Sarah Naudi

Sarah Naudi is a Maltese stage, film, and television actress. She is best known for playing Vanessa in In the Heights at London's Charing Cross Theatre in 2016.

Early and personal life

Naudi was born with a club foot and struggled with mobility following an operation.[1][2] Naudi was interested in performing since age three,[1] when she began ballet lessons.[2] She studied musical theatre at Stagecoach Theatre Arts School in Malta.[3]

Naudi is married.[1]

Career

Stage

In 2004, Naudi was a member of the Young Talent Team, a performing group of eight teenagers who represented Malta at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Lillehammer, Norway.[4]

Naudi played Sanddy in Porn: The Musical when it played at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2009.[5] She joined the cast after its premiere in Malta earlier that year.[6] She returned to the role in 2014, when the show played at the newly-opened Pjazza Teatru Rjal in Valletta.[7][8]

Naudi joined the cast of the London premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights in 2015. The show ran first at the Southwark Playhouse and then moved to the Charing Cross Theatre, with Naudi playing Carla at the premiere.[9] She took over the role of Vanessa in late 2016.[10] At the 2016 Olivier Awards, In the Heights won in three categories, Outstanding Achievement Musical Contribution, Best Choreographer for Drew McOnie and Best Supporting Actor for David Bedella.[11]

Naudi was part of the cast of the revival of Jamie Lloyd Evita at the Open Air Theatre in Regent Park in 2019.[12] The production was led by Samantha Pauly as Eva Perón, Frances Mayli McCann as Peron's mistress and Trent Saunders as Che.[13][14]

Film and television

Naudi has appeared in a few episodes of television, including Foundation (Apple TV), Litvinenko (Channel 5), and Mood (BBC).[1]

Naudi has worked with director Keith Tedesco since 2015, with the two having been friends for years before that.[15] She appeared in his 2016 short film In the Name of Bjorn.[15]

Naudi wrote the mini-series The Home Straight, which follows a young Maltese runner whose career is threatened by a foot injury.[16] Originally written as a feature film, Naudi later retooled the script for the mini-series format.[2] The series would be directed by Keith Tedesco, with Naudi playing the series' protagonist.[16] Naudi and Tedesco launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2022 to fund the project,[17] with plans to begin filming in 2023 if they reached their funding goals.[2] The series received €94,000 from the Malta Film Commission's Creative Malta scheme in 2023.[18] The series was in post-production as of March 2025.[19]

Credits

Stage

Year Title Role Theatre Ref
2009 Porn: The Musical Sanddy George 4 Theatre (Edinburgh Fringe) [5]
2015 - 2016 In the Heights Carla/ Vanessa Southwark Playhouse and

Charing Cross Theatre

[9]
2019 Evita Ensemble Regent's Park Open Air Theatre [20]

Film and TV

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2011 Presagi TV movie [21]
2015 By the Sea Grocery clerk Movie [16]
2016 In the Name of Bjorn Lore Short [15]
2020 The Madame Blanc Mysteries Sarah Newman TV Series - 1 episode [22]
2021 Foundation Maiden Zephyr TV Series - 1 episode [1]
2022 Mood Giuliana TV mini-series, 1 episode [1]
Litvinenko Dr Justine Adams TV mini-series, 2 episodes [1]
The Home Straight Serena in post-production [16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Calleja, Laura (2022-09-29). "Sarah Naudi: 'Life's a series of ups and downs, but we get to choose who comes along for the ride'". Malta Today. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  2. ^ a b c d Magri, Giulia (2022-08-27). "After missing out on film fund, local mini-series producers seek micro-investors". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  3. ^ "Ex-Stagecoach Malta Students Star on London's West End". The Malta Independent. 2016-09-12. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  4. ^ "Power of a Song singers off for Norway". Times of Malta. 2004-11-15. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  5. ^ a b "Malta's Porn debuts at Edinburgh festival". Times of Malta. 2009-08-09. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  6. ^ "'Porn' Reborn". Malta Independent. 2009-07-12.
  7. ^ "A Maltese-made musical making a comeback". Malta Independent. 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  8. ^ Xuereb, Paul (2014-09-14). "In Malta, everybody is related". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  9. ^ a b "Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights Opens in London Tonight". Playbill. October 13, 2015.
  10. ^ OG, Charlotte. "Interview: Sarah Naudi (In The Heights)". Talk Stagey To Me. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  11. ^ "Olivier Winners 2016". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  12. ^ Wild, Stephi (2019-08-08). "Photo Flash: Sneak Peek at EVITA at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  13. ^ Akbar, Arifa (2019-08-09). "Evita review – Argentina's queen of hearts as a high-school mean girl". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  14. ^ "Evita is here". Open Air Theatre. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  15. ^ a b c Reljic, Teodor (2015-03-31). "Creating stories that matter | Keith Tedesco". Malta Today. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  16. ^ a b c d Tortell, Ana (2022-08-20). "From Clubfoot Sufferer To West End: Maltese Actress' Inspirational Journey Turned Into Mini Series". Lovin Malta. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  17. ^ "Local filmmaker launches crowdfunding campaign". Times of Malta. 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  18. ^ "Over €1.5M in funds awarded for 19 local productions". TVMnews.mt. 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  19. ^ Gabelia, Alexander (2025-03-16). "PRODUCTION: Maltese Director Keith Albert Tedesco in Postproduction with Sports Drama The Home Straight". FilmNewEurope.com. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  20. ^ Hetrick, Adam (2019-06-24). "Regent's Park Theatre Announces Full Casting for Evita". Playbill.
  21. ^ Borg, Coryse (2020-06-01). "TV films shot in Malta to be shown on Canale 5". Newsbook. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  22. ^ Doherty, Réiltín (2022-10-19). "The Madame Blanc Mysteries episodes series 1: A full recap and guest cast guide". Entertainment Daily. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
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