Maimuna Memon makes West End & UK Theatre history as first person of South Asian heritage to win Best Supporting Actress since the Olivier Awards' conception in 1976
The Lancashire-born actress played 'Sonya Rostova' in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 at the Donmar Warehouse, to wide critical acclaim.
by Hamza Jahanzeb | 14 April 2025
To have been in the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 6th April 2025 when Maimuna Memon - who hails from Preston - was announced the winner of Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, I was utterly overjoyed. It was truly a remarkable achievement for the UK South Asian diaspora - especially those of Pakistani heritage. It filled me with sheer hope, to see British Desi talents rightfully recognised on the global stage, as well as amongst our West End and Regional theatre industry peers.
In the history of the Laurence Olivier Awards - established in 1976 by the Society of London Theatre - it was only last weekend that a person of South Asian heritage won the Best Actress award. The award only came into creation in 2015 to replace the singular award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical, which existed from 1991 to 2014. Moreover, what is really important is that no Best Actress award (including in both Best Actress categories) had until that moment been won by a person of South Asian heritage since the conception of the awards nearly fifty years prior. This momentous occasion ought to be celebrated, especially given the fact that the 2021 Census shows that there are over 5 million people of South Asian heritage living in the UK. Preeya Kalidas, whose turn as ‘Pinky’ in Howard Goodall and Gurinder Chadha’s Bend It Like Beckham: The Musical was nominated in 2015, but it took a whole decade since that momentous moment in a nomination for someone of South Asian heritage to actually be recognised by the SOLT and win.
To hear Memon state to her fellow cast (in Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812) that they’re ‘all bloody amazing’ in a Lancashire accent was a brilliant moment to celebrate the talent that often is coming from outside of the capital. It was a really touching speech, whereby her family too were thanked for ‘putting up with her singing since birth'. Oozing charm, grace and and class Memon went on to also dedicate the award to those - who like her - chose to work in a ‘volatile’ profession that has its ‘ups and downs’ referring to those who have artists ‘don't have the opportunity’.
During this year’s award Olivier Awards ceremony, Maimuna wore a beautifully designed mint green lehenga (by Falguni Shane Peacock India), whilst accepting her well-deserved accolade; to hear someone with a northern accent on the Royal Albert Hall stage made me very emotional, and proud in equal measures given the industry’s oversight of British South Asian talents.
