Mia Carragher: from Liverpool dance studio to Katniss Everdeen

Mia Carragher: from Liverpool dance studio to Katniss Everdeen

Mia Carragher, a 21-year-old Liverpool-born actress and daughter of football legend Jamie Carragher, made her professional stage debut as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games: On Stage — the first-ever live stage adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ dystopian saga. Cast in March 2025 at age 20, she beat roughly 200 hopefuls in a multi-round audition process that tested dance, combat, harness work, and acting instinct. The production opened on 12 November 2025 at the purpose-built Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre in London, where it has been extended through October 2026 due to demand.

A dancer who became an actress

Mia Carragher was born on 14 May 2004 in Liverpool to Jamie Carragher — former Liverpool FC and England defender, now a Sky Sports pundit — and Nicola Carragher. She has Maltese and Irish heritage through her paternal grandparents. Her brother, James Carragher, is a professional footballer playing for Wigan Athletic and the Malta national team.

Growing up, Carragher’s ambition was dance. Her mother took her to classes nightly after school, and she trained at Rare Studios in Liverpool, where she studied dance and drama. She was signed with Two Management and AMCK Dance, and even auditioned to be a dancer on Justin Bieber’s Purpose Tour.

Her move into acting accelerated at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, where she studied from 2017 to 2022. She entered the sixth-form acting course and later said: “That is when I started taking acting a bit more seriously, and it became my main focus.”

After graduating in 2022, she moved to New York for nine months to study at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. She is represented by The Way Management and Track Publicity.

Previous credits before Katniss

Although The Hunger Games: On Stage is her professional stage debut and first major leading role, Carragher had built screen experience beforehand.

A notable crossover: Carragher worked with Josh Hutcherson (Peeta in the film franchise) on Let’s Love before being cast as Katniss, which she described as a good omen.

How she landed the role: four audition rounds

Casting director Amy Ball CDG led a process that narrowed approximately 200 dancers to 50 for fighting workshops, then to about 10 possible actors. Suzanne Collins and Lionsgate were involved in final decisions.

Carragher described four key stages:

1. Round 1 — Movement call: About twenty performers in the room; some material shaped the final show.
2. Round 2 — Reading for Katniss: A rapid callback the next morning where she trusted instinct and character feel.
3. Round 3 — Combat audition: She focused on fighting as Katniss, not just performing choreography.
4. Round 4 — Harness and rigging: At a stunt studio, testing confidence and physical readiness for a cinematic stage production.

She was officially cast in March 2025 and kept it private until the public announcement on 29 July 2025.

To prepare, Carragher completed a month of archery lessons, vocal coaching for her American accent, and extensive combat/choreography training. Rehearsals began in early August 2025 at Sadler’s Wells, with the first week dedicated to combat workshopping. First preview: 20 October 2025.

What the director said

Director Matthew Dunster said the team searched widely and only one actor combined Katniss’s charisma, combat skills, determination, creativity, athleticism, and humour.

He told Variety she stood out from the earliest dance-focused auditions and again in combat rounds, comparing the scale of the role to Shakespearean leads.

Key quotes from Mia Carragher

• Official casting statement: “I am so excited and honoured to be playing Katniss… This is a dream come true role.”
• On interpretation: “I wanted to make it my own…”
• On the fan base: “I’ve been able to find my own version of Katniss, and put my little mark on it.”
• On inspiration: “Who wouldn’t want to play Katniss?”
• On physical demands: “I think I leave the stage maybe three times… Act 2 is especially physical.”

The production: a purpose-built arena in Docklands

The Hunger Games: On Stage is the first-ever live stage adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ novel. It plays at the Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre, a new 1,200-seat theatre-in-the-round built specifically for this production at a reported cost of £26 million.

The venue includes London’s largest hydraulic stage, with no wings: cast and sets enter from above and below. Audience sections are themed as Districts 1–11, with the stage as District 12.

Key dates

• Previews began: 20 October 2025
• Official opening: 12 November 2025
• Extended through: October 2026

Creative team

• Playwright/Adapter: Conor McPherson
• Director: Matthew Dunster
• Set/Auditorium Designer: Miriam Buether
• Costume Designer: Moi Tran
• Choreographer: Charlotte Broom
• Lighting Designer: Lucy Carter
• Sound Designer: Ian Dickinson for Autograph
• Fight Director: Kev McCurdy
• Casting Director: Amy Ball CDG

Principal cast alongside Carragher

Family support and recognition

When casting was announced on 29 July 2025, Jamie Carragher publicly celebrated his daughter’s achievement on Instagram.

Carragher was also nominated for Best Professional Debut Performance at the 2026 WhatsOnStage Awards.

Why this moment matters

For Mia Carragher, Katniss Everdeen is both a high-profile breakthrough and a defining first stage lead. The journey from Liverpool dance training to leading a major immersive London production marks one of the standout emerging-performer stories of recent UK theatre.