Shanay Holmes Talks … Playing Nancy in West Ends Oliver!

Shanay Holmes is an award-winning British musical theatre actor and producer best known for her work on the West End stage.

In October 2025, she was named Best Female Lead Actor in a Musical at the Black British Theatre Awards for her performance as Nancy in Oliver! at the Gielgud Theatre, a highlight in a career that includes roles in Miss Saigon, Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Thriller Live, and The Bodyguard Musical.

In addition to her acting accolades, Holmes is also recognised for her creative work off stage. Alongside her husband, she co-founded West End Musical Con and West End Brunch, events that celebrate musical theatre fandom and community.

Here Shanay reflects on her award-winning year, her evolving career, and the importance of creating spaces where people feel seen and connected.

Please introduce yourself …

Shanay Holmes, Capricorn, British and Caribbean

Describe your life in one word or a sentence …


Unstoppable

Last Year you won Best Female Lead Actor in a Musical at the Black British Theatre Awards! How does it feel to have your performance as Nancy recognised in this way, and what did this moment mean to you personally and professionally?

Thank you. To be recognised in this way by my community is everything. Professionally it is such an achievement. I poured everything into playing Nancy and it’s an honour that it has been recognised like this. Personally, all my lived experience and all my truth was poured into this role, it was deeply personal to me, so to win this award felt extremely liberating.

When you first approached the role of Nancy, did she feel instantly familiar, or did it take time to grow into her and understand who your Nancy would be?

It took a little time as the role is so loved and Oliver! is so sacred to so many however the more I let go of any pre-existing ideas of Nancy and allowed myself to be vulnerable it was like stepping into my truth and once I did that it felt like I was born to play her.

Nancy is such a layered character, with survival, courage, and heartbreak all in her story. How did you bring your own truth and experiences to the role?

My personal life has been one of resilience, courage and survival so I only had to step into that. I allowed myself to be vulnerable enough to tell her story truthfully. Some people see her as a one-dimensional caricature, but she is so complex and she is layered and also a reflection of millions of real women who share the same story of resilience.

Your performances are often emotionally and vocally demanding. How do you prepare for such intense roles and sustain that energy night after night?

We’re vocal athletes. Your entire life changes in a role like this. You train, eat, sleep like an Olympian at this level. It asks everything of you. You must be extremely disciplined.

You co-founded West End Musical Con and West End Brunch with your husband. You’ve said it was inspired by seeing your younger brother find community at a fan convention. Can you take us back to that moment, what clicked for you both that made you say, “We need to do this”?

It was the moment I saw my brother become empowered through Cosplay. My brother can become very anxious in large groups and there where thousands of people at this convention. But because he was around people who truly got him, he didn’t feel anxious at all … he felt seen. He had found his community and was free to exist in a space where he wasn’t judged for what he loved but celebrated! I thought “Why don’t musical theatre fans have this?”. So, we built it. A place where we belong.

What does it feel like to build something from the ground up with your partner? Is it different collaborating professionally with your husband than in a personal relationship? How do you navigate the challenges and celebrate the wins?

It can be extremely difficult but there’s no one else I’d rather build my life with both personally and professionally. Chris is everything I’m not and vice versa and we fuel each other’s dreams. One of the biggest challenges is that usually you can just go home after work finishes, shut off or not talk about it, but when you work with your partner that becomes much harder so we have rules on when we work or even discuss work that we try to stick too.

Celebrating is just incredible! There is something so unbelievable about turning a dream into reality with someone you love. We have a great shared purpose and we complement each other.

MusicalCon has become a landmark event for fans and performers alike. What was it like to see your vision for the convention come to life, and how has it grown since you started?

I can’t explain it. It was almost unbelievable thing to witness something that has lived in your head for so long become a real tangible thing. A dream into reality. It has grown so much, we have grown so much. It now belongs to the community it’s not just ours anymore it’s the fan convention this community deserves. It’s become a beast of its own and we do it because it means so much to people and will continue to do it for as long as people feel that way about it.

What’s been the most rewarding feedback you’ve received from fans or participants? When someone tells you that MusicalCon or West End Brunch changed their life, gave them confidence, or made them feel seen, what goes through your mind?

I can’t quite get my head around it. To have an impact on anyone else’s life in a positive way is an incredible thing don’t you think? So, when people express that Con ‘saved them’ or that they feel empowered by coming or have become best friends there when they used to feel alone – my heart can’t take it. I’m immensely proud that people feel safe, free to be who they are and truly seen at our events. And with every message, letter or email I read it only fuels me to want to do more and more.

Looking back over your career, is there a “pinch me” moment, that instant you thought, “I can’t believe this is real”?

Oh absolutely. It was performing As Long As He Needs Me at the Royal Variety performance at the Royal Albert Hall in front of the King. It was the most transcendent moment of my life thus far.

GETTING TO KNOW …

If not this, then what?
Adventurer

What’s made you sad, mad & glad this week? 
Sad what happening in Minneapolis! Mad ICE! Being in Disneyland celebrating my
birthday with the people I love.

What are you watching?
Traitors!

What are you reading?

Fawning by Dr Ingrid Clayton

The last film you watched?

Sleeping Beauty we where in Disneyland it was perfect!

The last play you saw?
For Black Boys… which I also co-produced

The last live music event? 
Chacka Khan!

What’s currently on your playlist? 
Right now cinematic soul.

Which podcast are you listening to? 
We need to talk – Paul C Brunson

What’s on your bucket list?

I just did it! Watching the fireworks at the Disneyland Hotel! Next I’d love to
take a ride on orient express.

Shanay Holmes is a West End Performer and actor working across musical theatre and live performance. Her work includes originating the role of Nancy in the West End production of Oliver!

Find out more at www.shanayholmes.com