Description
Book SynopsisSimon Stephens began his theatrical career in the literary department of the Royal Court Theatre, where he ran its Young Writers' Programme. His plays for theatre include Bluebird (Royal Court Theatre, London, 1998, directed by Gordon Anderson);
Herons (Royal Court Theatre, 2001);
Port(Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, 2002);
One Minute (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 2003 and Bush Theatre, London, 2004);
Christmas (Bush Theatre, 2004);
Country Music (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 2004);
On the Shore of the Wide World (Royal Exchange Theatre and National Theatre, London, 2005); Motortown (Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, 2006);
Pornography (Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Hanover, 2007; Edinburgh Festival/Birmingham Rep, 2008 and Tricycle Theatre, London, 2009);
Harper Regan (National Theatre, 2008);
Sea Wall (Bush Theatre, 2008/Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 2009);
Heaven (Traverse Theatre, 2009);
Punk Rock (Lyric Hammersmith, London, and Royal Exchange Theatre, 2009);
The Trial of Ubu (Essen Schauspielhaus/Toneelgroep Amsterdam, 2010);
A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky (co-written with David Eldridge and Robert Holman; Lyric Hammersmith, London, 2010);
Marine Parade (co-written with Mark Eitzel; Brighton International Festival, 2010); T5 (Traverse Theatre, 2010);
Wastwater (Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, 2011);
Morning (Lyric Hammersmith, 2012); an adaptation of
A Doll's House (Young Vic, 2012); an adaptation of
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (National Theatre, 2012);
Blindsided (Royal Exchange, 2014); and
Birdland (Royal Court, 2014). His radio plays include
Five Letters Home to Elizabeth (BBC Radio 4, 2001) and
Digging (BBC Radio 4, 2003). His screenwriting includes an adaptation of Motortown for Film4 (2009); the two-part serial
Dive (with Dominic Savage) for Granada/BBC (2009); and a short film adaptation of
Pornography for Channel 4's 'Coming Up' series (2009). Awards include the Pearson Award for Best New Play, 2001, for
Port; Olivier Award for Best New Play for
On the Shore of the Wide World, 2005; and for
Motortown German critics in Theater Heute's annual poll voted him Best Foreign Playwright, 2007. His adaptation of
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Play.
Trade ReviewOne of the most devastating 30 minutes you are ever likely to experience in the theatre * Lyn Garnder, Guardian *
As engaging and devastating a piece of theatre as you're likely to find... packs an enormous emotional punch... A spellbinding reminder of the power of story-telling in all its glorious simplicity. * Independent *
It's a delicate wisp of a thing, like a curl of cigarette-smoke exhaled in a moment of mournful reverie. After contact with it, sure enough, your eyes are welling up, and you're starting to choke. * Daily Telegraph *
