Jessica Swale (born 27 February 1982) is a British

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. Her first play, '' Blue Stockings,'' premiered at

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...

in 2013. It is widely performed by UK amateur companies and is also studied on the Drama

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

syllabus. In 2016, her play '' Nell Gwynn'' won the

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

for Best New Comedy, after it transferred from the Globe to the West End, starring

Gemma Arterton Gemma Christina Arterton (born 2 February 1986) is a British actress. After her stage debut in Shakespeare's ''Love's Labour's Lost'' at the Globe Theatre (2007), Arterton made her feature-film debut in the comedy '' St Trinian's'' (2007). She p ...

as the eponymous heroine. She also wrote and directed the feature film '' Summerland'' (2020).

Early life and education

Born in Reading, Berkshire, Swale completed her secondary education at

Kendrick School Kendrick School is a selective girls' grammar school situated in the centre of Reading, Berkshire, UK. In February 2011, Kendrick became an Academy. History The school is named after John Kendrick, a Reading cloth merchant who died in 1624. ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, before studying drama at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

. She completed her training with an MA degree in Advanced Theatre Practice at the

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

, where she trained as a director.

Career

After drama school, she worked as Max Stafford-Clark's associate director at Out of Joint Theatre Company, on productions including ''The Overwhelming'' (2006) at the National Theatre and ''Andersen's'' ''English'' (2010) at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

. In 2006, she set up Red Handed Theatre Company with Katie Bonna, to perform new works and revive lost classics. She was nominated for an ''Evening Standard'' Award for Best Director for her production of '' The Belle's Stratagem'' and received the Peter Brook Empty Space Award for Best Ensemble for Red Handed in 2012. Swale is also an associate artist with NGO Youth Bridge Global, using theatre as a development tool in war-torn countries, and the author of a series of drama games books, published by Nick Hern.

Stage directing

In 2010, Swale directed the first play by a woman ever to be staged at

, Nell Leyshon's ''Bedlam''. For Red Handed Theatre Company, she directed ''The Busy Body'' (2012),'' The Rivals'' (2010),'' Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' (2012) at Southwark Playhouse, '' The School for Scandal'' (2013) at the Park Theatre and '' Palace of the End'' (2010) at

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalston, houses two studio ...

. Other credits include '' Fallen Angels'' ( Salisbury Playhouse), ''Winter'' (Theatre Newfoundland, Canada), ''Sleuth'', ''

Sense and Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' ( working title; ''Elinor and Marianne'') is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously: ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might h ...

'' and '' Far from the Madding Crowd'' ( Watermill Theatre).

Playwriting

As a playwright, Swale's first play ''Blue Stockings'' premiered at Shakespeare's Globe in 2013 and won her an ''Evening Standard'' Most Promising Playwright nomination. ''Nell Gwynn'' premiered at Shakespeare's Globe in 2015, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and transferred to the West End with

in the title role. The production received four Olivier nominations, winning Best New Comedy, and is currently being developed as a feature film with

Working Title A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...

. Other plays includes ''All's Will that Ends Will'' (Bremen Shakespeare Company), ''Thomas Tallis'' (

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is an indoor theatre forming part of the Shakespeare's Globe complex, along with the recreated Globe Theatre on Bankside in Southwark, London. Built by making use of 17th-century plans for an indoor English theatre, ...

), ''The Playhouse Apprentice'' (

) and ''The Mission'' about illegal adoptions in the 1920s. Her adaptations include ''

'', '' Far from the Madding Crowd'' (Watermill), ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is seen as a classic of English c ...

'' and ''

Stig of the Dump ''Stig of the Dump'' is a children's novel by Clive King which was first published in the United Kingdom in 1963. It is regarded as a modern children's classic and is often read in schools. It was illustrated by Edward Ardizzone and has been ...

'' ( Grosvenor Park, Chester).

Film and television

Her first short film, the Time's Up movement-inspired comedy '' Leading Lady Parts'', starring

Catherine Tate Catherine Tate (born Catherine Jane Ford, 5 December 1969) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC Two, BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), as well as bein ...

, Gemma Arterton, Felicity Jones, Florence Pugh,

Lena Headey Lena Kathren Headey ( ; born 3 October 1973) is an English actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO fantasy drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she received ...

Emilia Clarke Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke (born 23 October 1986) is an English actress, best known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she received nominations for four Primetime E ...

Tom Hiddleston Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is a British actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), beginning with ''Thor (film), Thor'' in 2011 and incl ...

and Gemma Chan, premiered on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in 2018 and is available for free on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. She then co-wrote the screenplay for '' Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans'' (2019). In 2012, she won the BAFTA JJ Screenwriting Bursary for which she developed an original screenplay, '' Summerland''. She also directed the film herself, and in 2020 it was released by

IFC Films Independent Film Company (formerly IFC Films) is an American film production and distribution company based in New York City, New York. It is an offshoot of IFC (U.S. TV channel), IFC, owned by AMC Networks. It mainly distributes independent fil ...

and

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

. In 2022, she shot two episodes of '' Ten Percent'' for

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

, featuring guest stars Dominic West, Emma Corin, and Himesh Patel. In 2020, she was said to be in the process of writing an original feature with Blueprint and

StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., and Canal+ Production and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film & television production and distribution company which is a ...

and other projects for

Fox Searchlight Searchlight Pictures, Inc., formerly known as Fox Searchlight Pictures, is an American arthouse film production and distribution company, which since 2019 is owned by Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Disney Entertainment segment of the ...

and Monumental Pictures.

Personal life

Swale lives in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

with a photographer, Michael Wharley.

Writing credits

Plays

*''The Playhouse Apprentice'' (2016) *'' Nell Gwynn'' (2015) premiered at

and transferred to the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

, West End, in 2016 *''Thomas Tallis'' (2014): premiered at The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse *''All's Will that ends Will'' (2014): premiered at Bremer Shakespeare Company *'' Blue Stockings'' (2013): premiered at

Adaptations

* ''

'' (2016): adapted from the novel by Clive King and premiered at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre * '' Far from the Madding Crowd'' (2015): adapted from the novel by

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

and premiered at the Watermill Theatre * ''

'' (2014): adapted from the novel by Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett, premiered at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre * ''

'' (2014): adapted from the novel by

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

and premiered at the Watermill Theatre

Books

*''Drama Games: For Rehearsals'' (2016) *''Drama Games: For Devising'' (2012) *''Drama Games: For Classrooms and Workshops'' (2009)

Directing credits

Film and television

Plays

*'' Fallen Angels'' (2015) at Salisbury Playhouse *'' Far from the Madding Crowd'' (2015): adapted from the novel by

, premiered at The Watermill Theatre *''

'' (2014): adapted from the novel by

, premiered at The Watermill Theatre *''Winter'' (2011) at Newfoundland Theatre, Canada *''Bedlam'' (2010) at

*For Red Handed Theatre Company: ''The Busy Body'' (2012), ''The Rivals'' (2010), '' Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' (2012) at Southwark Playhouse, '' The School for Scandal'' (2013) at the Park Theatre and '' Palace of the End'' (2010) at

References

External links

*
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swale, Jessica 1982 births Living people English theatre directors British women theatre directors English women dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English women writers People from Reading, Berkshire Writers from Berkshire Alumni of the University of Exeter Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama English screenwriters British women screenwriters English television directors British women television directors