Olivia is a creative with her own distinct style. With influences ranging from Noel Coward to the Pogues, the Golden Girls to Bette Davis, and all that comes between, her work infuses comedy, drama and high camp, with a strong dose of live music. 

WRITER

Olivia Thompson is an award winning theatre writer and composer. Having won the UK’s prestigious Off West End Award for ‘Best New Musical’ in 2023 for La Maupin, Olivia is currently working on bringing this rebellious, queer, folk-punk musical show to new audiences in Ireland, the UK and France. She has written several full length theatre productions, short films and short plays, and is currently working on a TV project. Building on her feminist podcast, The Femcyclopedia, which she hosted with her sister in 2018, Olivia now seeks to tell the untold stories of women in history and bring them to life through modern music and plays. She is currently researching the lives and adventures of Irish pirate queens, Anne Bonny, Mary Read and Grace O’Malley, with a plan to bring a new musical production to life in 2025.

COMPOSER

Her musical compositions range from celtic infused folk music for digital shorts (animations, shadow puppets, live shows, children’s theatre), to 1920s Jazz music for her musical, Before the Night is Through, performed at the Millfield Theatre and the Landor Theatre, London, and from Russian folk music to her acclaimed folk-punk musical, La Maupin. As well as winning Best New Musical, La Maupin was a finalist in the Off West End Awards category of Best Musical Production, an award won that year by Operation Mincemeet which went on to be a West End hit show. Olivia has recently worked with celebrated music producer, Gerry Diver, on recording tracks from La Maupin and these will be available shortly on Spotify. Listen to Glory here.

 ACTOR

Olivia is a graduate of Mountview Conservatoire of Theatre Arts in London, where she trained as an actor. Amongst her many acting roles over the last twenty years, she understudied and subsequently played a human rights lawyer in a West End show, ‘Whose Life is it anyway?’ alongside Kim Catrall and Janet Suzman, directed by Sir Peter Hall, understudied for acclaimed jazz singer, Jacqui Dankworth, as a disillusioned nightclub singer, in the London’s Southwark Playhouse production of Indecent Proposal, appeared on BBC TV’s Silent Witness as a intuitive forensic researcher, is the voice of several characters in the (English-British version of) Netflix animated series for children, Spirit Rangers, Season 2, and played a number of eclectic roles in her own award-winning show, La Maupin, the story of Julie D’Abigny.

MUSICIAN

Olivia is a multi-instrumentalist and singer. Her main instruments are guitar and ukulele and she also plays piano, banjolele, ukulele bass, kalimba and mandolin.

‘It’s been our pleasure to work with Olivia and have her be a brilliant part of our theatre community for the past 5+ years. She is fast developing a reputation for developing witty, entertaining and engaging musical theatre which combines savvy writing with an exceptional platform for the voices of women, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ creatives. Olivia is a shrewd and smart theatre maker who is a sure bet for any producer, and her work is a standout for quality and originality in our industry. She’s definitely one to keep both eyes on…’

DAVID BRADY

Artistic Director of Lion & Unicorn Theatre

‘Thompson plays her multiple roles with quiet intent’

MUSICAL THEATRE REVIEW

‘La Maupin is dynamic, witty & full of character. It has loads to say and says it loud & proud with a brilliantly strong female voice. The witty, intelligent music just adds to it charm. Brilliantly brash!’

ROBIN SOUTAR

Emmy Award Winning Costume Designer

‘The comedy is particularly elevated by Olivia Thompson in a masterclass of comic timing.’

LONDON PUB THEATRES