Congratulations to Oxford School of Drama alumni Maimuna Memon, who won her first Olivier Award last night. Maimuna won Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her role as Sonya in the highly anticipated West End debut of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.
Maimuna accepted her award at the ceremony inside the Royal Albert Hall last night, 6th April 2025. This was Maimuna’s second nomination and first win, following her 2023 nomination for the National Theatre’s Standing at the Sky’s Edge.
The production, which was at the Donmar Warehouse from December through February, was well reviewed, with Maimuna noted in many. Alice Saville at The Independent stated that Maimuna “shines most of all” amongst the incredibly talented company, Laurie Yule at The Stage called her performance “truly spellbinding”, and Gary Neylor at The Arts Desk said Maimuna was “the best of a very strong set of singers.”
Maimuna also performed at the ceremony along with the rest of the cast of Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 in a medley of songs from the show. You can watch the ceremony here on ITVX – Maimuna’s performance with the cast is at the 1 hour mark. You can also watch Maimuna’s acceptance speech and the cast performance on YouTube or at the end of this article.
Maimuna graduated from the Three-Year Course in 2015. Along with her classmates, she became one of the founding members of Wildcard Theatre Company. Wildcard went on to be a hugely successful theatre company, producing sell-out shows such as Electrolyte and opening its own studios in London, where it provided professional rehearsal spaces, workshops, and free study areas for creatives before closing in 2022.
Outside of her successes with Wildcard Theatre, Maimuna wrote her own hugely successful show, Manic Street Creature, which she took to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2022 before transferring to The Southwark Playhouse in 2023. Maimuna won a Fringe First Award and The Stage Edinburgh Award for Manic Street Creature, for which she wrote the music, book, and lyrics and starred as the central character of Ria.
Maimuna’s other credits include the David Bowie musical Lazarus (2016) at the Kings Cross Theatre, Jesus Christ Superstar at the Regents Park Open Air Theatre (2017 and 2020), Electrolyte at The Pleasance (2018), Nine Lessons and Carols at the Almeida Theatre (2020, as both performer and composer), Standing at the Sky’s Edge (2023) and The Grapes of Wrath (2024), both at the National Theatre. For The Grapes of Wrath, Maimuna served as both a member of the company and the composer of all original music. She also composed the original music for 2023’s Portia Coughlan at The Almeida Theatre.
Maimuna Memon is truly multitalented, but she is also impeccably hard-working and dedicated to her craft, which is evident in all her work. We couldn’t be prouder of Maimuna, and we’ll continue to be her cheerleaders as her career flourishes! Congratulations Maimuna!
