Alexis Zegerman


Alexis Zegerman is a British actress and writer.

Early life and training

Zegerman grew up in a Jewish family in London, and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Acting career

Film and TV

Zegerman is probably most famous as Zoe, Poppy's best friend and roommate, in Oscar-nominated Mike Leigh's comedy-drama film Happy-Go-Lucky, for which she won a British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and a London Film Critics award nomination. This was her second collaboration with Leigh. She played the part of Daliah Sofer in Storm which premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival in 2009, and Gemma in ITV drama U Be Dead. She also appeared in the films Albatross, The Wedding Video, and Disobedience.

Theatre

In 2005 Zegerman appeared in the original cast of Mike Leigh's play Two Thousand Years, at the Royal National Theatre in London. In 2009, she also appeared in Seven Jewish Children, a play by Caryl Churchill at the Royal Court Theatre. She played Cissie in the revival of Arnold Wesker's Chicken Soup with Barley from June 2011 at the Royal Court Theatre. She most recently appeared in Travelling Light at the Royal National Theatre, directed by artistic director Nicholas Hytner.

Writing career

Plays

Zegerman began writing on the Royal Court Young Writers’ Programme. She has written plays for BBC Radio 4 including Ronnie Gecko, Are You Sure?, The Singing Butler, Jump, and the comedy series School Runs. She also wrote the play Déjà Vu, a co-production between the BBC and Arte in France, which was simultaneously broadcast in both countries in February 2009.
Zegerman became Pearson Writer-in-Residence at Hampstead Theatre in 2007, where her play Lucky Seven premiered in November 2008. It has since received further productions in the UK and abroad. Short plays include I Ran the World for the Royal Court, and Noise at Soho Theatre. Her play Killing Brando opened at the Young Vic as part of Paines Plough's Wild Lunch in 2004, and was later produced at Òran Mór in Glasgow for their ‘A Play, a Pie and a Pint’ season. She has been named a finalist for the prestigious 2011–2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

Screenwriting

Zegerman wrote the screenplay for The Honeymoon Suite.