Amaka Umeh

Amaka Umeh
Born
Chiamaka Umeh

Lagos, Nigeria
Alma materRandolph College for the Performing Arts
OccupationActor
Years active2014–present

Chiamaka Umeh, known professionally as Amaka Umeh, is a Nigerian actor[a] who became the first Black actor and first genderfluid performer to portray Hamlet at the Stratford Festival in Canada in 2020, receiving critical acclaim for the performance. Umeh has received various accolades, including five Dora Mavor Moore Awards. Umeh moved to Canada at the age of 11 and has acted in numerous theatre productions, including The Tempest (2014), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018), The Wolves (2018), Hamlet (2020–22), Death and the King's Horseman (2023), Sizwe Banzi Is Dead (2023), and A Strange Loop (2025). In 2026, Umeh made their television debut with the role of Dee Pharma on AMC's gothic horror series The Vampire Lestat.

Early life

Chiamaka Umeh[2][3] was born in Lagos, Nigeria.[4] Umeh is of Igbo and Ikwerre descent[5] and was raised in a Christian household.[2] At the age of 11, Umeh moved with their family to Ottawa, Canada,[6] and they later lived in Calgary and Toronto.[6][4]

Umeh started acting as a child in Nigeria. Their first theatre experience was with a staged production of a Barney & Friends episode in a concert hall at the Muson Centre in Lagos, in which they sang the first musical number.[7] Umeh kept acting during their primary and secondary school education, and later with Calgary's Summerstock Theatre Society for a few seasons.[7] Umeh was two years into a Biological Sciences major at the University of Calgary when they decided to audition for the Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto,[6][8] joining the musical theatre program in 2012 and graduating in 2014.[7][9]

In 2021, Umeh completed the Stratford Festival Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre.[10] Umeh also completed the Factory Theatre Mechanicals and Toronto Fringe T.E.N.T. Programs.[11]

Career

Umeh has starred in numerous Canadian theatre productions.[4] In 2014, Umeh played the role of Ariel in a production of the play The Tempest by William Shakespeare at the Hart House Theatre in Toronto,[12] and was also the narrator on Randolph College for the Performing Arts' production of the musical Into the Woods.[7][13]

In 2015 and 2016, Umeh played the role of Hasana on Chloé Hung's play All Our Yesterdays,[7] based on the kidnapping of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls by the terrorist group Boko Haram in 2014.[14] Umeh also worked as an assistant director on Crow’s Theatre's 2015 production of Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play by Anne Washburn.[15]

In 2017, Umeh played aunt Spiker on Young People's Theatre's production of the musical James and the Giant Peach,[16] for which they received a nomination for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Female Performance.[17]

In 2018, Umeh played the role of Hermia in a production of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream at the High Park Amphitheatre in Toronto.[18] That same year, they played the role of a high-achieving goalie in the Howland Company and Crow's Theatre production of The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, for which they won a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role.[19][20]

In 2020, Umeh made history by becoming the first Black and first genderfluid[6][8] actor to portray Hamlet at the Stratford Festival in Canada,[21][22] first in a filmed performance that was made available for streaming as part of FreeUp! Emancipation Day 2020, after the Stratford production of William Shakespeare's play had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[21] and later in a theatre open to the public in 2022, for which their performance received critical acclaim.[23][24][25][26]

In 2021, Umeh played the role of Captain Ahab in MOBY: A Whale of A Tale, a musical adaptation of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick at Pirate Life Theatre in Toronto,[27] for which they won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble.[28]

In 2022, Umeh narrated the audiobook version of Nigerian-Canadian writer Francesca Ekwuyasi's debut novel, Butter Honey Pig Bread.[29] Umeh's narration was praised by the American newspaper The Stranger, who said that their "buttery voice and realistic accents added an extra layer of enjoyment".[30]

In January and March 2023, Umeh portrayed jazz performer Rose Lacroix in Hannah Moscovitch's adaptation of Ann-Marie MacDonald's novel, Fall on Your Knees, at the Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto, and later toured with the play in Halifax, Ottawa, and London.[8][31] In May and June 2023, Umeh played Styles/Buntu on Soulpepper Theatre Company's production of Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, for which they won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Leading Performer (General Theatre) in 2024.[32] In December 2023, Umeh was an assistant director on the Cahoots Theatre Company's production of the play Sweeter by Alicia Richardson.[33][34]

In 2026, Umeh made their television debut with the role of Dee Pharma, a member of the vampire Lestat's entourage on the third season of AMC's gothic horror series The Vampire Lestat.[35]

For their performances in both the musical Narnia by Fiona Sauder, and the play Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary by Erin Shields, Umeh was nominated for two Dora Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in 2026.[36] Umeh also hosted the Dora Awards ceremony on 29 June 2026.[37]

In 2027, Umeh will reprise the role of Rose Lacroix in the play Fall on Your Knees at the Guloien Theatre in Toronto.[38]

Personal life

Umeh lives in Toronto, Canada.[5]

Umeh identifies as genderfluid and uses she/her, they/them and he/him pronouns.[3][1]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2021 The Strangers' Case Short film [39]
2023 Death and the King's Horseman Olohun-iyo - Praise-Singer Filmed stage performance [10][40]
Hamlet Prince Hamlet Filmed stage performance [41]

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2026 The Vampire Lestat Dee Pharma Television series [35]

Theatre

As actor
Year Title Role Playwright Company/Venue Ref.
2014 Into the Woods Narrator Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine Randolph College for the Performing Arts [7][13]
The Tempest Ariel William Shakespeare Hart House Theatre [12]
Jesus Christ Superstar Caiaphas Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice Lower Ossington Theatre [42]
2015 This Is For You, Anna M. 4 / Daughter / Friend / Alicia / Jenny / Victim 3 / Woman 4 / Fiancee Suzanne Khuri, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Banuta Rubess and Maureen White Hart House Theatre [42]
All Our Yesterdays Hasana Chloé Hung The Toronto Fringe Festival [7]
2016 Next Stage Theatre Festival [14]
Echoes – A New Musical Performer Andrew Seok The Toronto Fringe Festival [42]
Iza the Brave Iza Mihaly Szabados The Toronto Fringe Festival [42]
Suitcases Performer Rosanna Saracino Artscape Sandbox [42]
2017 James and the Giant Peach Spiker Timothy Allen McDonald, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul Young People's Theatre [42]
PETS Cat Ishai Buchbinder Bellwoods Garage Studio [42]
"Grab 'Em by the Pussy" or How To Stop Worrying & Love the Bomb Performer Rouvan Silogix Bob Nasmith Innovation Backspace [42]
2018 The Wolves #00 Sarah DeLappe Crow's Theatre [43]
Beethoven Lives Upstairs Christa Barbara Nichol Grand Theatre [44]
A Midsummer Night's Dream Hermia William Shakespeare High Park Amphitheatre [18]
A Christmas Carol Abigail Charles Dickens and Dennis Garnhum Grand Theatre [45]
2019 Towards Youth Ensemble Andrew Kushnir Crow's Theatre [46][47]
Blood + Soil Snowball Rouvan Silogix Bob Nasmith Innovation Backspace [42]
Hilda's Yard Bobbi Norm Foster Norm Foster Theatre Festival [48]
2021 A Midsummer Night's Dream Helena, Flute and Moth William Shakespeare Tom Patterson Theatre [49]
MOBY: A Whale of A Tale Captain Ahab Lena Maripuu and Annie Tuma Pirate Life Theatre [27]
2022 Hamlet Prince Hamlet William Shakespeare Stratford Festival [6]
2023 Fall on Your Knees Rose Lacroix Hannah Moscovitch Bluma Appel Theatre [31][8]
Death and the King's Horseman Olohun-iyo - Praise-Singer Wole Soyinka Stratford Festival [10]
Sizwe Banzi Is Dead Styles/Buntu Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona The Michael Young Theatre [42]
2024 Three Sisters Igwe Inua Ellams Marilyn and Charles Baillie Theatre [42]
2025 A Strange Loop Thought 2 / Understudy Thought 1 Michael R. Jackson Marilyn and Charles Baillie Theatre [42][50]
Narnia Witch Fiona Sauder Marilyn and Charles Baillie Theatre [42]
2026 Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary Not-A-Mary Erin Shields Guloien Theatre [42]
2027 Fall on Your Knees Rose Lacroix Hannah Moscovitch Guloien Theatre [38]
As assistant director
Year Title Playwright Director Company/Venue Ref.
2015 Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play Anne Washburn Simon Bloom and Mitchell Cushman Big Picture Cinema [42]
2023 Sweeter Alicia Richardson Tanisha Taitt Aki Studio

Audiobook

Year Title Role Author Ref.
2022 Butter Honey Pig Bread Narrator Francesca Ekwuyasi [29]

Accolades

Awards and nominations received by Amaka Umeh
Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2017 Dora Mavor Moore Awards Outstanding Female Performance (Musical Theatre) James and the Giant Peach Nominated [17]
2019 Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role The Wolves Won [19]
2022 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble (Theatre for Young Audiences) Moby: A Whale Of A Tale Won [28]
2024 Best Leading Performer (General Theatre) Sizwe Banzi Is Dead Won [32][51]
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble (General Theatre) Three Sisters Won
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble (Theatre for Young Audiences) Sweeter Nominated [52]
2025 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble (Musical Theatre) A Strange Loop Won [53]
2026 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble (General Theatre) Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary Nominated [36]
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble (Musical Theatre) Narnia Nominated
2022 Black Business and Professional Association Harry Jerome President's Award N/a Won [54]
2023 Stratford Festival Peter Donaldson Award N/a Won [37]
2025 Toronto Theatre Critics Awards Best Ensemble Performance in a Musical A Strange Loop Won [55]

Notes

  1. ↑ Umeh is genderfluid and prefers the term actor to actress and also uses all pronouns.[1] This article uses they/them for consistency.

References

  1. 1 2 BBPA Harry Jerome Awards Amaka Umeh. The Black Business & Professional Association. 3 May 2022. Archived from the original on 12 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026 – via YouTube.
  2. 1 2 "Next Stage Theatre Fest's Chiamaka Umeh, Esther Jun and Rebecca Perry". NOW Toronto. 6 January 2016. Archived from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 HartHouseTheatre (13 May 2021). HHT Alumni Featuring Amaka Umeh. Archived from the original on 12 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026 – via YouTube.
  4. 1 2 3 Laing, Sarah (6 June 2022). "Meet Amaka Umeh, the New Star of Canadian Theatre". The Kit. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  5. 1 2 McRae-McNicholls, Neesa (23 November 2025). "Beyond good and evil: Toronto performer Amaka Umeh chats about a witch's world in Bad Hats' Narnia". NOW Toronto. Archived from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Nestruck, J. Kelly (11 August 2022). "Why the Stratford Festival's Amaka Umeh wants to keep some Hamlet secrets hidden". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 12 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Nominee Interview Series: Chiamaka Umeh". My Entertainment World. 20 March 2016. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Collymore, Ann Marie (27 October 2025). "Why You'll Fall On Your Knees For Award-Winning Actor Amaka Umeh". ByBlacks.com.
  9. ↑ "Amaka Umeh". Randolph College for the Performing Arts. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "Death and the King's Horseman" (PDF). Soul Pepper. pp. 6–7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Watch now: FreeUp! Emancipation Day 2020, a CBC special celebrating Black Canadian artists". CBC. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  12. 1 2 "The Tempest | Theatre | Hart House". Hart House Theatre. Archived from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  13. 1 2 "Nominee Interview Series: Chloé Hung". My Entertainment World. 3 January 2016. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026. I had worked with Chiamaka Umeh before as I was an assistant stage manager on the Randolph Academy's production of Into the Woods where she played the Narrator.
  14. 1 2 Sun, Angela (8 January 2016). "2016 Next Stage Theatre Festival Review: All Our Yesterdays (AnOther Theatre Company)". Mooney on Theatre. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  15. ↑ "Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play (2015)", The Toronto Theatre Database, archived from the original on 16 June 2026, retrieved 16 June 2026
  16. ↑ Fricker, Karen (13 February 2017). "Fun to be had in James and the Giant Peach: review". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 14 June 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  17. 1 2 Antaki, May (26 June 2017). "38th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Award Winners". Intermission Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 June 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  18. 1 2 Bimm, Jordan (19 July 2018). "A Midsummer Night's Dream in High Park dazzles". NOW Toronto. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  19. 1 2 Ahmed, Mariam (26 June 2019). "Intermission Magazine - 40th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Award Winners". Intermission Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "Review: The Wolves (The Howland Company/Crow's Theatre)". Mooney on Theatre. 14 October 2018.
  21. 1 2 "Watch Amaka Umeh — the first Black woman to play Hamlet at Stratford — perform its most iconic scene". CBC. 25 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Rising star Amaka Umeh is making history on and off stage". The Caribbean Camera. 13 May 2022. Archived from the original on 12 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  23. ↑ Gienow, Lauren (3 June 2022). "Review: HAMLET at the Stratford Festival is Fresh and Brilliant and Amaka Umeh is a Star". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on 16 June 2026. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  24. ↑ Urquhart, Bruce (5 June 2022). "Umeh's star-making performance makes for a captivating Hamlet". The Stratford Beacon Herald. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  25. ↑ Watson, Jessica (29 June 2022). "REVIEW: Hamlet at Stratford Festival". Intermission Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  26. ↑ Fisher, Philip (21 February 2023). "Stream review: Hamlet from Stratford Festival at Stratford Festival Theatre". British Theatre Guide. Archived from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  27. 1 2 Sumi, Glenn (21 September 2021). "Review: Moby: A Whale Of A Tale". NOW Toronto. Archived from the original on 14 June 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  28. 1 2 Watson, Jessica (20 September 2022). "2022 Dora Mavor Moore Awards Winners". Intermission Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 June 2026. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  29. 1 2 Hashimoto, Sarah (16 December 2022). "LJ Talks to ECW Press". Library Journal. Archived from the original on 15 June 2026. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  30. ↑ Bell, Julianne; Vann, Audrey (9 June 2025). "The Stranger's Summer Book Bingo Guide". The Stranger.
  31. 1 2 Knegt, Peter (20 January 2023), "Ann-Marie MacDonald's life-changing novel Fall On Your Knees is now an epic six-hour play", CBC, archived from the original on 13 June 2026, retrieved 13 June 2026
  32. 1 2 "TAPA - Recipients of 44th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards Announced". TAPA. 25 June 2024. Archived from the original on 14 June 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  33. ↑ "Alicia Richardson & Amaka Umeh". Stageworthy. 28 November 2023. Archived from the original on 12 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  34. ↑ "Sweeter | A Production by Cahoots Theatre". Cahoots Theatre. Archived from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  35. 1 2 Boyle, Kelli (7 January 2026). "'The Vampire Lestat' Teaser: Lestat Picks a Groupie to Drain (VIDEO)". TV Insider. Archived from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  36. 1 2 Abrigo, Krystal (1 June 2026). "TAPA unveils 2026 Dora Award nominees". Intermission Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  37. 1 2 "TAPA - Announcement: Amaka Umeh to host 46th Annual Dora Awards". TAPA. 27 March 2026. Archived from the original on 15 June 2026. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  38. 1 2 "Fall on Your Knees: Part 1". Crow's Theatre. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  39. ↑ "The Strangers' Case". LEVIcreates. 17 September 2022.
  40. ↑ "Stratford: "Death and the King's Horseman" premieres on Stratfest@Home February 9". Stage-door.com. 9 February 2023. Archived from the original on 12 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  41. ↑ Cristi, A. A. (21 February 2023). "HAMLET With Amaka Umeh Now Available On Stratfest@Home For Streaming Worldwide". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  42. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Amaka Umeh | The Toronto Theatre Database". The Toronto Theatre Database. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  43. ↑ "The Wolves". The Howland Company. 19 December 2017. Archived from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  44. ↑ "100 Schools Tour Launches with Grand Theatre's Production of Beethoven Lives Upstairs | The Grand Theatre". Grand Theatre. Archived from the original on 18 June 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  45. ↑ "Ring in the holidays at the Grand with A Christmas Carol | The Grand Theatre". Grand Theatre. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  46. ↑ Gallagher, Kathleen (24 April 2019). "Youth find hope for the future through documentary play". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  47. ↑ "Out at School, Toronto Pride, 2019". LGBTQ Families Speak Out. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  48. ↑ "Hilda's Yard". Stage Door. 16 July 2019. Archived from the original on 15 June 2026. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  49. ↑ Ross (31 July 2021). "You Can't Stop the Beat: The Return to Live Theatre at the Stratford Festival in Canada". Times Square Chronicles. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  50. ↑ Ossip, Lori (5 May 2025). "Review: 'A Strange Loop' is an unapologetic, meaningful journey of self-exploration". Next Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  51. ↑ Sumi, Glenn (19 July 2024). "Dora Awards 2024: 'Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812' earns four statuettes at Toronto's top theatre honours". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 14 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  52. ↑ "TAPA - Nominees Announced for the 44th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards". TAPA. 28 May 2024. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  53. ↑ "TAPA announces 2025 Dora Mavor Moore Award Recipients" (PDF). TAPA. 1 July 2025. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 June 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  54. ↑ Rabinowitz, Chloe (2 May 2022). "Amaka Umeh and David Simmonds Receive 2022 Harry Jerome Awards From the BBPA". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on 14 June 2026. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  55. ↑ Donovan, Liam (9 May 2025). "Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards jury announces 2025 winners". Intermission Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 June 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
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