Learn about Anna Maxwell Martin's theatre credits ahead of 'August: Osage County'

The two-time BAFTA winner and Motherland star plays opposite Lesley Manville in August: Osage County in January 2027.

Summary

• Anna Maxwell Martin is known for her TV work in Bleak House; Line of Duty and Motherland
• Her first major stage role was as Lyra in His Dark Materials at the National Theatre
• She has also worked at the Royal Court; Old Vic; Young Vic; Almeida and in the West End
• She stars opposite Lesley Manville in a revival of American family saga August: Osage County

Born in 1977 in Yorkshire, Anna Maxwell Martin studied History at the University of Liverpool before training at the London Academy of Music and Drama (LAMDA). She made her professional stage debut in 2001. She came to mainstream prominence in 2006 as protagonist Esther Summerson in Andrew Davies’s all-star BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Bleak House, for which she won a BAFTA.

Her other costume drama credits include North and South, South Riding, The Bletchley Circle, The Night Watch, and Death Comes to Pemberley. Contemporary fare includes Poppy Shakespeare (for which she won a second BAFTA in 2009), Line of Duty, Hollington Drive, Ludwig, Star City, and the sitcom Motherland. Her feature film credits number Becoming Jane, Philomena, The Personal History of David Copperfield, and Fackham Hall.

Maxwell Martin is known for her unfiltered performances and raw authenticity. A frequent and highly acclaimed stage performer, Maxwell Martin stars opposite Lesley Manville in a 12-week revival of Tracy Letts’s modern American classic August: Osage County starting in January 2027. Read on to learn more about her theatre credits to date.

Check back for August: Osage County tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Early work

After graduating from LAMDA in 2001, Maxwell Martin made her professional debut in The Little Foxes, led by Penelope Wilton. She then joined the National Theatre, where she appeared in The Coast of Utopia, Honour, and Three Sisters (as youngest sister Irina, directed by Katie Mitchell).

His Dark Materials

In 2004, Maxwell Martin had her breakthrough theatrical role as the headstrong heroine Lyra Belacqua in Nicholas Wright’s epic two-part adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy at the National Theatre, directed by Nicholas Hytner. The production also featured early roles for future stars Ben Whishaw, Dominic Cooper, Russell Tovey, and Samuel Barnett. Maxwell Martin received an Olivier nomination for her performance as Lyra.

LondonTheatre.co.uk's reviewer commented that the production “certainly has captured the angst that lies at the heart of Pullman's trilogy, and is able to bring the daemons and many of the other mythical creatures to life.”

Dumb Show

Maxwell Martin’s next role was as Liz in the premiere of Joe Penhall’s three-hander at the Royal Court. Maxwell co-starred with Douglas Hodge and Rupert Graves in this play about tabloid journalism.

Cabaret

Following her rise to TV fame with Bleak House, Maxwell Martin made her musical theatre debut as Sally Bowles in Rufus Norris’s 2006 West End revival of Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret. Not a natural singer, Maxwell was closer to writer Christopher Isherwood’s original character in Goodbye to Berlin than Liza Minnelli's glamorised interpretation in the film version. James Dreyfus played the Emcee and Sheila Hancock won an Olivier for her performance as Fraulein Schneider.

The Female of the Species

In 2008, Maxwell Martin appeared in the West End premiere of Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith's satire about high-profile feminists. Eileen Atkins played the Germaine Greer-esque Margot Mason and Maxwell Martin portrayed disturbed ex-student Molly Rivers, who breaks into her home and holds her hostage. LondonTheatre.co.uk's reviewer called it “a very funny comedy”.

Measure for Measure

The following year, Maxwell Martin appeared at the Almeida Theatre in Shakespeare’s “problem play” Measure for Measure, playing Isabella, the novice nun who is put under pressure to sleep with politician Angelo in order to save her brother’s life. Rory Kinnear was Angelo and Ben Miles played the Duke. Reviewers commented on the way in which Michael Attenborough’s production portrayed Isabella and Angelo as mirror images, both convinced of their own righteousness.

Di and Viv and Rose

In 2013, Maxwell Martin played the loveably boy-crazy Rose in Amelia Bullmore’s endearing three-hander about three university friends. She co-starred with Tamzin Outhwaite as Di and Gina McKee as Viv. When the production transferred to the West End, Jenna Russell took over the role of Rose, where LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer called it “a warm hug of a play”.

King Lear

The following year, Maxwell Martin returned to the National Theatre in Sam Mendes’s production of King Lear, which starred Simon Russell Beale as the titular monarch. She played middle daughter Regan, with Kate Fleetwood as Goneril and Olivia Vinall as Cordelia. LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer remarked that “Mendes and his casting director Wendy Spon have assembled around Beale some of the National's best veteran and younger actors alike”.

Macbeth

In 2015, Maxwell Martin took the role of Lady Macbeth in Carrie Cracknell’s contemporary, highly physical version of the Scottish play at the Young Vic. John Heffernan played the title role.

Consent

In 2017, Maxwell Martin was directed by her then-husband Roger Michell at the Royal Court in Nina Raine’s play about the nuances of sexual consent and the broken criminal justice system. When the play transferred to the West End, Maxwell Martin’s role was taken by Claudie Blakley (who had played Rose in Di and Viv and Rose's initial outing).

Constellations

Michael Longhurst’s 2021 revival of Nick Payne’s two-hander about relationships and quantum mechanics featured four different sets of actors. Maxwell Martin performed opposite Chris O’Dowd, and the roles were also taken by Sheila Atim and Ivanno Jeremiah, Zoe Wanamaker and Peter Capaldi, and Russell Tovey and Omari Douglas. LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer observed that “Multiple viewings allow you to appreciate how ideas that Payne seeds early on pay off in poignant ways... a starry triumph.”

The Constituent

In 2024, Maxwell Martin played an MP who is confronted by James Corden’s disenfranchised constituent in Joe Penhall’s play staged at the Old Vic. LondonTheatre.co.uk’s reviewer commented that she was “excellent as Monica: quick-witted, sardonic, vigorously engaged if bureaucratic, while demonstrating in her nervous body language how she’s becoming increasingly scared”. Maxwell Martin also had a cameo in the Gavin & Stacey grand finale as the celebrant at Smithy’s (played by Corden) wedding.

August: Osage County

Tracy Letts’s 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy about the dysfunctional Weston clan will play in the West End in January 2027 for a limited 12-week run. The cast is by Lesley Manville as matriarch Violet, with Maxwell Martin as eldest daughter Barbara (originated by Amy Morton on stage and played by Julia Roberts in the film adaptation). It’s a fantastically chaotic and sardonic role which ought to play to Maxwell Martin’s many strengths perfectly.

Says director Jeremy Herrin: "I’m thrilled to be reunited with Lesley Manville after her Tony Award win, and I can’t wait to see her square up against Anna Maxwell Martin, whose work I’ve long admired. I’ve loved this play since I saw it on Broadway in 2008, and I can’t wait to explore all its twists and turns in the Noël Coward Theatre, the perfect space for this searing and epically entertaining show.”

Check back for August: Osage County tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Photo credit: Anna Maxwell Martin. (Courtesy of production). Inset: in Constellations and The Constituent. (Photos by Marc Brenner and Manuel Harlan)