KIRSTY FINDLAY

Kirsty Findlay graduated from Edinburgh Napier University in 2015, and is currently based in Glasgow.

Her extensive theatre performances include: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Footloose, Sense & Sensibility (all for Pitlochry Festival Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Dundee Rep); Forever Home, Exquisite Corpse & Oscar (all for A Play, a Pie & a Pint); A Mother's Song (Kate Taylor & Macrobert Arts Centre); Islander: The Musical (Helen Milne Productions, New York Off-Broadway, UK tour and London transfer); Jack & the Beanstalk (Perth Theatre); Jamie & the Unicorn (Ayr Gaiety); Christmas Tales (Edinburgh Lyceum); Unspotted Snow (Mull Theatre); Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour (National Theatre of Scotland & Sonia Friedman Productions); Shattered (In Motion); Girl Meets Boy (National Theatre of Scotland); Sleeping, Beauty and Beauty and the Beast (both Glasgow Rep & St Andrews Byre)

Her film credits include: Close (Tom Gentle Productions); Scenes for Survival (NTS/ BBC); On the Outside (Nasreen Saraei; and Lethe (December Works), which won her Best Actress at the Scottish Short Film Festival in 2016.

The Sound of Music

“And if it is goodness you want, look no further than Kirsty Findlay. As Maria, the would-be nun, she is as straightforward as her blue-grey pinafore: direct, practical and pure. This she achieves without being prim or starchy. She radiates sweetness, yes, but she also brings fun and creativity. It helps, of course, that Findlay can sing… She tackles the Rodgers and Hammerstein classics with warmth and clarity. If you were Captain von Trapp… you would melt before her too..”

— The Guardian. Mark Fisher

“In particular, it’s great to see such Scottish talents as Kirsty Findlay (Maria Rainer)...taking centre stage. Findlay has both the deftness of characterisation and the excellent singing voice required to play the part of Maria, the independent spirited young Catholic who makes the journey from Bride of Christ to bride of Von Trapp.

The talented actor (who was outstanding in PFT’s production of the Carole King musical Beautiful in the summer) once again takes on a big role and makes it absolutely her own. Whether it is the charming, gentle rebelliousness that makes her a poor fit for the convent or the refreshing vitality she brings as governess in the regimented Von Trapp household, Findlay plays the iconic character with remarkable dexterity and seeming ease..”

— Scottish Stage. Mark Brown

“It stands or falls on the quality of the central performance, however, and Pitlochry’s production has a diamond asset in Kirsty Findlay’s Maria. Not only does she sing all those big numbers with brio, but she acts Maria’s transition from novice to wife with remarkable convincingness..”

— Theatre Scotland. Lewis C Baird

“A breathtakingly sincere leading performance... Quite rightly at the centre of it all, Kirsty Findlay is a remarkably gifted and accomplished Carole King, exceeding the traditional dynamics and restrictions in performing biopics; more than vocals and snappy dialects, the evolving physicality of the role is beautifully understated in Findlay’s emotionally intelligent performance... King’s victories are noticed in Findlay’s shoulders, her defeats and setbacks spoken in her buckling.

Their comedic beats and earnest moments of pathos and hurt are not so much sold, as wholly felt by the audience in an authentic delivery. Vocally, Findlay was always going to strike dawning gold... And here is perhaps their most accomplished vocal performance, weaving through genre and range effortlessly, always harmonising and maintaining an essence of character.

Hardie’s is a production which captures King’s life and the lasting impact she had on generations of women but is equally a show which places Findlay firming in a deserving spotlight alongside King..”

— Core Blimey. Dominic Corr

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

“The sublime, incredible and fantastic Kirsty Findlay as Carole King shines. It is a mesmeric performance which hits the notes but does so much more. The fragility, nervousness and emergence of a true legend is poised and pitched as perfectly as her singing..”

— British Theatre Guide. Donald C Stewart

“Kirsty Findlay inhabits the role of King, embracing every nuance, with an outstanding

performance, treating us to great singing that is powerful and poignant, along with sensitive

acting. Her rendition of Will You Love Me Tomorrow, which King wrote at 17, is breathtaking..”

— Broadway Baby. Joy Watters

Awards & Recognitions

  • In 2017 Kirsty was nominated for an Olivier Award for 'Best Actress in a Supporting Role' along with the cast of Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour

  • Nominated for Outstanding Performance at the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland for her role as Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

  • Named number 7 in The List magazine’s ‘Hot 100’ Scottish cultural contributors of 2024.

  • Winner of 2016 Best Lead Actress award at the Glasgow Short Film Festival for the film Lethe.

  • Winner of Best Actress Award at Bucharest Shortcut Cinefest for the film Lethe.

  • Winner of Best Actress award at the St Andrews Short Film Festival for the film Isla.