Rachel Jackson (actress-comedian)
Rachel Katherine Jackson (born 23 August 1987) is a Scottish actress and comedian who is best known for her roles as Donna in The Party’s Just Beginning[1][2], Wendy in Beats[3][4][5] and Cassandra in Bunny Boiler.[6]
Early life[edit]
She was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to parents Donald and Helen (nee Cunningham) Jackson. She has an older brother, Graeme, who was born in 1984. Jackson was educated at Juniper Green Primary School and Currie Community High School, both in Edinburgh.
At the age of 18 she moved to London to pursue a break into acting and did promotional work for companies before being headhunted to become a Business Development Manager for a soft drinks’ company. With the desire for acting still in her blood, she decided to leave the job.
Having auditioned and performed in productions for the National Youth Theatre, she enrolled in its “Playing Up” course[7], which allowed six auditions to drama schools. Jackson successfully auditioned for the Rose Bruford Drama School to study in her native Edinburgh, starting there in 2012, and graduated with a BA (Hons) in Drama in 2015.
In her graduation year, the Drama School nominated Jackson for the prestigious Spotlight Prize[8], a competition comprising of each UK drama school nominating their one student seen to have the most potential.
Comedy career[edit]
After appearing in advertisements and smaller roles, Jackson took a one woman show she had written, Memoirs of a Bunny Boiler, to the Camden Fringe Festival in 2014[9]. The following year she took the show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe[10] and was approached by BBC Three executives – after having seen the show – about developing the show and its character, Cassandra, for television[11]. The miniseries was recorded in October 2016 and televised in January following year.
In 2016 Jackson returned to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to perform Force of Nature at the then Sportsters Bar. She also performed as Suze With The News on Edinburgh Fest Live which was broadcast on the Showbiz TV channel[12] on the Sky TV framework.
In 2017 Jackson performed an extended version of Memoirs of a Bunny Boiler, shortened to Bunny Boiler, at the Pleasance Courtyard at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival[13][14][15]. Despite it being her third show at the festival it was her first hour long performance, and it earned her a place on the Best Newcomer long list – despite her describing it in an unpublished interview as “one of the worst months of my life”.
She returned to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019 as part of the Free Fringe at Sneaky Pete's when she had a week’s run with Slutty Little Goldfish. It was nominated for the Sunday Herald Scottish Culture award and British Comedy Guide's Comedy Poster Awards[16].
Jackson was due to be part of the 2020 Edinburgh Fringe in a show with her friend Susan Riddell, at Monkey Barrel, but that was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic[17]. It is hoped it will transfer over to the 2021 festival where Jackson also intends to perform a stand-up show.
In August 2020 Jackson filmed an episode for the third series of ITV2's The Stand Up Sketch Show, which will start airing in February 2021.
Acting career[edit]
Jackson made her on-screen debut in 2008, appearing as Kirsty in Emo - which also starred Altered Images' singer Clare Grogan - as part of the sixth series of Channel 4’s Coming Up.
She took on minor roles in programmes such as ITV’s successful dramatisation of Secret Diary of a Call Girl and the short lived sitcom FM.
Following the success of Bunny Boiler Jackson joined the cast of BBC Scotland sketch show The State Of It as well as taking roles in the channel’s successful sitcoms Still Game and Two Doors Down.
Her first major film role came in 2018’s The Party’s Just Beginning in which she played Donna and, a year later, playing Wendy in Beats.
Jackson will be playing the role of Cherry in the short horror film The Mad Shagger while two other films, I Saw Black Clouds (which will also be a computer game)[18] and Demon are in post-production which have been delayed in release because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
She has written a black comedy play, entitled, Meteroids for herself and friend Kate Dickie. She performed an excerpt from the play for The Scotsman Sessions in July 2020[19].
Personal life[edit]
Jackson is good friends with actress and director Karen Gillan after they met at the wrap party of the sixth series Channel 4’s Coming Up series[20].
In 2011 she was the face of an Irn Bru advertising campaign, featuring on the bottles and buses[21].
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
Year | Title | Genre | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Post Production | I Saw Black Clouds | Horror, Mystery, Thriller and Computer Game | Charlotte |
Post Production | Demon | Drama, Comedy, Horror | Lena |
2020 | The Mad Shagger | Short, Horror | Cherry |
2019 | Beats[3] | Comedy, Crime, Drama | Wendy |
2018 | The Party's Just Beginning[1] | Comedy, Drama | Donna |
2017 | The Last Photograph[22] | Drama | Newsreader |
2012 | Sawney: The Flesh of Man[23] | Crime, Horror, Thriller | Clare |
2008 | The Flyer | Short, Drama | Cath |
Television[edit]
Year | Title | Series/Episode | Channel/Production Company | Character |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Billy and Us[24] | Series 1 Episode 3 - Dirty Bits | BBC Scotland | Herself |
2020 | Socially Distant With Susan Calman[25] | Series 1 Episode 6 | BBC Scotland | Herself |
2019 | Still Game[26] | Series 9, Episode 6 "Over The Hill" | BBC Scotland | Female Charity Worker |
2019 | The Comedy Underground[27] | Series 1 Episode 4 | BBC Scotland | Herself |
2018- | The State Of It[28] | Example | BBC Scotland | Various roles |
2018 | Two Doors Down[29][30] | Series 3, Episode 4 "Fish Friday" | BBC Scotland | Waitress |
2017 | Bunny Boiler[6] | All episodes | BBC Three | Cassandra |
2017 | Outlander[31][32] | Of Lost Things | Amazon Prime Video (UK), Starz (US) | Bar Patron |
2016 | Edinburgh Fest Live[12] | Various episodes | Showbiz TV | Suze with the News |
2015 | Scot Squad | Series 2, Episode 4 | BBC Scotland | Bernie Cooper |
2015 | Fog of Sex: Stories from the Frontline of Student Sex Work | Documentary | Swansea University | Holly |
2010 | Secret Diary of a Call Girl[33] | Series 3, Episode 5 | ITV | Izzy (uncredited) |
2009 | FM[34] | Series 1, Episode 6 "Blinded By The Light" | ITV/Granada | Barwoman |
2008 | Coming Up[35] | Series 6, Episode 3 "Emo" | Channel 4 | Kirsty |
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Shows[edit]
Year | Title | Venue |
---|---|---|
2019 | Slutty Little Goldfish[36] | Sneaky Pete's |
2017 | Bunny Boiler[13] | Pleasance Courtyard |
2016 | Force of Nature[37] | Sportsters |
2015 | Memoirs of a Bunny Boiler[10] | George Next Door |
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Rachel Jackson interview at The Party Is Just Beginning premiere – Tribeca Film Festival". www.YouTube/The Upcoming.
- ↑ "The Party's Just Beginning review – Karen Gillan's dark days in the depths of grief". The Guardian.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Beats: Captures The Spirit of a Friendship and the State of a Nation" – via filminquiry.com.
- ↑ "Rachel Jackson interview - why the Scottish stand-up and actor is on a roll" – via The Scotsman.
- ↑ "Beats star Rachel Jackson thinks big as she bulks up for movie tipped as 'next Trainspotting'". Daily Record.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Bunny Boiler's Dating Vlog: From Edinburgh Fringe to BBC Three" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "Playing Up | National Youth Theatre". www.nyt.org.uk.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jeHjpabWio
- ↑ http://cowevents.com/blog/rachel-jacksons-memoirs-of-a-bunny-boiler-at-the-camden-fringe
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Guide, British Comedy. "Rachel Jackson - Edinburgh Fringe 2015". British Comedy Guide.
- ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/entries/27a30ef7-068c-4e3f-a696-380f4e4c6f8a
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Edinburgh Fest Live programme 9 pt4". SBC Scottish Broadcasting Company on YouTube.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 New European, The. "Edinburgh Fringe 2017: Saturday comedy show review". The New European.
- ↑ Company, Scottish Broadcasting. "Top Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Shows 2017". Scottish Broadcasting Company.
- ↑ "Rachel Jackson @ Pleasance Courtyard". The Skinny.
- ↑ "Comedy Poster Awards 2019". British Comedy Guide.
- ↑ "Edinburgh's August festivals will not take place in 2020". Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
- ↑ "Beats star Rachel Jackson thinks big as she bulks up for movie tipped as 'next Trainspotting'". Daily Record.
- ↑ "The Scotsman Sessions #69: Rachel Jackson". The Scotsman.
- ↑ "I think everyone is a bunny boiler". The Herald.
- ↑ "Rachel Jackson on CHUNKS & her Bunny Boiler vlogs". The Skinny.
- ↑ "The Last Photograph (2017)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- ↑ "Sawney: Flesh of Man (2012)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- ↑ "Billy and Us" – via www.comedy.co.uk.
- ↑ "Socially Distant with Susan Calman" – via www.comedy.co.uk.
- ↑ "Over the Hill" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "Episode #1.4" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "The State of It (TV Series 2018– )" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "Fish Friday" – via www.comedy.co.uk.
- ↑ "Rachel Jackson at The Glee" – via The Glee Club.
- ↑ ""Outlander" Of Lost Things" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- ↑ "Rachel Jackson at The Glee" – via The Glee Club.
- ↑ ""Secret Diary of a Call Girl" Episode #3.5 (TV Episode 2010) - IMDb" – via www.rottontomatoes.com.
- ↑ "Blinded by the Light" – via www.comedy.co.uk.
- ↑ "Emo" – via www.curtisbrown.co.uk.
- ↑ Edit, The. "Rachel Jackson - Slutty Little Goldfish". The Edit.
- ↑ Guide, British Comedy. "Rachel Jackson - Edinburgh Fringe 2016". British Comedy Guide.
External links[edit]
- Rachel Jackson on Spotlight
- Rachel Jackson on IMDb
- Rachel Jackson 2019 Showreel on YouTube
- Rachel Jackson filmography on Amazon Prime Video (UK)
- Rachel Jackson filmography on Amazon Prime Video (US)
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