Patsy Ferran

Born in Valencia, Spain in 1989, Patsy Ferran is a West End actress. She’s best known for her performance in Summer and Smoke at the Duke of York’s Theatre.

Both of Ferran’s parents are Spanish, however the family moved to England when Ferran was a child. After studying in Surrey, she went on to study Drama and Theatre Arts at Birmingham University. But, her higher education didn’t end there, as she trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 2014.

Ferran made her West End debut in 2014, playing Edith in Blithe Spirit at the Gielgud Theatre, opposite Angela Lansbury as Madame Arcati. That same year, she also made her National Theatre debut, taking on the role of Jim in a stage adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. The next couple of years saw Ferran continually on stage, but it wasn’t until 2018 that Ferran would become a household name.

In 2018, she played Alma Winemiller in Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke, originally at the Almeida Theatre. In a review for LondonTheatre.co.uk, Will Longman said: “Ferran takes centre stage, building up one of Alma’s all-encompassing panic attacks, gulping and gasping hysterically into a microphone, you know she is going to deliver something special. From Alma’s shy, timid demeanour, to outbursts or maniacal laughter, her convincing performance is reason alone to see this production.” After an acclaimed start at the Almeida, the production transferred to the Duke of York’s Theatre in November 2018 for a two month run. The following year, Ferran won her first Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play, beating the likes of Gillian Anderson, Sophie Okonedo and Katherine Parkinson.

Since her Olivier win, Ferran has returned to the Almeida to star in an adaptation of Three Sisters as Olga. She briefly made her Broadway debut in a revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, but the production was postponed after nine previews due to the Coronavirus pandemic and ultimately cancelled.

Recently, Ferran has starred in A Christmas Carol at the Bridge Theatre and Camp Siegfried at the Old Vic. She will next star in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre to Olivier Award-nominated acclaim, and its subsequent West End transfer at the Phoenix Theatre.