Anna Marie Simonsen is an award-winning, Norwegian theatre maker and clown. She is a SOHO Theatre alumni, and graduated with a BA (Hons) Drama and Theatre Arts from Goldsmiths University in 2019. She has toured her own work internationally since graduating, including Melbourne Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, SOHO Theatre, Brighton Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, Nieu Scene (Oslo) and Old Fire Station (Oxford).
Anna Marie is currently performing in and producing the ★★★★ (The Guardian) two-clown comedy Troll directed by Cecily Nash, starring Marie Kallevik Straume and herself. The “lovable” (The Scotsman) clown duo is also hosting the critically acclaimed Naughty Cabaret, currently programmed at Teaterkjeller’n Oslo Nye.
Her debut solo show, Naughty (★★★★★ Oslo Fringe review), sold out at Oslo Fringe 2021. The ‘unmissable’ (ToDoList London) show has since toured the UK and Norway including performances at VAULT Festival 2023, Camden People’s Theatre (London), Nieu Scene (Oslo, Norway), Old Fire Station (Oxford) and the Edinburgh Fringe 2022.
Anna Marie performs her own work regularly at different cabaret and comedy nights. Previous guest performances include Fools Moon Cabaret (SOHO Theatre, London), Comedy Gold (Melbourne Comedy Festival), Pinata (London), Brainchild Hatch (London), Alternative Comedy Memorial Society (Edinburgh), Late Night Nieu (Oslo, Norway), Objectively Funny (Brighton), Cabaret Impedimenta (Edinburgh).
Anna Marie is also curating Norway Clown Festival in Oslo with Amanda Tunsberg and Marie Kallevik Straume. The program in 2023 included Angela DeCastro, Piotr Sikora and Rosa Garland. Tunsberg, Straume and Simonsen is also running workshops in clowning regularly at SALT Art & Music in Oslo.
Anna Marie is fascinated by clowning - how it provides space & freedom to explore/challenge audience's preconceptions. She loves using comedy & audience interaction as tools to subvert. Through her work she aim to unveil the complexity of the modern world through drawing attention to its inherent ridiculousness & promote the art form of clowning.
In 2022 she facilitated Clowning: Celebrating failure - a series of clowning workshops at The London Performance Studios in Bermondsey. A space for female & queer people to play and empower eachother through clowning.
In 2019 she directed the “divinely silly” London hit (★★★★ To Do List) Forbruker. The show had a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe, where Anna Marie also performed at The Wonder Jam. Forbruker was listed by the Scotsman in their ‘six best shows finishing early’ at the Edinburgh fringe, ‘four great shows to help you rage against the machine’ and as ‘unmissable’ by the ToDoList. Followed by sold out performances at SOHO Theatre and Camden People’s Theatre.
Her directorial debut Forbidden Fruit a Flavour Has was performed at the Cockpit Theatre during Camden Fringe in 2018. She has performance training from the US, UK and Norway, and studied at Mountain City Centre of the Arts in Maryland from 2013 to 2014 under the teaching of Coty Forno.