Laura Rees
Encyclopedia
Laura Rees is a British actress from Northampton
.
In 2003, she played the role of Gina the record executive in Richard Curtis
' blockbuster
romantic comedy
Love Actually
(2003). Other film work includes the short The Dentist, directed by Stephen Frears
and Pierre Tatarka.
She has also appeared on television in Holby City
, Where the Heart Is
, Murder in Mind, and as Morgana in Young Arthur
.
In 2004 she starred in the Doctor Who
audio series Dalek Empire III
.
Her stage credits include Lavinia in Titus Andronicus
and Luciana in The Comedy of Errors
at Shakespeare's Globe
. In 2004, she played Ophelia
in Hamlet
, directed by Yukio Ninagawa
. In 2003, she appeared in Brand
for the Royal Shakespeare Company
, directed by Adrian Noble
.
Her radio credits include the lead role in a two-part adaptation of Ruth
, by Elizabeth Gaskell
, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4
in August 2009. Other BBC radio appearances include adaptations of Josephine Tey
's The Franchise Affair
(2005), Sei Shōnagon
's The Pillow Book
(2008 and 2010), Paul Gallico
's The Lonely (2010), Euripides
' Helen
(2011), and Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Money
(2011).
Rees trained at the Academy Drama School and at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
, where she was the recipient of the Prudence Emilyn-Jones prize in Movement, Dance and Ballet.
She was scheduled to return to the RSC to play Juliet in Romeo and Juliet in 2008. However, she withdrew from the production in October due to labyrinthitis
and vestibular neuritis.
Laura is currently an active member of the London based artistic collective The Factory Theatre Company
appearing in their performances of Round One and The Seagull Experiment all around London. Other Factory members include Alex Hassell
, Catherine Bailey
, Jemima Rooper
, Alan Morrissey
and John Hopkins
.
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
.
In 2003, she played the role of Gina the record executive in Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
' blockbuster
Blockbuster (entertainment)
Blockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry...
romantic comedy
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
Love Actually
Love Actually
Love Actually is a 2003 British romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through ten separate stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are shown to be interlinked as their tales progress...
(2003). Other film work includes the short The Dentist, directed by Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frears is an English film director.-Early life:Frears was born in Leicester, England to Ruth M., a social worker, and Dr Russell E. Frears, a general practitioner and accountant. He did not find out that his mother was Jewish until he was in his late 20s...
and Pierre Tatarka.
She has also appeared on television in Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
, Where the Heart Is
Where the Heart Is (1997 TV series)
Where the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...
, Murder in Mind, and as Morgana in Young Arthur
Young Arthur
Young Arthur was a 2002 NBC tv drama on the childhood of King Arthur, directed by Mikael Salomon and written by Remi Aubuchon and Graham Yost. Filming occurred in Prague.-Cast:*Julian Morris - Arthur*James Fleet - Merlin...
.
In 2004 she starred 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...
audio series Dalek Empire III
The Exterminators
The Exterminators may mean:* The Exterminators , a Doctor Who audio drama* The Exterminators , a Vertigo comic book series* Billy the Exterminator, a reality series previously known as The Exterminators...
.
Her stage credits include Lavinia in Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
and Luciana in The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. The Comedy of Errors is one of only two of Shakespeare's...
at Shakespeare's Globe
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
. In 2004, she played Ophelia
Ophelia
Ophelia is a fictional character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet.-Plot:...
in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, directed by Yukio Ninagawa
Yukio Ninagawa
is a Japanese theatre director, particularly known for his Japanese language productions of Shakespeare plays and Greek tragedies. He has directed Hamlet differently six times....
. In 2003, she appeared in Brand
Brand (play)
Brand is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is a verse tragedy, written in 1865 and first performed in Stockholm on 24 March 1867. Brand was an intellectual play that provoked much original thought....
for the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, directed by Adrian Noble
Adrian Noble
Adrian Keith Noble is a theatre director, and was also the artistic director and chief executive of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1990 to 2003.-Education and career:...
.
Her radio credits include the lead role in a two-part adaptation of Ruth
Ruth (novel)
Ruth is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in three volumes in 1853.-The plot:Ruth is a young orphan girl working in a respectable sweatshop for the overworked Mrs Mason. She is selected to go to a ball to repair torn dresses. At the ball she meets the aristocratic Henry Bellingham, a...
, by Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
, first broadcast 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...
in August 2009. Other BBC radio appearances include adaptations of Josephine Tey
Josephine Tey
Josephine Tey was a pseudonym used by Elizabeth Mackintosh a Scottish author best known for her mystery novels. She also wrote as Gordon Daviot, under which name she wrote plays with an historical theme....
's The Franchise Affair
The Franchise Affair
The Franchise Affair is a 1948 mystery novel by Josephine Tey, in which a small-town lawyer is called on to defend two women accused of kidnapping and mistreating a girl named Betty Kane....
(2005), Sei Shōnagon
Sei Shonagon
Sei Shōnagon , was a Japanese author and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Pillow Book .-Name:...
's The Pillow Book
The Pillow Book
is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 11th century in Heian Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002....
(2008 and 2010), Paul Gallico
Paul Gallico
Paul William Gallico was a successful American novelist, short story and sports writer. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictures...
's The Lonely (2010), Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
' Helen
Helen (play)
Helen is a drama by Euripides, probably first produced in 412 BC for the Dionysia. The play shares much in common with another of Euripides' works, Iphigenia in Tauris.-Background:...
(2011), and Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Money
Money (play)
Money is a comic play by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. It premiered at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on 8 December 1840.-Production history:The play was revived at the Royal National Theatre in 1999, directed by John Caird and with a cast including Jasper Britton, Roger Allam, Simon Russell Beale, Sophie...
(2011).
Rees trained at the Academy Drama School and at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is a conservatoire within the University of Glamorgan Group located in Cardiff, Wales....
, where she was the recipient of the Prudence Emilyn-Jones prize in Movement, Dance and Ballet.
She was scheduled to return to the RSC to play Juliet in Romeo and Juliet in 2008. However, she withdrew from the production in October due to labyrinthitis
Labyrinthitis
Labyrinthitis is an inflammation of the inner ear, and a form of unilateral vestibular dysfunction. It derives its name from the labyrinths that house the vestibular system . Labyrinthitis can cause balance disorders....
and vestibular neuritis.
Laura is currently an active member of the London based artistic collective The Factory Theatre Company
The Factory Theatre Company
The Factory Theatre Company was created by Tim Evans and Alex Hassell in 2006.The Factory's cult-hit production of Hamlet, directed by Tim Carroll, initially played around London in secret locations, where the audience was informed where and when to turn up only a few days before the performances,...
appearing in their performances of Round One and The Seagull Experiment all around London. Other Factory members include Alex Hassell
Alex Hassell
Alex Hassell is a British actor born September 17, 1980 in Southend. He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama after completing GCSE and A-Level courses at Moulsham High School, in Chelmsford, Essex...
, Catherine Bailey
Catherine Bailey
-Acting career:Catherine Bailey started acting at the age of 12 when she landed the lead role of Helen Green in Uncle Jack, a BBC television series starring Paul Jones and Fenella Fielding...
, Jemima Rooper
Jemima Rooper
Jemima Rooper is an English actress.- Background :Born in Hammersmith, London, Rooper is the daughter of TV journalist Alison Rooper. She attended Redcliffe Primary School in Chelsea, London and Godolphin and Latymer girls' school. While working on The Famous Five, she passed eight GCSEs with A*...
, Alan Morrissey
Alan Morrissey
Alan Morrissey is a British actor who was born in the Golden Buck pub in Stockport, where his parents were the licensees, he grew up in Manchester. Alan trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. In 2002 and again in 2003 Dame Maggie Smith and The Fenton Arts Trust awarded him the bursary for...
and John Hopkins
John Hopkins
- People :* John Hopkins , British film and television writer* John Hopkins , American film and television writer* John Hopkins , British actor* John Hopkins , British academic...
.
Radio
| Date | Title | Role | Director | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Franchise Affair The Franchise Affair The Franchise Affair is a 1948 mystery novel by Josephine Tey, in which a small-town lawyer is called on to defend two women accused of kidnapping and mistreating a girl named Betty Kane.... |
Gladys Rees | Ellen Dryden | 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... Saturday Play Saturday Play The Saturday Play is a regular feature on BBC Radio 4 and is described as "Thrillers, mysteries, love stories and detective fiction, as well as an occasional special series."The Saturday Play is part of the BBC's series... |
|
| – | The Pillow Book | Empress | Lu Kemp Lu Kemp She directed How to Tell The Truth by Chris Dunkley for the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough in 2003, and Almost Blue for the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith in 2005 which won The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award 2005. Previously she worked with TAG Theatre Company, Glasgow on a... |
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... Woman's Hour Drama Woman's Hour Drama The Woman's Hour Drama is a BBC Radio 4 Arts and Drama production. It consists of 15 minute episodes, broadcast every weekday 10.45-11.00am , repeated 7.45-8.00pm. These tend to be plays which extend over a week, or multiple of 5 episodes... |
| – | Ruth Ruth (novel) Ruth is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in three volumes in 1853.-The plot:Ruth is a young orphan girl working in a respectable sweatshop for the overworked Mrs Mason. She is selected to go to a ball to repair torn dresses. At the ball she meets the aristocratic Henry Bellingham, a... |
Ruth | Ellen Dryden | 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... Classic Serial Classic Serial The Classic Serial is a strand on BBC Radio 4 in which classics of English literature are adapted into series of one-hour dramas. It is broadcast twice weekly on BBC Radio 4, first from 3:00-4:00pm on Sunday, then repeated on 9:00-10:00pm the next Saturday.... |
| The Lonely | Patches | Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams (drama) Kirsty Williams is a radio drama director and producer for BBC Radio Drama at Pacific Quay, Glasgow.Her play Daniel and Mary received a Bronze Sony Radio Academy Award for Best Drama in 2010.-Radio Plays:Notes:-References:... |
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... Afternoon Play Afternoon Play The Afternoon Play is a long-running drama programming strand, broadcast every weekday at 2.15pm on BBC Radio 4. Each play lasts for 45 minutes, and roughly 190 new Afternoon Plays are broadcast each year.... |
|
| – | The Pillow Book (series 3) | Empress | Lu Kemp Lu Kemp She directed How to Tell The Truth by Chris Dunkley for the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough in 2003, and Almost Blue for the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith in 2005 which won The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award 2005. Previously she worked with TAG Theatre Company, Glasgow on a... |
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... Woman's Hour Drama Woman's Hour Drama The Woman's Hour Drama is a BBC Radio 4 Arts and Drama production. It consists of 15 minute episodes, broadcast every weekday 10.45-11.00am , repeated 7.45-8.00pm. These tend to be plays which extend over a week, or multiple of 5 episodes... |
| Helen Helen (play) Helen is a drama by Euripides, probably first produced in 412 BC for the Dionysia. The play shares much in common with another of Euripides' works, Iphigenia in Tauris.-Background:... |
Slave / Chorus | Ellen Dryden | BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation... Drama on 3 |
|
| Money Money (play) Money is a comic play by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. It premiered at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on 8 December 1840.-Production history:The play was revived at the Royal National Theatre in 1999, directed by John Caird and with a cast including Jasper Britton, Roger Allam, Simon Russell Beale, Sophie... |
Clara Douglas | Samuel West Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West is an English actor and theatre director. He is perhaps best known for his role in Howards End and his work on stage. He also starred in the award-winning play ENRON... |
BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation... Drama on 3 |