Shows That Shaped Me

Jemima's career started at a young age, appearing in several films in the early '90s, as well as playing George in a TV adaptation of Enid Blyton's Famous Five. More recent screen credits include As If, Hex and Lost in Austen, and she made her Hollywood debut in The Black Dahlia, alongside Scarlett Johansson. On stage, her credits range from Her Naked Skin and One Man, Two Guvnors at the National Theatre, to the West End productions of All My Sons with David Suchet and Zoë Wanamaker, and Blithe Spirit with Angela Lansbury. Next up, she plays Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, which runs at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre until 15 September.

This week's guest is Tony-nominee and Olivier Award-winner Jenna Russell. Russell's professional stage debut came in 1987 as an understudy for Eponine and Fantine in Les Miserables, a show she returned to as Fantine in 1991 and 2000. Her subsequent 30-year theatre career includes West End productions of Follies in 1987, Martin Guerre in 1998, Guys and Dolls opposite Ewan McGregor in 2005 and Sunday in the Park with George in 2006, for which she won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical and was nominated for a Tony Award for the show's Broadway transfer. Further notable credits include Into the Woods at the Donmar Warehouse and Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Merrily We Roll Along at the Menier and Harold Pinter Theatre, Urinetown at the St. James and Apollo Theatre and Grey Gardens at Southwark Playhouse. In 2016 she joined the cast of EastEnders, playing Michelle Fowler for two years. She is now starring in Fun Home, which runs at the Young Vic until 1 September.

This week's guest is Steffan Rhodri. Steffan's acting career spans twenty years on stage and screen. His West End theatre credits include Absent Friends, Posh, The Mentalists and This House. On TV he's known for roles in Gavin and Stacey, Apple Tree Yard and Under Milk Wood. He is currently starring in Tracy Letts' Killer Joe, running at Trafalgar Studios until 18 August.

This week’s guest is Olivier Award nominee Clare Foster. Clare’s notable stage credits include the original West End cast of Avenue Q, Maria Friedman’s smash-hit production of Merrily We Roll Along at the Menier and in the West End, Guys and Dolls at Chichester Festival Theatre and Travesties at the Menier and West End, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award. On screen she has starred in The Crown, Sherlock and Alan Menken’s musical comedy series, Galavant. She is currently starring in the West End transfer of Nina Raine’s Consent at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 11 August.

This week’s guest is artistic director of Curve Leicester, Nikolai Foster. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Nikolai grew up in North Yorkshire and trained at Drama Centre London. As a director his credits include Calamity Jane at the Watermill, Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing at the Arts Theatre, Merrily We Roll Along at Theatr Clwyd, Flashdance and Annie in the West End and Hay Fever at Chichester Festival Theatre. In 2015 he took over from Paul Kerryson as artistic director of Curve Leicester where he has helmed hit productions including Grease, The Importance of Being Earnest, Legally Blonde, Sunset Boulevard and Breakfast at Tiffany’s – which transferred into the West End starring Pixie Lott. Most recently he directed the world premiere stage adaptation of the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman.

This week's guest is Olivier Award-nominated actress Laura Pitt-Pulford. A graduate of Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, Laura's notable stage roles include Maria in The Sound of Music and Nancy in Oliver!, both at Curve, Leicester. The Light Princess at the National Theatre, Side Show at Southwark Playhouse, Flowers for Mrs Harris at Sheffield Crucible and the UK tour of Nell Gwynne. In 2016 she was nominated for an Olivier Award for her performance in the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. She is currently starring in The Gronholm Method, which runs at the Menier Chocolate Factory until 7 July.

This week's guest is stage and screen actor Alfred Molina. On screen, his credits include Raiders of the Lost Ark, Boogie Nights, Frida and Spider-Man 2. In 1980, he earned an Olivier Award nomination for Best Newcomer in Oklahoma! at the Palace Theatre, and his stage roles since then include Speed the Plow at the National in 1989, Yasmina Reza's Art on Broadway in 1998 and Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof in 2004 for which he received a Tony Award nomination. In 2009 he played Mark Rothko in John Logan's Red at the Donmar Warehouse and won a Drama League Award for the production's Broadway transfer. He now returns to the role in the show's West End premiere, which runs at Wyndham's Theatre until 28 July.

This week's guest is the Olivier and Tony Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens. A mainstay of London's new writing theatre, the Royal Court where he is now associate playwright, Stephens' work with the Sloane Square venue includes Bluebird, Herons, Nuclear War and Birdland. Elsewhere his critically acclaimed plays include Sea Wall, which premiered at the Bush in 2008, Heisenberg, which was seen in the West End last year, and a new adaptation of Brecht's The Threepenny Opera which premiered at the National Theatre in 2016 starring Rory Kinnear and Rosalie Craig. He's perhaps most well-known for penning the stage adaptation of Mark Haddon's bestselling novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time which ran in the West End for over 1,600 performances and on Broadway for almost two years – earning Stephens major accolades on both sides of the Atlantic. Last year his new piece with Frantic Assembly's Scott Graham and Underworld's Karl Hyde, Fatherland, premiered at the Manchester International Festival and it now transfers to the Lyric Hammersmith, running from 25 May to 23 June.

This week’s guest is cabaret star, drag artist and actor Le Gateau Chocolat. With a wealth of experience across contemporary opera, cabaret and theatre, his solo shows have seen him perform in venues from London’s Menier Chocolate Factory to the Adelaide Fringe. He has worked with the Olivier Award–winning circus acts La Clique and La Soiree and alongside acts including Basement Jaxx at the Barbican. On stage, he has recently been seen in Porgy and Bess at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, The Threepenny Opera at the National and Twelfth Night at Shakespeare’s Globe. He is currently starring in Effigies of Wickedness, which runs at the Gate Theatre until 9 June.

This week's guest is Olivier Award-winner Nancy Carroll. After graduating from LAMDA in 1998, her first job saw her star alongside Cate Blanchett and Rupert Everett in the big screen adaptation of Wilde's An Ideal Husband. In 2010 she won an Olivier Award for her performance in After the Dance at the National Theatre, and more recent stage credits include Young Marx at the Bridge Theatre, Woyzeck at the Old Vic and The Duck House at the Vaudeville Theatre. In 2015 she starred as Audrey Mildmay in David Hare's The Moderate Soprano at the Hampstead Theatre, a role she has returned to for the West End transfer, currently running at the Duke of York's Theatre until 30 June.