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Felixstowe Nub News delves into the life of former Felixstowe resident, actress Noma Dumezweni.

Noma Dumezweni was born in Swaziland on July 28 1969. She lived in Botswana, Kenya and Uganda before arriving in England as a refugee on May 17 1977 with her mother and sister.

Upon first coming to England, she lived in Felixstowe where she went to school before she later moved to London.

Dumezweni has acclaim in her endeavours both on stage and screen.

Her work in theatre includes: the 2002 production of "Antony and Cleopatra" at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, "A Raisin in the Sun" for the Young Vic at the Lyric Hammersmith, London, and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Master and Margarita" for the Chichester Festival Theatre.

For her role in "A Raisin in the Sun," she won a Laurence Olivier Award in the category Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Play in 2006.

However, her most notable and famous role was as Hermione Granger in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," running from 2016 to 2018 at the Palace Theatre and Lyric Theatre.

Due to Dumezweni being black and being cast as Hermione Granger, best known for being portrayed by Emma Watson in the Harry Potter franchise films, her role sparked fierce debate and discussion.

J.K. Rowling came to her defence whereby she stated that Hermione's skin was never specified as white.

The impact of this role led her to be named as one of BBC's 100 women during 2018. It also led to her receiving various nominations and awards including, a Laurence Olivier award in the category Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Play and being nominated for a Tony Award.

Dumezweni will be appearing in the 2023 live action remake of "The Little Mermaid" as Carlotta.

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