Nick Payne (born 1984) is a British playwright and screenwriter.

Early life and education

Payne studied at the University of York and subsequently at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was 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 young actors and other students. It became a ...

. He is also a graduate of the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

Young Writer's Program.

Career

In 2008 Payne worked at the bookshop of the National Theatre."Lift off for the writer with stars in his eyes"
''Independent'', 2 January 2013. Matilda Battersby His first play ''If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet'' opened at the Bush Theatre in October 2009 and received a positive response from critics at the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' and the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

''. It won the

George Devine Award George Alexander Cassady Devine (20 November 1910 – 20 January 1966) was an English theatrical manager, director, teacher, and actor based in London from the early 1930s until his death. He also worked in TV and film. Early life and education ...

. In September 2012 it was staged at New York's Laura Pels Theatre, starring

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He ...

. Payne's second play ''Wanderlust'' opened in September 2010, directed by

Simon Godwin Simon Godwin is an English theatre director based in Washington, DC, where he is currently serving as artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Previously he was based in London, serving as associate director of London's National Thea ...

, at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

upstairs and also garnered excellent reviews. In November, Payne was shortlisted for the

's Most Promising Playwright Award, but lost out to Anya Reiss. He took part in the Bush Theatre's 2011 project '' Sixty Six Books'', for which he wrote a piece based upon a book of the King James Bible. ''

Constellations A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the earliest constellation ...

'' opened at

on 13 January 2012. Directed by Michael Longhurst and starring Rafe Spall and

Sally Hawkins Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress who began her career on stage and then moved into film. She has received several awards including a Golden Globe Award and the Berlin International Film Festival's Silver Bear fo ...

, it explores love, friendship and the notion of free will against the backdrop of quantum physics. It was extremely well received, with Charles Spencer in the ''Daily Telegraph'' commenting that "Nick Payne's drama lasts just over an hour but packs in more than most shows manage in three times that length. It is playful, intelligent and bursting with ideas, but also achieves a powerful undertow of emotion" while Paul Taylor in the ''Independent'' wrote that "one would be hard put to begin to do justice to the dazzling way it creates rules, while at the same time being wise enough not to jettison the old rule book either". It transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre in November 2012. That month it won the

Evening Standard Theatre Award The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...

for Best Play. In January 2013 Payne revealed that a film adaptation was under way. This plan was later shelved. In August 2013 his play ''The Same Deep Water As Me'' opened at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Mi ...

, with a cast including

Nigel Lindsay Nigel Lindsay (born 17 January 1969) is an English actor. He is best known on television for his roles as Sir Robert Peel in the first two seasons of ''Victoria'', Jo Jo Marshall in the Netflix series '' Safe'' and as Barry in the BAFTA-winni ...

Daniel Mays Daniel Mays (born 31 March 1978) is an English actor. Early life Born in Epping, Essex, the third of four boys, Mays was brought up in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, by his electrician father and bank cashier mother. He attended the Italia Conti Acad ...

and Marc Wootton. In January 2014 ''Blurred Lines'', a piece he devised with the director Carrie Cracknell, opened at the National Theatre's Shed. In 2014, two episodes of '' The Secrets'' which were written by Payne were broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

. ''Incognito'' was a co-production between Live Theatre, nabokov, HighTide Festival Theatre and in association with The North Wall in spring 2014, which previewed at Live Theatre in April 2014, before going to HighTide Festival and The North Wall, Oxford. It returned to Live Theatre in May and then had a sell-out run at The Bush Theatre, London. ''Incognito'' was produced Off-Broadway (in New York) by the Manhattan Theatre Club with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at New York's City Center in 2016. The play stars

Charlie Cox Charlie Thomas Cox (born 15 December 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil in several projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, including lead roles in the television series ''Daredevil'' (201 ...

, Heather Lind, Morgan Spector, and

Geneva Carr Geneva Carr (born May 6, 1971) is an American television and stage actress with an extensive acting résumé. She is best known for her portrayal of Marissa Morgan on the CBS television series ''Bull'' and for her performance as Margery in the or ...

and is directed by Doug Hughes. The American premiere of ''Constellations'' opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in January 2015 at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, starring Academy Award nominee

and

Ruth Wilson Ruth Wilson (born 13 January 1982) is an English actress. She is known for her performances as the eponymous protagonist in ''Jane Eyre'' (2006), as Alice Morgan in the BBC psychological crime drama ''Luther'' (2010–2013, 2019), as Alison L ...

. ''Constellations'' reunites Gyllenhaal with Payne and Longhurst, who are also making their Broadway debuts with the production. The three previously collaborated on the American premiere of ''If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet''. It is directed by Michael Longhurst. The play was next mounted in 2016 at Washington DC's Studio Theatre, starring Lily Balatincz and Tom Patterson and directed by Studio Theatre Artistic Director David Muse. The production was nominated for six Helen Hayes Awards, with Balatincz winning the Helen Hayes Award for Best Actress in a Play and Patterson winning the Helen Hayes Award for Best Actor in a Play. In November 2016, ''Constellations'' opened at Canadian Stage in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, under the direction of Peter Hinton. ''A Life'' ran Off-Broadway from February 2019 to March 2019 and transferred to Broadway at the Hudson Theatre in July 2019. The play ran with ''Sea Wall'' and starred Jake Gyllenhaal, directed by Carrie Cracknell. The plays were nominated for the 2020 Tony Award as best play.

Works

Stage

* ''Flourless'' rehearsed reading at the

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

2006 * ''Lay Down Your Cross'' rehearsed reading at the

2007 * ''Switzerland'' Hightide Theatre Festival 2008 * '' If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet'' Bush Theatre commissioned by

Paines Plough Paines Plough is a touring theatre company founded in 1974 by writer David Pownall and director John Adams. The company specialises exclusively in commissioning and producing new plays and helping playwrights develop their craft. Over the past ...

2009 * ''Wanderlust'' at

* ''Starling'' reading at

as part of the Royal Court Young Writers Festival 2009 * ''The Lost Mariner'' 2010 * ''Interior'' adaptation of

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...

's book The Gate Theatre 2010 * ''Wanderlust'' 2010 * ''One Day When We Were Young'' 2011

Sheffield Theatres Sheffield Theatres is a theatre complex in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It comprises three theatres: the Crucible, the Lyceum and the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse. These theatres make up the largest regional theatre complex outside the ...

* One of the short plays forming part of ''Sixty Six Books'' Bush Theatre * ''

'' 2012

* ''The Same Deep Water As Me'' 2013

* ''Incognito'' 2014 Hightide Festival and Bush Theatre * ''The Art of Dying'' 2014

* ''Symphony'' 2014 (with

Ella Hickson Ella Hickson (born 1985) is a British playwright and theatrical director, living in London. Early life Hickson was brought up in Guildford in Surrey and educated at Guildford High School from 1996 to 2003. Career Hickson's first play, '' E ...

and Tom Wells) Nabokov and

* ''

Elegy An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

'' 2016

* ''Incognito'' 2017 The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre * ''A Life'' 2019

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

Film

* '' The Sense of an Ending'' (2016) – Screenwriter

Television

* ''

Wanderlust Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. Etymology The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering ...

'' (2018) – Screenwriter

References

External links

Nick Payne's site at Macmillan Publishing HouseNick Payne's Profile at Curtis Brown
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Nick English dramatists and playwrights Living people English male dramatists and playwrights 1984 births