Robert Madge (actor)

Robert Dennis Madge (born 2 August 1996) is an English actor, writer & musical theatre performer. Madge first rose to prominence as a child actor, appearing as Michael Banks in Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre, they then went on to appear in various musical including appearing as Gavroche in the Les Miśerables 25th Anniversary Concert.

As an adult, they are best known for writing and starring in the award-winning auto-biographical solo show My Son's A Queer (But What Can You Do?), which has been performed in the West End.

Career
Madge discovered their love for performing at a young age and made their professional debut at the age of 9, when they starred as Michael Banks in the original West End production of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe's Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre from 2005 to 2007. They then landed the role of the Artful Dodger in the West End revival of Oliver!, shortly followed by their acclaimed performance as Gavroche in Les Misérables at the Queen's Theatre as well as getting the opportunity to perform the role in the 2010 Les Misérables: 25th Anniversary Concert.

Having played three of the highest profile child roles within the musical theatre industry, Madge was selected to play Reginald in the original cast of Matilda the Musical between 2010 and 2011. This meant that by the age of 15, Madge had already performed in four West End shows and was an established name within the theatre world.

Madge had their first adult role in the Les Misérables UK and Ireland tour, playing the role of student Jean Prouvaire. This, however, was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August 2021, Madge began touring as Norton the Fish in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, which premiered at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle upon Tyne. They followed this with a month's run at The Other Palace, starring in a new musical, Millenials: A Pop Song Cycle, in July 2022.

In December 2022, Madge appeared in pantomime as Pat The Cow in Jack and the Beanstalk at the London Palladium. In December 2023, they returned to the Palladium pantomime as Tink in Peter Pan and will return in December 2024 as The Spirit of Sherwood in Robin Hood.

In October 2023, Madge won The Theatre Award in the 2023 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards.

My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?)
My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?) is a one-person play written and performed by Madge (with songs by Madge and Pippa Cleary), directed by Luke Sheppard, which is a coming of age, autobiographical story of Madge when they were a child attempting to stage a full-blown one-person Disney show in their home; it also explores Madge's uplifting and inspiring discovery that they are non-binary.

They first performed the show at the Turbine Theatre in June 2021, then a revival at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2022. The show transferred to the West End at the Garrick Theatre in October 2022 and the Ambassadors Theatre in January 2023 for limited runs. The show won the 2022 WhatsOnStage Award for Best Off-West End show in 2022 and was nominated for the 2023 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.

My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?) was scheduled to open at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway on 27th February 2024 for 16 week limited engagement. The show has since rescheduled to next season, with an unconfirmed theatre and dates. Madge wrote and performed a new show in response to the postponement called Rob Madge's Regards to Broadway which played at the Garrick Theatre on 26 May 2024.

In July and August 2024, My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?) will begin a UK tour before returning to the Edinburgh Fringe.

Personal life
Madge identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.