Meet Meréana Tomlinson-Rising Actress Among The Cast Of The Trials At Donmar Warehouse

Meréana Tomlinson is the new actor in the block. The young actor is appearing as one of the Jurors in the upcoming UK premiere of The Trials by Dawn King.

Who is Meréana Tomlinson? What is her new show, The Trials, about? Who are the cast members? 

We have all the details of her personal and professional life here including age, family, and career,  

Who Is Meréana Tomlinson?

Meréana Tomlinson is a promising new actress. She was born and raised in London. 

Acting and creating stories is something Tomlinson has done her whole life, and her artistic chops are still growing.

She is appearing in Dawn King's anticipated play The Trials, which is her first-ever big theatre job.

Her appearance in the play can definitely catapult the trajectory of a career.

According to the sources, Meréana was chosen among more than 1300 aspiring young actors.

More than thirteen hundred people were engaged through community groups and schools to take part in the play at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

The casting procedure was very rough, and they had to have voice, performance skills, and movement sessions.

They also participated in climate activism sessions, and the play is about saving the climate crisis.

After the intense casting process, Tomlinson was among 12 of the chosen ones.

Likewise,  according to Michael Longhurst, the Donmar's artistic director, they have only chosen the newcomers for the roles.

According to them, they wanted young and new Londoner actors to be cast for the role.

Longhurst said:

"I am proud that as part of our casting process for The Trials, the Donmar has created an extensive engagement programme with young Londoners from our community, opening routes into the industry and platforming the next generation of actors and activists."

Similarly, Professor Selina Busby, Principal Lecturer and Course Leader of MA Applied Theatre at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commented on casting young newcomers for the play.

She stated:

"This project is really exciting, the Donmar's approach to involving local communities and young people in their work is unique and highly ambitious."

She further said:

"We have loved partnering with them on the project and it was a vital opportunity for so many young people to be involved in theatre-making at a time when cuts to school theatre provision and to the arts and youth services are reducing these opportunities." 

Also see: Australian Actor And TV Host Daniel MacPherson Biography: Age, Height, Wife, Son, & Net Worth

The Dawn King's New Play The Trials Deals With Climate Crisis

An award-winning theatre, television, VR, and radio writer Dawn King is coming up with a new play, The Trials.

The play is set a bit further in the future and revolves around the court case and trial.

The story is about climate change, global warming and the crisis these have led to.

The play revolved around the children jurors who will judge the older generation's contributions to the climate crisis. Meréana Tomlinson will play one of the jurors.

The show is already a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and it also received its world premiere at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus in 2021.

As per Donmar Warehouse Artistic Director Longhurst," "Dawn King's explosive new play about the climate crisis demands we consider the generation most affected."

Not only that, the creative team for The Trials is also focused on minimizing the impact of the production on the environment.

As per the sources:

"Working with Julie's Bicycle and Donmar Associate Zoë Svendsen, and with guidance from the Theatre Green Book, the creative team for The Trials is focused on minimising the impact of the production on the environment."

They continued:

"The aim is to create a piece of theatre in which every possible element is either reused or recycled and can be returned to the theatre ecosystem for use in future productions."

King always has a way of presenting stories that can impact society. Her first play Foxfinder was the winner of the 2011 Papatango New Writing Competition.

Also, she is famous for plays such as Doghead Boy,  Face Value for the Stephen Joseph Scarborough, Dinosaur for Theatre 503, and Sharkmouth Go To Ikea for the Junction Cambridge. 

Meréana Tomlinson's Role In The Trials

As mentioned earlier, Meréana Tomlinson will be one of the 12 jurors in the play, and she will be playing the role of Kako.

The play features many other rising and upcoming actors, such as Elise Alexandre, as Amelia, known for appearing in Radioactive and The Ferryman.

Francis Dourado, a London-based actress, and YouTuber, plays a character named Mohammad. Also Jowana El-Daouk as Gabi.

The play will also have some newly famous teen actors—Will Gao as Xander, Joe Locke as Noah, and Honor Kneafsey as Ren.

Both Gao and Locke became overnight sensations following their role as Tao Xu and Charlie Spring in the Netflix series Heartstopper. 

The show is based on Alice Oseman's comic, starring Joe and Kit Connor in the lead role.

Likewise, Kneafsey is an up-and-coming British actress best known for her voice role as Robyn Goodfellow in Wolfwalkers and Jodie Dawson in Benidorm.

The rising actor Jairaj Varsani is known for shows like The Personal History of David Copperfield, Foundation, and Avenue 5; he is also in the play as Adnan.

Similarly, the play will have newcomers like Rue Millwood as Chris, Charlie Reid as Tomaz, and Taya Tower as Zoe.

The show also features established actors like Sharon Small and Nigel Lindsay. Scottish film, radio, theatre, and television actress Small is best known for her role as Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.

Similarly, English actor Nigel Lindsay is best known for his roles as Jo Jo Marshall in the Netflix series Safe and Sir Robert Peel in the first two seasons of Victoria.

British film, theatre, and opera director Natalie Abrahami will direct the show. She is an award-winning theatre director who has been active since 2000.

The Trails is under Donmar LOCAL production and will run at The Donmar Warehouse from 12 August until 27 August 2022.