Lolita Chakrabarti is an English actress, writer and Presenter. Between 1993-1996 she presented the BBC children's series Numbertime.
Career
Acting
Chakrabarti graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1990. Her screen credits include Criminal Netflix, Riviera Season 2, Delicious, Defending the Guilty, All Is True, , The Casual Vacancy, Jekyll and Hyde, Intruders , Bodies, Vera, Outnumbered, Hustle, Born to Kill, Extras Christmas Special, William and Mary, Fortysomething, Holby City, Silent Witness, and as WPC Jamila Blake in the long running ITV drama The Bill. Her theatre credits include Fanny and Alexander for the Old Vic Gertrude in Hamlet starring Tom Hiddleston, directed by Kenneth Branagh for RADA, The Great Game: Afghanistan for the Tricycle Theatre, Last Seen for the Almeida , Free Outgoing for the Royal Court and John Gabriel Borkman'' for the Donmar Warehouse.
Writing
Chakrabarti's writing credits include an adaptation of Booker Prize winning novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel for Sheffield Crucible Theatre. Winner of a WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Play in 2020 and four UK Theatre Awards in 2019 for Best Play, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Design. Also winner of the Cameo Awards Book to Stage Award in 2020. The show will transfer to Wyndhams Theatre in London's West End in June 2020. An adaptation of Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities in collaboration with 59Productions, Rambert Dance and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui at Manchester International Festival and Brisbane Festival. Red Velvet, a play about Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor at the centre of controversy in 1833 when he takes over from Edmund Kean in Othello at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden. Premiered in 2012 at the Tricycle Theatre, London, it returned to a sold out run at The Tricycle in 2014 before transferring to St Ann's Warehouse in New York. It returned again to the Garrick Theatre in London's West End as part of Kenneth Branagh's season in 2016. Chicago Shakespeare Theater and San Diego's Old Globe Theatre presented Red Velvet in 2017-18. Red Velvet has had over twenty five productions in the United States. The play won Chakrabarti the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the 2012 Evening Standard Awards. That same year she was nominated for Best New Play and London Newcomer of the Year at the Whatsonstage Awards. She won the award for Most Promising Playwright at the Critics Circle Awards in January 2013 and was awarded the AWA Award for Arts and Culture that same year. Red Velvet was also nominated for an Olivier Award in 2013 and Adrian Lester was nominated for an Olivier in 2016 for his portrayal of Ira Aldridge in Red Velvet. Chakrabarti also wrote The Goddess for Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4, Faith, Hope and Blue Charity, on BBC Radio 4, and Last Seen for Slung Low and the Almeida. In 2018 Chakrabarti curated The Greatest Wealth for The Old Vic Theatre, London. She commissioned eight monologues of which she also wrote one in recognition of the 70th birthday of the NHS.
Presenting
From 1993 to 1996, Chakrabarti presented the BBC children's educational programmeNumbertime.
Producing
Chakrabarti ran Lesata Productions with Rosa Maggiora. In 2011, they produced Of Mary, a short film that won the Best Short Film Award at PAFF, Los Angeles 2012. Chakrabarti and Maggiora were nominated for the Best Producer Award at the Underwire Film Festival, London 2011.
Personal life
Chakrabarti was born in Kingston upon Hull to Bengali Hindu parents from India on 1 July 1969, later growing up in Birmingham where her father worked as an orthopaedic surgeon at Selly Oak Hospital. She met her husband, actor Adrian Lester, while they were both students at RADA. The couple has two daughters, Lila and Jasmine, both born in Southwark, London.
