Andrei Maniata

Andrei Maniata was born on May 14th, 1998 in Hunedoara, Romania. He is of Romanian and Moldovan descent and is fluent in both his native language and English. He spent his early life in the rural life of Simeria, a small village in Romania where he went to primary and the former part of secondary school. At age 14, him and his family wanted to experience the urban life so they moved to London, England. His father established his own construction company whilst his mother works as a stylist. After finishing the latter part secondary school in London, he started a two-year Performing Arts course at City and Islington College. During the course, he acted at Theatre Royal Stratford East performing Davey Anderson's 'Blackout', part of National Theatre's Connections Festival. He was recruited by The Sire Theatre Company and played the role of Religion in 'The Grid' by Seyan Sarvan and Marcello in 'The White Devil' by John Webster, which was adapted by screenwriter, Simon Lewis. Both plays were performed around London in venues such as The Cockpit, The Proud Archivist, Candid Arts Trust and Tristan Bates Theatre. Profit taken from 'The Grid' in particular, which was raising awareness of mental health in children, was given to Sarah Wheeler's 'Mental Fight Club'. At City and Islington, Andrei joined another theatre company, See and Eye Theatre, which was created by Caroline Griffiths. The company also joined the National Theatre's Connections Festival and performed Katori Hall's 'Children of Killers' at their home venue in Islington, as well as Orange Tree Theatre. In July, 2016, the company received the news that they were selected to perform 'Children of Killers' at The National Theatre on the Olivier Theatre stage. After finishing his course at City and Islington, Andrei took a gap year to refine his acting toolkit and better his skills in physical theatre, dance theatre and movement. Upon a successful audition at East London Dance's youth company, he was there for eight months, where the company performed at MOVEIT! Dance Festival and UDANCE London Platform. He then went on to London College of Music where he graduated with a BA (Hons) Acting in 2020. He is highly influenced by Michael Chekhov and Bella Merlin. Andrei's aim is to create work that acts as a catalyst for change in society. He approaches his work with respect and care, aiming to represent each role he plays with truth.