Olivia Gibbs-Fairley

Olivia was born and raised in London and graduated from the ArtsEd MA Acting degree in 2020. After graduating she collaborated with her ArtsEd peers and wrote and performed in an all-female ensemble play Sex, Society and Other Stupid Sh*t (The Drayton Arms Theatre, The Hen & Chickens Theatre) which explored what it means to be a young woman in the 21st century.

Olivia toured A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Troubadour Stageworks, multi-rolling as Hermia and Peter Quince. Other theatre credits include: Sunday on the Rocks (Bread and Roses Theatre), From This Day Forward (OSO Barnes), Sarah Williams (The Pleasance, Islington), Much Ado About Nothing (Golden Goose Theatre) and a TIE tour of Macbeth.

Olivia has a strong background in improv comedy, having discovered it during her undergraduate degree at the University of Bristol (BSc Biology). She combines her improv passion with her love for Shakespeare as a performer with ShakeItUp Theatre; an improv theatre company who specialise in improvised Shakespeare shows. Since joining ShakeItUp Theatre, Olivia has had the pleasure to perform in theatres (The Other Palace, Theatre Royal Plymouth and The Dram, Patter Hoose as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) and community spaces all over the country.

Olivia writes and directs alongside acting and recently directed Prototype by Steph Darcey (Old Red Lion, Canal Cafe Theatre) a one-woman comedy exploring AI and politics. She is a recent lover of ballet, a keen netball player and is perpetually training for her next half-marathon!