Matthew Tennyson
Matthew Tennyson is an English actor of stage and screen. He won the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Newcomer in 2012.
Personal life
Matthew Tennyson was born in Stoke Newington, London, the son of Jonathan Tennyson a physics professor and a nurse. He is a great-great-great-grandson of poet laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), graduating in 2011.[1]
Career
Tennyson made his professional stage debut in 2011 under the direction of Trevor Nunn in the role of Percy in Flare Path at the Theatre Royal Haymarket,[2][3] followed by a "sensitive" performance as Jamie in Beautiful Thing at The Royal Exchange[4] for which he received the Best Newcomer award at the 2011 Manchester Theatre Awards.[5] The following year he was the recipient of the 2012 Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard Awards[6] for his performance as Eric in Making Noise Quietly at the Donmar Warehouse.[7] In 2013 he made "a keen impression" as Edwards in Blue Stockings[8] and played a "fascinatingly ethereal" Puck in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream,[9] both performances at Shakespeare's Globe.
His television roles[10] include Clarence in The Hollow Crown (Henry IV Parts I and II), Arlo in Da Vinci's Demons (Season 1 Episode 1 'The Hanged Man') and Ottaviano Riario in Borgia (Season 2 Episodes 11 and 12). He has also appeared in the ITV detective dramas Midsomer Murders and Grantchester, and the BBC TV period drama Father Brown
On radio, Tennyson played "Jonesy" in Radio 4 play "Jonesy" by Tom Wells broadcast in February 2014.
He featured in the 2014 film Pride, directed by Matthew Warchus.
In 2017 Tennyson played the title role in the Royal Shakespeare Company's gender-fluid 2017 production of Oscar Wilde's Salomé directed by Owen Horsley, the part being cross-cast to mark the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.[11][12]
References
- Curtis, Nick, 'Bright Young Things', London Evening Standard, 20 November 2012
- Vale, Paul, 'Flare Path review at Theatre Royal Haymarket London', The Stage, https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2011/flare-path-review-at-theatre-royal-haymarket-london/ published 14 March 2011 accessed 11 February 2018
- Hemming, Sarah, 'Flare Path, Theatre Royal Haymarket, London', Financial Times, https://www.ft.com/content/2f8548a8-4e66-11e0-98eb-00144feab49a published 15 March 2011 accessed 11 February 2018
- Radcliffe, Philip, 'Beautiful Thing, Royal Exchange, Manchester', http://www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/beautiful-thing-royal-exchange-manchester published 15 November 2011 accessed 30 September 2013
- Smith, Alistair, 'Manchester Theatre Awards announce winners', The Stage, https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2012/manchester-theatre-awards-announce-winners/ published 15 March 2012 accessed 11 February 2018
- Cope, Rebecca, 'London Evening Standard Theatre Awards – the winners', Harper's Bazaar, http://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/fashion-news/news/a6875/london-evening-standard-theatre-awards-the-winners/ published 26 November 2012 accessed 11 February 2018
- Hitchings, Henry, 'Making Noise Quietly - Donmar Warehouse review', London Evening Standard, 24 April 2012
- 'Blue Stockings, Shakespeare's Globe - theatre review', London Evening Standard, https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/theatre/blue-stockings-shakespeares-globe-theatre-review-8791090.html published 30 August 2013 accessed 11 February 2018
- Spencer, Charles, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's Globe, Review', The Telegraph, 31 May 2013
- Internet Movie Database, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2046894/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 accessed 11 February 2018
- Longman, Will, 'Male actor to play Salomé in RSC's upcoming production', What's On Stage, http://www.whatsonstage.com/stratford-upon-avon-theatre/news/matthew-tennyson-royal-shakespeares-salome_43118.html published 14 March 2017 accessed 11 February 2018
- Bowie-Sell, Daisy, 'Matthew Tennyson: "I hope gender fluid casting is the future of theatre"', What's On Stage, http://www.whatsonstage.com/stratford-upon-avon-theatre/news/matthew-tennyson-gender-fluid-casting-salome_43869.html published 15 June 2017 accessed 11 February 2018