
, London, by controversial writer Mark Ravenhill
, the role of the Good Fairy in the Barbican Theatre's first ever pantomime, Dick Whittington and His Cat
, in 2006 and Dunyasha in Jonathan Miller
's version of Chekhov
's The Cherry Orchard
in Sheffield (March 2007). In 2006 she also played the role of Maribel in a new play called Crooked at the Bush Theatre
, for which she received much acclaim. An article in the International Herald Tribune
newspaper compared the quality of her performance to the likes of Judi Dench
and Maggie Smith
. Another role that she played to great acclaim was that of Tessa in The Girlfriend Experience, which she performed three times, twice at the Royal Court Theatre and then again when the production was re-staged at The Young Vic.
Chazen appeared in two episodes of Midsomer Murders
, and in the Doctor Who
2007 Christmas Special Voyage Of The Damned
. In November and December 2008 she played Milton's sister Susan in Another Case of Milton Jones
on BBC Radio 4
.
She starred as Ruth in the stage show Calendar Girls
, running from November 2009 - January 2010 at the Noel Coward
theatre in Leicester Square
, during which time she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to withdraw half way through the run in order to start treatment. Luckily, she made a full recovery and returned to Calendar Girls in the same role for a national tour at the end of 2010.
She had a running story line in Doctors in 2010 as Sissy Juggins, who along with her brother Ivor Juggins kidnapped Dr. Jimmi Clay
, and was nominated for a Soap Award. She has also appeared in one episode of Eastenders as Minty's blind date and two episodes of Coronation Street as Miriam, a social worker sent to interview the characters Becky and Steve.
and tarot-card reader, in North West London.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress. She is most famous for playing the roles of Annie in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
comedy The Smoking Room
The Smoking Room
The Smoking Room is a British television sitcom written by Brian Dooley, who won a BAFTA for the series in 2005. The first series, consisting of eight episodes, was originally transmitted on BBC Three between 29 June and 17 August 2004. The Christmas Special was first transmitted on the same...
, Big Claire in Mine All Mine
Mine All Mine
Mine All Mine is a British television series produced by Red Production Company for ITV. It was written by Russell T Davies and starred Griff Rhys Jones...
and various roles in the BBC sketch show Tittybangbang
Tittybangbang
Tittybangbang is a female-led television sketch comedy, performed by Lucy Montgomery and Debbie Chazen, which ran between 2005 and 2007 on BBC Three. The show was largely written by Bob Mortimer and Jill Parker and produced by their company Pett Productions.-History:Bob Mortimer and Lisa Clark...
.
Career
Chazen trained at LAMDA and has since appeared in the 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...
film Topsy Turvy, Gimme Gimme Gimme, the final episode of Mile High
Mile High
Mile High is a British television drama based on the lives of the cabin crew members of "fresh!", a budget airline based in London. The name of the show comes from the "Mile High Club". The show was broadcast on Sky1 from 2003 to 2005.-Background:...
, EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
and Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married
Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married
Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married is an international best selling 1996 novel by Irish author, Marian Keyes. It chronicles the life of Lucy Sullivan, a 26-year-old perpetually broke, unlucky-in-love office worker from London, who has a penchant for bad boys, a needy, alcoholic and flawed father, a...
, as well as playing the role of Fred's maid in the 1999 version of A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol (1999 film)
A Christmas Carol is a 1999 television film adaptation of Charles Dickens's famous novel A Christmas Carol. It was directed by David Hugh Jones and stars Patrick Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge and Richard E. Grant as Bob Cratchit...
and of Fanny Squeers in the 2001 version of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (2001 film)
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is a British movie released for TV in 2001, directed by Stephen Whittaker, based on the novel by Charles Dickens.-Cast:-Awards:...
.
Her theatre work includes Mother Clap's Molly House
Mother Clap's Molly House
Mother Clap's Molly House is a play by Mark Ravenhill with music by Matthew Scott. It is based on an essay in the book of the same name by Rictor Norton.The play is a black comedy and explores the diversity of human sexuality...
at the National Theatre
Royal 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...
, London, by controversial writer Mark Ravenhill
Mark Ravenhill
Mark Ravenhill is an English playwright, actor and journalist.His most famous plays include Shopping and Fucking , Some Explicit Polaroids and Mother Clap's Molly House . He made his acting debut in his monologue Product, at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe...
, the role of the Good Fairy in the Barbican Theatre's first ever pantomime, Dick Whittington and His Cat
Dick Whittington and His Cat
Dick Whittington and His Cat is an English folk tale that has often been used as the basis for stage pantomimes and other adaptations. It tells of a poor boy in the 14th century who becomes a wealthy merchant and eventually the Lord Mayor of London because of the ratting abilities of his cat...
, in 2006 and Dunyasha in Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
's version of Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's 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...
in Sheffield (March 2007). In 2006 she also played the role of Maribel in a new play called Crooked at the Bush Theatre
Bush Theatre
The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
, for which she received much acclaim. An article in the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
newspaper compared the quality of her performance to the likes of Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
and Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
. Another role that she played to great acclaim was that of Tessa in The Girlfriend Experience, which she performed three times, twice at the Royal Court Theatre and then again when the production was re-staged at The Young Vic.
Chazen appeared in two episodes of Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
, and in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
2007 Christmas Special Voyage Of The Damned
Voyage of the Damned (Doctor Who)
"Voyage of the Damned" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. First broadcast on 25 December 2007, it is 72 minutes long and the third Christmas special since the show's revival in 2005...
. In November and December 2008 she played Milton's sister Susan in Another Case of Milton Jones
Another Case of Milton Jones
Another Case of Milton Jones is the third distinct comedy programme starring Milton Jones to be broadcast by BBC Radio 4 . The programme is in its fifth series, which started on Radio 4 on Thursday 21 July 2011. The four previous series were broadcast in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010...
on BBC Radio 4
BBC 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...
.
She starred as Ruth in the stage show Calendar Girls
Calendar Girls
Calendar Girls is a 2003 comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Buena Vista International and Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi based on a true story of a group of Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia...
, running from November 2009 - January 2010 at the Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
theatre in Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
, during which time she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to withdraw half way through the run in order to start treatment. Luckily, she made a full recovery and returned to Calendar Girls in the same role for a national tour at the end of 2010.
She had a running story line in Doctors in 2010 as Sissy Juggins, who along with her brother Ivor Juggins kidnapped Dr. Jimmi Clay
Dr. Jimmi Clay
Dr. Jimmi Clay is a fictional character in the soap opera Doctors. He is played by Adrian Lewis Morgan and made his first appearance on 5 September 2005.-Character:...
, and was nominated for a Soap Award. She has also appeared in one episode of Eastenders as Minty's blind date and two episodes of Coronation Street as Miriam, a social worker sent to interview the characters Becky and Steve.
Personal life
Chazen is Jewish, and lives with her partner, Michael Korel, who is a well-known psychicPsychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
and tarot-card reader, in North West London.