For the day-to-day, see Hannah’s Twitter; but see below for the big stuff
CURRENTLY
Hannah is currently playing the Chorus in Empire Street Production’s production of Anne Carson’s translation of ELEKTRA in the Duke of Yorks Theatre on the West End staring Brie Larson. The show is highly experientmental and one of the most talked about and hotly discussed pieces of work this season. The show runs at the Duke of Yorks until 12th April 2025. Tickets Are available here.
“But words are also harmonious in the mouths of the all-female, six-strong chorus (are they band members?). Musicality predominates, accentuating the sense of a sung-through ancient Greek chorus.” GUARDIAN ★★★★
“She is surrounded by a powerful all-female chorus, who are constantly in dialogue with Larson, echoing her words and movements. The production thrums with insurgent, female energy.” LONDON THEATRE
The chorus move their microphone stands into sharp diagonals as they sing Ted Hearne’s haunting, powerful score...It is the chorus in their silken dresses who carry most weight, singing their commentary with piercing clarity. WHATSONSTAGE
MOST RECENTLY
Hannah will be appearing as Chava in the production of “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Regents Park Open Air Theatre all summer from 27th July to 28th September. The show is directed by Jordan Fein, designed by Tom Scutt, and Choreographed by Julia Cheng, with the original book by Joseph Stein and Music by Jerry Bock. More about the show can be found here. And yes, that is Hannah on the poster and yes that is her real hair.
‘It’s a new world, a new world. Love.’
It’s 1905 in the tiny village of Anatevka where Tevye, a Jewish milkman, lives his life by their proud traditions. For his five daughters, that means a visit from the matchmaker… But as each daughter challenges his beliefs, against the backdrop of a changing world, can Tevye hold on to his roots, or must he bend to the will of his children and learn to embrace the unfamiliar?
In a new production directed by Jordan Fein (Oklahoma, Young Vic), and featuring glorious songs, ‘If I Were A Rich Man’, ‘Tradition’, ‘Matchmaker’ and ‘Sunrise, Sunset’, this classic musical of joy, revolution and community is an exuberant celebration of love and life.
Presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International.
Photographs of the cast and creatives in rehearsal can be seen below. ©MarcBrenner
Hannah recent completed an interview with West End Best Friend about the show. The full interview can seen here. But some small excerpts are below.
© Graham Michael Photography
The design by Tom Scutt is stunning and fits beautifully into the natural setting at Regents Park. Below are some production shots, again courtesy of Marc Brenner.
Here is Hannah and other members of the cast at the Press Night at Regent’s Open Air on 6th August 2024. ©DavidJensenphotos
Here is an interview Hannah and some other members of the cast did for WhatsOnStage
REVIEWS
Reviews for the show have been outstanding. Some links and and excerpts are below:
Equally devastating is Hannah Bristow’s Chava, the bookish daughter rejected for falling in love with somebody from outside the faith. Bristow invests her with a rich, palpable inner life, a charming goofiness and a core of steel that belies her fragile appearance: she’s remarkable. AJHLOVESTHEATRE - 5 Stars ★★★★★
THE GUARDIAN - 5 Stars ★★★★★
THE TELEGRAPH - 5 Stars ★★★★★
THE STAGE - 5 Stars ★★★★★
WHATSONSTAGE - 5 Stars ★★★★★
BROADWAY BABY - 5 Stars ★★★★★
THE SPY IN THE STALLS - 5 Stars ★★★★★
LONDON LIVING LARGE - 5 Stars ★★★★★
AJHLOVESTHEATRE - 5 Stars ★★★★★
THE ARTS DESK - 5 Stars ★★★★★
LONDON UNATTACHED - 5 Stars ★★★★★
THE TIMES - 4 Stars ★★★★
THEi - 4 Stars ★★★★
FINACIAL TIMES - 4 Stars ★★★★
TIME OUT - 4 Stars ★★★★
EVENING STANDARD - 4 stars ★★★★
THEATREANDTONIC - 4 Stars ★★★★
JEWISH CHRONICLE - 4 Stars ★★★★
THEATRECAT - 4 Stars ★★★★
RECENTLY…
THE ACCIDENTAL HOLIDAY
Hannah is currently recording the audiobook for “The Accidental Holiday” by Mimi Deb, for Harper Collins to be released later this year. She has always been a lover of audiobooks and is excited to start work on the project to play the character of Maya. The book will be released on 20th June 2024.
Maya loves structure. She loves to plan. She never makes a decision without doing a pros and cons list first. She’s been planning her dream getaway for a long time. Alex is laid back. He’s learnt the hard way that you can’t control what happens in life, so he’s stopped trying. When he sees an incredible offer on a luxury holiday, he books it without a second thought. It is only when they arrive at the 5-star resort that they learn there’s a problem: somehow they’ve ended up booked into the same room. With no other option but to share their suite, could Maya and Alex learn that opposites really do attract?
UPCOMING…
WELL VERSED
This autumn, Hannah will be releasing the first series of her podcast.
“Well Versed” is a podcast where two people talk about poetry. Co-presented by Hannah Bristow and Luke Grant (with lots of special quests), each episode takes a new poem and discusses what it’s about, and what it makes us think about and why that is important.
It is a podcast about life, poets, poetry and words which asks the big questions like: Do you like poetry? What is poetry? Who is poetry for? What is poetry for? And Why is poetry good? and dips into the bigger existential questions that inevitably crop up along the way. Series one has been a long time in coming, and as we begin work on Series 2, we can’t wait to share it with you.
It can be found on spotlight podcasts, and wherever else you find your podcasts from National Poetry Day, 3rd October 2024.
CURRENTLY
A Small Light
Hannah has just finished filming in Prague for “A Small Light” with Disney+, a project telling the story of Anne Frank and her family during World War Two and the Dutch Resistance against the Nazis which kept them and thousands of others safe during the years of the occupation. Hannah plays a character called Betje, a nurse who saved countless children by smuggling them out of the pre-transport nurseries, a story which is told in episode 6. More about the production can be found here and further casting information can be found here. Once available, the series will be available to watch here. The first two episodes will be released on 2nd May on Disney+ and thereafter each episode is available weekly. Hannah’s episode will air on 30th May.
HANNAH’S EPISODE , episode 6 “Boiling Point” can be watched HERE
Recently released still from the show, more can be read about this image and the show’s release date here.
The trailer for the show, including some behind-the-scenes footage and scenes including Hannah can be watched here:
Reviews
”This charming, poignant drama gifts Anne Frank’s tale to yet another generation” - Guardian
As You Like It, RSC
Hannah has just entered rehearsals for “As You Like It”, at the RSC directed by Omar Elerian. More information about the show can be found on the RSC website here.
In Director Omar Elerian’s playful new take, a company of veteran RSC actors perform one of Shakespeare’s most joyous tales. On a stage transformed into a simple rehearsal room, the actors gather to conjure the memory of a long gone show, celebrating the magic of theatre and its unique power to make our imagination soar.
They’ve all taken part in As You Like It before, but never like this.
Anything goes in this playground, where nothing is as it seems, and time disappears in a forest of make believe. An extraordinary cast will play every role in this ode to young love, old age, and theatre itself.
Reviews
“a series of setpieces that lend themselves to fine performances - fortunately, they get them. Hannah Bristow stepped in for Maureen Beattie (indisposition being a foreseeable risk across this cast) and her Celia, now young enough to be Rosalind’s granddaughter, is very funny in her disdain for her friend’s playacting to woo Orlando.” - Broadway World
“The ‘young blood’ performers, Hannah Bristow, Tyreke Leslie, Mogali Masuku and Rose Wardlaw, sheepishly introduce themselves at the start of the play and initially seem overshadowed by the confident, experienced actors surrounding them. As the story unwinds, this relationship is revealed to be more complex, with the generations supporting and teaching each other in their own way. It’s a touching reminder of the innumerable performers who have gone before, and of their legacy, which resonates into the future.” - WhatsOn Birmingham
“The cast are supported by younger performers Hannah Bristow, Tyreke Leslie, Mogali Masuku and Rose Wardlaw, which gives the piece a more rounded feel to it and the presence of their trees and logs make for a playful atmosphere. The point Shakespeare was trying to make in this play was, after all, that in order to explore ourselves we have to play.” - WestEndBestFriend
“His staging offers plenty of opportunities for additional humour while also reminding us of the breadth of experience, not just of our older actors, but of all older people. In a society so often focused on youth and newness, it’s a timely reminder.” - WhatsOnStage
“Proper daft, joyous and fun.” - BirminghamLive
“there’s a pang of collective recaptured innocence as a climactic coup de theatre reveals an achingly beautiful forest in which seems to float the ghosts of all their yesterdays” - Telegraph
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Hannah is currently appearing as the recurring character Yatzin in the upcoming series “The Man Who Fell to Earth” created by Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. Based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis and previously made into a film starring David Bowie in 1976 the series tells the story of an alien coming to earth and wrestling with what it means to be human as he attempts to save his home planet. Hannah appears in episodes 4 and 5. Showing on Showtime in the US, it can now be watched on Paramount+ in the UK. The series stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Naomie Harris. For more information, full casting and release dates, go here. Watch the official trailer below.
Here too is a clip showing the first five minutes of the show.
PREVIOUS WORK
Lost Souls Club
Hannah was recently involved in a workshop to develop the production “The Lost Souls Club” directed by Ryan McBryde at The Mercury Theatre, Colchester. The production, written by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Ryan McBryde, takes and retells the Orpheus Myth, inverting the genders and using it to explore questions of suicide, acceptance, darkness and coming to terms with one’s own death. Hannah played Mila (Orpheus) for the rehearsed reading of the show at the end of the process. The show, with music by Paul Herbert, is a cabaret-esque spectacle, involving a live band of exceptional musicians and original songs. Recordings of some of the work will be available soon and the show has a very bright future ahead of it.
Atoms of Stone
Hannah will be performing in a non-denominational space at Greenbelt Festival from 26th-29th August 2022, in association with Acrojou.
Illustrations by Jackson M Phoenix Barnard
She will be sharing sections from “Atoms of Stone”, a collection of short stories for children and young people that she wrote during the COVID-19 Lockdowns. The collection explores existential questions about finding cosmic and human connection, meaning and inner strength, especially in times of adversity and isolation. Illustrations by Jackson M Pheonix Barnard for one of these stories, “The Astronomer”, will also be shared as part of the festival. The digital content will be available here from the start of the festival and Hannah will be performing it and other stories throughout the weekend. This and Hannah’s other writing can be found in the Writing section of her website.
Starling
Hannah recently was one of two performers presenting a rehearsed showing of Sadie Clark’s new play “Starlings” at the First Light festival in Lowestoft and at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich, for HighTide. It is a fantastic play exploring our ideas of selfhood, home, connection and love, and how we can conceive of those things with the crushing knowledge of the ever-impending Climate Crisis and the uncertain and frightening future it paints for all of us.
Pepi and Me
Hannah recently completed an R+D with Sason Theatre, for a new play directed by Hetty Hodgson and written by Helena Snider that explores themes of drag, queerness and their intersection with Jewishness. By exploring the life of the early 20th Century, Eastern-European, Yiddish, cross-dresser Pepi Littmann, the play tells the story of a young girl in North London in the present day finding herself. Hannah was the solo performer for the R+D which culminated with a well-received work-in-progress showing at the Camden People’s Theatre. The show was shortlisted for the Untapped Award 2022 and has an exciting future ahead of it.
Five Children and IT, Christmas 2021
Hannah performed in the 2021 Christmas show for The Egg, at The Theatre Royal Bath. It is a production of “Five Children and It'“ in which Hannah plays the youngest boy in the family, Robert. It is a Bucket Club production directed by Nel Crouch and brim-full of music, movement, laughter and Christmas joy. The show is remounting for 2022.
Sent away to live in the countryside with their reclusive Uncle, five children discover a secret that’s been hidden away for centuries: a magical, mischievous and extremely grumpy Sand Fairy called It with the power to grant spectacular wishes. There’s just one catch…
As the children set off on a series of fantastic adventures, they soon learn that wishes can get you into a whole heap of trouble. Perhaps a wish granted isn’t always the dream come true you might expect!
In rehearsal
Production Shots ©BILKMO
“Five Children and It” is on temporary hiatus due to Covid-19, but we will be back and performing as soon as we can. In the meantime, here are some images to tantalise you.
Reviews
★★★★ The Stage
“Five Children and It… maintains The Egg’s proud tradition of delivering beautiful Christmas treats.”
“Their Peter-and-Susan seriousness contrasts well with Hannah Bristow’s excellently petulant Robert, a spoilt Edwardian brat in a sailor suit, who, at points, sounds either like Little Lord Fauntleroy or Stewie from Family Guy.”
Bristol 24/7
“When a show’s worth recommending to old and young, it’s only worth doing loudly and unequivocally. We’re all a bit cautious; there’s a lot going on. So you need to know that this show will not be a waste of your time, energy, money, afternoon or evening.
“I don’t often gush. But this cast – Patrick Bridgman’s Uncle Paul (and miscellaneous other gents), Hannah Bristow’s delightful Robert, Doxah Dzidzor’s magnificent Anthea, Hanora Kamen’s utterly sympathetic Jane and Luke Murphy’s splendid Cyril are an ensemble to die for. They’re superb-level-sharp, a glorious team – an object lesson in how to super-perform as a team.”
“Do not miss this before it closes on January 16. It’s proper family theatre of the highest quality.”
DURING THE PANDEMIC…
Internationalism Within Us
During the lockdowns, Hannah collaborated with Projekt Europa, Maria Aberg, David Ridley, Dominic Applewhite and the company of the cancelled RSC show “Europeana” and the other shows in the Projekt Europa Season, to create a short film about finding connection in isolation, and how we might connect across time and space when we are isolated from one another, and what that might look and feel like. This is that film.
In March 2021, artistic director Maria Aberg and Ayse Tashkiran, movement director, contacted the EUROPEANA company to ask a question.
‘After all we’ve lived through in the last year – grief, isolation, hardship, uncertainty – we started wondering: what do we need as artists? What do we long for? And with closed borders all around the world, extreme distances both actual and mental, political polarisation and unimaginable violence and injustice - how can we create a meaningful connection with the places we want to visit, with audiences, communities, artists?: What does international collaboration mean to you right now?'
In response to this question, performer Hannah Bristow and composer David Ridley, created this beautiful and poignant short film, in collaboration with the rest of the company members. Special thanks also to Projekt Europa guest director of photography, Dominic Applewhite.
We’re sharing it here, in celebration of International Migrants Day and the multitude of narratives and we each hold within us from our travels, histories and aspirations. In times when we are forced to turn inward, we find that international connection prevails in the face of isolation, lockdown, and division.
During the Pandemic, Hannah recorded a podcast series at Christ Church Studios in Bristol with the production company A Ton of Feathers. The series is a modern environmentalist retelling of Aristophanes’ “The Birds”, with original songs by Gecko and sung by the cast, which explores the questions of humanity’s relationship and responsibilities to the natural world. Hannah played one of the leads, Budgie.
Available episodes can be here:
In early 2021 Hannah joined the team at Rhubarb Voices, who now represent her for all voiceover work. Hannah is delighted to be working with Rhubarb and extremely keen to expand her voiceover portfolio. For more, check out her VOICEREELS section on this website, and also her profile on Rhubarb’s website by clicking on the image below.
During the first lockdown, Hannah recorded a radio play of “A Passion Play” by Margaret Perry. It was a co-production between 45North, Ellie Productions, Atticist and the North Wall, and also starred Nicola Coughlan. It is available to listen to on Soundcloud via the 45North Website.
Cork. 2015. 14-year-old Bridie is really into God. 15-year-old Sam is really into hockey. They might be quite into each other. The fireworks of teenage first love collide with the high drama of Christ’s crucifixion in A Passion Play.
More information can be found on the 45 North Website - http://www.forty-fivenorth.com/a-passion-play
Written by Margaret Perry
Directed by Jessica Lazar
Sound design, editing, and composition by Annie May Fletcher
SAM: Hannah Bristow
BRIDIE: Nicola Coughlan
Co-produced by 45North, Atticist, Ellie Keel Productions and The North Wall.
Hannah is spending the COVID-19 Lockdown in Stratford-upon-Avon and is taking the time as a creative residency. She is having a busy time writing, reading and continuing rehearsals for the RSC’s production of Europeana remotely. She is also playing lots of her instruments and is learning the guitar and the Anglo concertina, which she is having a lot of fun with. She is getting involved in various online creative projects and collaborations, and is eager to be involved in more.
Please get in touch on the contact page with ideas for projects and collaborations to pass these strangest of times. She would love to hear from you.
For a closer look at the music has been playing and singing over the last 12 months, check out her soundcloud.
UPCOMING
Hannah is currently working as a deviser and performer in the new RSC season PROJECT EUROPA. She is performing in both Europeana and Blindness and Seeing, both in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon. The full cast announcement can be found here.
EUROPEANA
Europeana is directed by the season programmer Maria Arberg and is an adaption of the non-fiction stream-of-consciousness history of the 20th Century of the same name by Patrick Ourednik. It explores questions of truth, lies and how we record history and attempts to cram the entire century into every performance in an explosion of music, movement and text. It runs from 6th April to 25th July 2020. Further details about the production can be found here.
The cast consists of an ensemble of ten actors of which Hannah is one.
The show was cancelled by the RSC at the top of the 2020 pandemic and lockdowns. However, the company and spirit of the show live on in Maria Aberg’s new company PROJEKT EUROPA.
BLINDNESS AND SEEING
Blindness and Seeing is a dramatisation of the two novels by the nobel-prize winning Portuguese writer Jose Saramago, about a town firstly overcoming with an inexplicable epidemic of blindness and later an election that returns a vote where 98% of ballot papers are totally blank. It is potently political piece that speaks to the core of our times. It is directed and adapted by Tiago Rodrigues, the artistic director of Teatro Nacional D. Maria II in Lisbon, who has recently awarded the Permio Pessoa. The show runs from 1st August to 26th September and more information can be found here.
Hannah will be playing The Child With the Squint.
PREVIOUS WORK
Much Ado About Nothing, 2019
Hannah recently finished performing as Hero in Elizabeth Freestone’s production of “Much Ado About Nothing”by William Shakespeare, first at Tobacco Factory Theatres in Bristol with Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory, followed by a run at Wiltons Music Hall. The production was Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory’s 20th Anniversary production and was met with great critical acclaim as can be seen here and here.
Show in rehearsal
★★★★ - Hannah Bristow as the wronged bride-to-be and Christopher Bianchi as her father, Leonato, find a seriocomic poise that grounds the frolicking. - Dominic Maxwell, THE TIMES
Napoli, Brooklyn, 2019
Hannah has recently finished playing Francesca in the production of Napoli, Brooklyn with the Original Theatre Company at Park Theatre. This was the production’s UK Premier after a run at the Roundabout Theatre, New York. It toured to various venues across the UK, ending with its run in North London.
Napoli, Brooklyn in Rehearsal…
“Hannah Bristow as Francesca is excellent – her strength and rebellious spirit, her love, her joys and sorrows, all play out with classic teenage melodrama” - Stage Talk Magazine
Rudolf, 2018
Hannah has recently finished playing Rudolf in UK Theatre Award for Theatre for Children and Young People Winners Pins and Needles Productions new retelling of the classic Christmas story Rudolf at the MAC Theatre in Birmingham, dir. Anna Girvan.
It is a partly devised piece, written by Mike Akers, that is showing from 17th November-31st December.
Tickets can be found here.
5 Stars - Raring2Go - “All the children loved it … I can't recommend the show enough, another first class co -production between Mac and Pins & Needles Productions.”
4 Stars - ReviewsGate - “A well-directed, and well executed engaging piece of seasonal family fun.”
Here is a video of Hannah explaining the plot of the show:
Kindertransport, 2018
Hannah recently finished performing in the 25th Anniversary production of Kindertransport by Diane Samuels, commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Kindertransport itself. Hannah played Faith in the production which was made up of an international company from Britain and Luxembourg. The piece - which was a co-production between the Queens Theatre, Hornchurch and Theatre de la Ville in Luxembourg - was met with critical acclaim and toured the UK with Selladoor Productions.
★★★★★ "Bristow is a splendidly simmering firebrand." - DELANO, Luxembourg
Jane Eyre, 2016/2017
Hannah has recently finished performing in Sally Cookson’s production of Jane Eyre. She has toured the UK with the National theatre with over 200 performances at 20 venues across the country, ending with a month long run at the National Theatre in London in October 2017.
The ensemble piece saw 6 actors and a 3-strong band, take on the victorian epic, playing multiple roles involving music, running, climbing and strong physical theatre sequences. Hannah played Helen Burns, Adele and Diane Rivers, amongst other roles.
★★★★★ “Hannah Bristow is the stand out performer... Her portrayal of no less than five roles is remarkable. A lady of pure talent.” - Theatre FullStop
Who Cares, 2016
Hannah made her professional debut with the political theatre company LUNG Theatre at The Lowry, Salford in a piece of verbatim theatre about the difficulties faced by young cares living in Britain. Based on interviews with young carers from the Salford Young Carers Service, this piece was a vitally important piece of political theatre.
The play has since gone on to be performed multiple more times in schools tours, UK tours and finally a run at Summerhall at the Edinburgh Fringe 2019.
"All three actors do a terrific job and they graciously step aside at the end to allow the real stars of the show to take a bow – the young people on whose lives this play is based... These are authentic stories that not only deserve to be heard, they need people to listen." - Manchester Theatre Awards
I like to tweet about what I am doing and my thoughts on the things I see. All the most recent tweets can be seen below. Click through to see more.
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If your job brief or casting call states that you require the worker to be "resilient", you are doing something wrong -
RT @LamornaAsh: No more delays, no loopholes and no excuses. Conversion therapy must be unequivocally banned @stonewalluk Email y… https://t.co/pKxvhFidQi
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RT @LamornaAsh: Discovered my true calling: producing unnecessarily extensive match reports for my friends after our friendly Sunda… https://t.co/uzCcurO7MJ
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RT @FergusMorgan: "I have a lot of frustrations around the roles out there for women my age..." I chatted to Jacqui Dubois for this… https://t.co/G6nuFYTnGt
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My fave human aka GRUMPY PATRICK just released his first track It is SO GOOD Do ourselves a total favour and get ur… https://t.co/RQKx1Cu71w
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RT @hettyhodgson: loooking for some space (ideally in London but also anywhere commutable) for a couple of days next week to do some… https://t.co/FnuFaIYoCr