Anna Francolini

"In a straight play, your journey takes place through the dialogue, whereas in musicals you get to go on your emotional journey through song, which is beautiful, but you feel like a mute because you can't speak what you feel."

- Anna Francolini

Anna Francolini is a British actress best known for her theatrical work, in musicals such as Company and Merrily We Roll Along. After pursuing Theatre Studies at Warwick University, Francolini worked on the television series Rome, and the BBC drama series Jonathan Creek. For her role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, she received the TMA Award for Best Performance in a Play. Francolini portrayed the Imperial Emigration Officer Falthina Sharest in Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Biography
Anna Francolini was born during the early 1970s in Chertsey, England. In her youth, she was a member of the National Youth Theatre and pursued Theatre Studies at Warwick University. Francolini is married to Toby Davies, her husband.

In 1995, Francolini appeared in the London revival cast of Stephen Sondheim's Company, directed by Sam Mendes. The play was first staged at Donmar Warehouse, and later transferred to Albery Theatre. The same year, Francolini worked with Mendes for a revival of Lionel Bart's Oliver! at London Palladium, filling the role Oliver's mother Agnes. Another of her early credits include a revival of Sondheim's musical Merrily We Roll Along. Francolini took advantage of other opportunities to expand her portfolio, appearing for minor roles in several TV series, such as Rome, Johnathan Creek, and Down to Earth.

"I’m so excited! We all cannot believe our luck. For all of us, those were our happiest jobs – in terms of fun, material and where we did it. I cannot wait. In fact, I almost don’t want it to happen because I don’t want it to be over."

- Anna Francolini about "Sondheim at 80"

In 2007, Francolini's theater career began to gain more traction. She was cast as the baker's wife in Into the Woods, another of Sondheim's musicals. In 2009, she portrayed Jean Brodie in Royal & Derngate's production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. For her performance in the musical, she received the TMA Award for Best Performance in a Play. In October 2010, she started previews for Martin Sherman's Onassis at the Novella Theatre, cast as an opera diva named Maria Callas. Francolini also took part in two one-off concert presentations of Merrily We Roll Along and Company at the Queen's Theatre, as part of the "Sondheim at 80" event, to commemorate composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday. The performances included the majority of the original casts, and she was the only actor to participate in both.

During 2011 and 2012, Francolini pursued more minor roles on television, and was cast in EastEnders and Pixelface. In 2013, Francolini appeared in the TV series' Holby City and New Tricks, as well as The Christmas Candle movie. She portrayed the role of Bella Colley in 2014, for the TV series Vera. In 2015, she appeared in Damon Albarn's original cast of Wonder.land, which had it's debut performance at the Manchester International Festival. Francolini took on the role of Captain Hook in a revival production of the musical Peter Pan. In 2017, Francolini portrayed a character named Sandrine in the film Gun Shy, which was directed by Simon West. In 2018, she portrayed the Imperial Emigration Officer Falthina Sharest in Solo: A Star Wars Story. The same year, she was cast in the musical version of Strictly Ballroom as Shirley Hastings.