Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Encyclopedia
Rebecca Lenkiewicz is a British playwright
.
She attended Plymouth High School for Girls
, then progressed to a BA in Film and English at the University of Kent
from 1985 to 1989 and then to a BA Acting Course at the Central School of Speech and Drama
from 1996 to 1999.
Fringe in 2000, which won a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival. Helen Raynor's production was revived in London on 2 February 2001, the first play to be staged at the Arcola Theatre
. Lenkiewicz also appeared in the play in the role of Stella.
With her second play in 2004 she won the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright with The Night Season, set in Sligo
and staged at the Royal National Theatre
in the Cottesloe by Lucy Bailey http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=8707&dspl=reviews http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/nightseason-rev.htm.
In July 2005 Lenkiewicz received generally encouraging reviews for her Shoreditch Madonna, directed by Sean Mathias
at the Soho Theatre
. A tale of love among the artists in an East London gallery, it starred Francesca Annis
and Leigh Lawson
. http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/8685/shoreditch-madonna http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/shoreditch-rev.htm.
In January 2006 she and Abdulkareem Kasid created a new version of The Soldier's Tale
, set in Iraq, a music theatre piece by Igor Stravinsky
and Charles Ferdinand Ramuz
, staged at the Old Vic
http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/soldierstale-rev.htm. In August of the same year her play Blue Moon Over Poplar was staged by the National Youth Theatre
company at the Soho Theatre http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/bluemoonpoplar-rev.htm.
In April 2008 her new adaptation of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People
opened at the Arcola Theatre, directed by its founder Mehmet Ergen
. http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/enemypeople-rev.htm.
Her new play Her Naked Skin
, directed by Howard Davies, premiered on the Olivier stage at the NT in July 2008, the first play to be performed on the Olivier stage by a living female playwright. In January 2011 her play The Painter
on the life of JMW Turner premiered at the Arcola Theatre
to mark its move into new premises.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
.
She attended Plymouth High School for Girls
Plymouth High School for Girls
Plymouth High School for Girls is a girls' grammar school founded in 1874. It is located on St Lawrence Road in Plymouth, Devon, England close to Mutley Plain and Plymouth city centre...
, then progressed to a BA in Film and English at the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
from 1985 to 1989 and then to a BA Acting Course at the Central School of Speech and Drama
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
from 1996 to 1999.
Career
As a writer, her plays include Soho: A Tale of Table Dancers which she wrote for the Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
Fringe in 2000, which won a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival. Helen Raynor's production was revived in London on 2 February 2001, the first play to be staged at the Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre is a studio theatre in Dalston, in the London Borough of Hackney. The theatre's ambition is to create and present high-quality theatre with a social and political relevance to its multicultural local community as well as a wider audience....
. Lenkiewicz also appeared in the play in the role of Stella.
With her second play in 2004 she won the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright with The Night Season, set in Sligo
Sligo
Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...
and staged at the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in the Cottesloe by Lucy Bailey http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=8707&dspl=reviews http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/nightseason-rev.htm.
In July 2005 Lenkiewicz received generally encouraging reviews for her Shoreditch Madonna, directed by Sean Mathias
Sean Mathias
Sean Gerard Mathias is a British theatre director, film director, writer and actor.Mathias was born in Swansea, south Wales. He is known for directing the film, Bent, and for directing highly acclaimed theatre productions in London, New York, Cape Town, Los Angeles and Sydney...
at the Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre is a theatre in the eponymous Soho district of the City of Westminster. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret....
. A tale of love among the artists in an East London gallery, it starred Francesca Annis
Francesca Annis
Francesca Annis is an English actress, known for her film and television appearances, most recently in the BBC series Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Deceit.-Early life and education:...
and Leigh Lawson
Leigh Lawson
Leigh Lawson is a film and stage actor, director, and writer.-Career:Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Lawson has acted in film and television since the early 1970s, directed plays in the West End and on Broadway...
. http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/8685/shoreditch-madonna http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/shoreditch-rev.htm.
In January 2006 she and Abdulkareem Kasid created a new version of The Soldier's Tale
Histoire du soldat
Histoire du soldat , composed by Igor Stravinsky, is a 1918 theatrical work "to be read, played, and danced" . The libretto, which is based on a Russian folk tale, was written in French by the Swiss universalist writer C.F. Ramuz...
, set in Iraq, a music theatre piece by Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
and Charles Ferdinand Ramuz
Charles Ferdinand Ramuz
Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz was a French-speaking Swiss writer.He was born in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud and educated at the University of Lausanne. He taught briefly in nearby Aubonne, and then in Weimar, Germany. In 1903, he left for Paris and remained there until World War I, with frequent...
, staged at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/soldierstale-rev.htm. In August of the same year her play Blue Moon Over Poplar was staged by the National Youth Theatre
National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre is a registered charity in London, Great Britain, committed to creative, personal and social development of young people through the medium of creative arts....
company at the Soho Theatre http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/bluemoonpoplar-rev.htm.
In April 2008 her new adaptation of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People
An Enemy of the People
An Enemy of the People is an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen wrote it in response to the public outcry against his play Ghosts, which at that time was considered scandalous...
opened at the Arcola Theatre, directed by its founder Mehmet Ergen
Mehmet Ergen
Mehmet Ergen is a Turkish-born theatre director, producer and entrepreneur, currently based in London Borough of Hackney. Ergen came to London from Istanbul in 1989 aged 22 speaking minimal English and with no intention on settling in the Capital...
. http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/enemypeople-rev.htm.
Her new play Her Naked Skin
Her Naked Skin
Her Naked Skin is a 2008 play by Rebecca Lenkiewicz. It is notable as the first play by a female writer to be produced on the main stage at the Royal National Theatre, where it premiered on 24 July 2008. The premiere was directed by Howard Davies. In an interview, the National's director...
, directed by Howard Davies, premiered on the Olivier stage at the NT in July 2008, the first play to be performed on the Olivier stage by a living female playwright. In January 2011 her play The Painter
The Painter (play)
The Painter is a 2011 play by the British writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz on the life and relationships of JMW Turner. It premiered at the Arcola Theatre in January 2011 to mark its move to new premises...
on the life of JMW Turner premiered at the Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre is a studio theatre in Dalston, in the London Borough of Hackney. The theatre's ambition is to create and present high-quality theatre with a social and political relevance to its multicultural local community as well as a wider audience....
to mark its move into new premises.
External links
- Rebecca Lenkiewicz biography (Casarotto Ramsay and Associates - Literary Agents) http://www.casarotto.co.uk/system/media/client/cv/1861/Rebecca_Lenkiewicz.pdf
- BBC Get Writing biography http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/lenkiewicz
- Rebecca Lenkiewicz interview British Theatre Guide, 2004 http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/otherresources/interviews/RebeccaLenkiewicz.htm
- Rebecca Lenkiewicz interview Music Omh http://www.musicomh.com/theatre/features/rebecca-lenkiewicz_0708.htm