Zawe Ashton
Encyclopedia
Zawe Ashton is an English actress and playwright
, known for portraying Imani in Gone Too Far!
and Bianca in St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold.
and National Youth Theatre
, and is a graduate of the Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre.
, EastEnders
, The Bill
, NCS: Manhunt
, Casualty
and The Crust. Her theatre credits include Rhinoceros
, The Arsonists, Gone Too Far!
(Royal Court
), Othello
(Globe Theatre
), and The Cage (Nuffield Theatre Company, Southampton).
In 2009, she played Elizabeth Falls the film Blitz
and appeared in St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold
.
In May 2010, Ashton was named one of the 55 faces of the future by Nylon Magazine's Young Hollywood Issue.
In 2011, Ashton starred in the Channel 4
comedy Fresh Meat playing the part of Vod.
in Manchester
. Her first play, Harm's Way, was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award in 2007, and premiered at The Lowry
in 2008 as part of National Youth Theatre’s new writing season. She is currently under commission to the Bush Theatre
and the Clean Break theatre company.
Ashton was named as one of Screen International
's Stars of Tomorrow 2009.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, known for portraying Imani in Gone Too Far!
Gone Too Far!
Gone Too Far! is a 2007 play written by British playwright Bola Agbaje. Drawing on Agbaje's ethnic Nigerian background and London upbringing, the play focuses on one day in the lives of several young black people who live in a London council estate...
and Bianca in St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold.
Background
Ashton attended the Anna Scher Theatre SchoolAnna Scher Theatre
The Anna Scher Theatre is a community-based theatre school based in Islington, North London. The school turns out some of London's best child and adult actors.-Anna Scher:...
and National Youth Theatre
National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre is a registered charity in London, Great Britain, committed to creative, personal and social development of young people through the medium of creative arts....
, and is a graduate of the Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre.
Acting
Ashton started acting at the age of six. Her television work includes Holby CityHolby 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...
, 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...
, The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
, NCS: Manhunt
NCS: Manhunt
NCS: Manhunt is a British crime drama television series starring David Suchet, and based on the National Crime Squad. Created by Malcolm McKay, the first series premiered with two episodes on BBC One on 26—27 March 2001...
, 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...
and The Crust. Her theatre credits include Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros (play)
Rhinoceros is a play by Eugène Ionesco, written in 1959. The play belongs to the school of drama known as the Theatre of the Absurd...
, The Arsonists, Gone Too Far!
Gone Too Far!
Gone Too Far! is a 2007 play written by British playwright Bola Agbaje. Drawing on Agbaje's ethnic Nigerian background and London upbringing, the play focuses on one day in the lives of several young black people who live in a London council estate...
(Royal Court
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...
), Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
(Globe Theatre
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...
), and The Cage (Nuffield Theatre Company, Southampton).
In 2009, she played Elizabeth Falls the film Blitz
Blitz (film)
Blitz is a 2011 crime film directed by Elliott Lester and starring Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, Aidan Gillen and David Morrissey. It is based on the novel of the same name by Ken Bruen, which features his recurring characters Detective Sergeant Tom Brant and Chief Inspector James...
and appeared in St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold
St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold
St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold is a 2009 comedy film directed by Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson, both of whom directed the previous film in the series...
.
In May 2010, Ashton was named one of the 55 faces of the future by Nylon Magazine's Young Hollywood Issue.
In 2011, Ashton starred in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
comedy Fresh Meat playing the part of Vod.
Writing
Ashton began entering poetry slams at the age of seventeen, and won the London Poetry Slam Championship in 2000. In 2006 she was Young Writer in Residence at the Contact TheatreContact Theatre
-Contact:Contact is a multi-disciplinary arts venue in Manchester. Originally a traditional theatre Contact was rebranded in 1999 as a space specialising in producing work and providing opportunities for young people.-History:...
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...
. Her first play, Harm's Way, was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award in 2007, and premiered at The Lowry
The Lowry
The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex situated on Pier 8 at Salford Quays, in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early-20th century painter, L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England...
in 2008 as part of National Youth Theatre’s new writing season. She is currently under commission to 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...
and the Clean Break theatre company.
Ashton was named as one of Screen International
Screen International
Screen International is a multimedia film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by EMAP, a British b2b media company.The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global movie business...
's Stars of Tomorrow 2009.
Television
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Game On | Little Girl - Bad Timing (1995) |
Sitcom |
| 2003 | 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... |
Abigail Meredith - Crossing the Line (2003) |
Medical drama Medical drama A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the... |
| 2007 | Mobile Mobile (TV series) Mobile is a 3-part British television drama series with an interweaving plot based around a fictional mobile phone operator and the adverse-effect of mobile phone radiation to health. The series was screened by ITV in the UK, during March 2007. The cast includes Jamie Draven, Neil Fitzmaurice,... |
Eyewitness | Television serial Serial (radio and television) Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from... |
| 2008 | The Bill The Bill The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work... |
Becka Adams - Gun Runner: Under Cover (2008) |
Police procedural Police procedural The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several... |
| 2009 | 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... |
Gina - True Lies (2009) |
Medical drama Medical drama A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the... |
| 2009 | Sherlock | Sally Donavan - Pilot (2009) |
Crime Drama |
| 2010 | Misfits Misfits (TV series) Misfits is a British science fiction comedy-drama television series about a group of young offenders forced to work in a community service programme, where they obtain supernatural powers after a strange electrical storm. The first series started broadcasting on 12 November 2009 on E4, and was... |
Jessica - Series 2 - Episode 5 (2010) |
Teen Drama Teen drama A teen drama is a dramatic television series with a major focus on teenage characters. The genre was relatively non-existent for the first 45 years of television; it came into prominence in the early 1990s... |
| 2011 | Case Histories | Deborah Arnold |
Crime Drama |
| 2011 | Fresh Meat | Vod |
Sitcom |
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold is a 2009 comedy film directed by Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson, both of whom directed the previous film in the series... |
Bianca | Feature Film (Released on 18 December 2009) |
| 2011 | Blitz Blitz (film) Blitz is a 2011 crime film directed by Elliott Lester and starring Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, Aidan Gillen and David Morrissey. It is based on the novel of the same name by Ken Bruen, which features his recurring characters Detective Sergeant Tom Brant and Chief Inspector James... |
WPC Elizabeth Falls | Feature Film (Released on 6 May 2011) |
| 2011 | Weekender Weekender The Weekender is a free weekly newspaper covering Torbay and South Devon, published by the Westcountry Publications. The paper is published in two editions; the Torbay edition covers Torquay, Paignton, and Brixham, while the Newton & Teignbridge edition covers Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton. A... |
Sarah | Feature Film (Released 2011) |