Josie Lawrence

Josie trained at Dartington College of Arts where she received a Theatre degree (BA Hons). She was made Honorary Doctor of Arts at both Plymouth and Aston Universities and an Honorary Doctor of Letters at Wolverhampton University.

Theatre includes: Acorn Antiques The Musical (Theatre Royal Haymarket); Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre); Frozen (Birmingham Repertory Theatre/National Theatre); Alarms And Excursions (Gielgud); Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing ; Manchester Evening News Award for Best Actress (Manchester Royal Exchange); Kate in The Taming Of The Shrew ; Dame Peggy Ashcroft Award for Best Actress (RSC Stratford/London); Faust and The Cherry Orchard (RSC); Valued Friends (Hampstead); Painting Churches (Playhouse London); Elizan in Pygmalion, Tatyana (Nottingham Playhouse); Moll in Moll Flanders (Lyric Hammersmith); Dick Whittington in Poppy (Half Moon); Picasso’s Women (National Theatre and Edinburgh Festival); Berlin Days Hollywood Nights and Accidental Death Of An Anarchist (Paines Plough); the title role in Carmen (Bolton Octogan); The Trial Of Frankenstein (Theatre Royal Plymouth); and Bert in The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist (Half Moon Theatre).

Josie also directed Linda Marlowe in Berkoff’s Women.

Television includes: Skins, The Old Curiosity Shop, Robin Hood, A Guide To Parenting, Down To Earth, Keen Eddie, Fat Friends, A Many Splintered Thing, Flint Street Nativity, Galton and Simpson’s S.W.A.L.K. and Lunch In The Park, Absolutely Fabulous, three series of the award-winning Outside Edge; Queen Of The Wild Frontier (The Comic Strip); Josie, I Love Keith Allen, Jackson Pace, a regular guest for nine years on Whose Line Is It Anyway; The Green Man, Not With A Bang, Norbert Smith, Hercule Poirot, Friday Night Live, QI, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Rachel And The Roarettes.

Films include: The American Way, Enchanted April and The Sin Eater.

Josie’s radio work includes: Vent by Nigel Smith; The Big Fun Show and The Masterson Inheritance with Paul Merton, Man Of Soup, Married, Pride And Prejudice, The Provoked Wife, No Commitments and The Lawrence Sweeney Mix with Jim Sweeney.

Since 1985 Josie has been a member of Britain’s most popular improvisation group The Comedy Store Players.