Amanda Whittington (born 1968 in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

) is an English dramatist who has written over 30 plays for theatre and radio. Her work is widely performed by companies across the UK, with recent productions at Hull Truck, Oldham Coliseum, New Vic Theatre and Nottingham Playhouse.

Be My Baby "Be My Baby" is a song by the American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number ...

is a popular GCSE and 'A' level choice in English Literature and Theatre Studies. She currently has two titles in Nick Hern Books' Top Ten Most Performed Plays. In 2017, she was awarded a

Doctor of Philosophy by Publication A Doctor of Philosophy by publication (also known as a Ph.D. by Published Work, PhD by portfolio or Ph.D. under Special Regulation; also a thesis by publication, a thesis with publications, a publication-based thesis, an articles-based thesis, a ma ...

by the

University of Huddersfield The University of Huddersfield is a public research university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It has been a University since 1992, but has its origins in a series of institutions dating back to the 19th century. It has made te ...

. Original stage plays include Be My Baby, The Thrill of Love, Ladies Day, Ladies Down Under, Mighty Atoms, Kiss Me Quickstep, Amateur Girl, Bollywood Jane, Satin n Steel, The Dug Out and Player's Angels (adapted for Bristol as The Wills's Girls). Stage adaptations include ''

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning ''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' is the first novel by British author Alan Sillitoe and won the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award. It was adapted by Sillitoe into the 1960 film of the same name starring Albert Finney, directed by ...

'' by

Alan Sillitoe Alan Sillitoe FRSL (4 March 192825 April 2010) was an English writer and one of the so-called " angry young men" of the 1950s. He disliked the label, as did most of the other writers to whom it was applied. He is best known for his debut novel ...

, ''My Judy Garland Life'' by Susie Boyt and ''

Tipping the Velvet ''Tipping the Velvet'' is a 1998 debut novel by Welsh novelist Sarah Waters. A historical fiction, historical novel set in England during the 1890s, it tells a coming-of-age story about a young woman named Nan who falls in love with a Cross-dr ...

'' by

Sarah Waters Sarah Ann Waters (born 21 July 1966) is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as '' Tipping the Velvet'' and '' Fingersmith''. Life and education Early life Sara ...

. Original radio plays include D for Dexter (returning series), The All-Clear, Louisa's, The Dock Nuremberg, Once Upon a Time, Paradise Place and The Nine Days Queen. Book adaptations for radio include Man At The Helm by Nina Stibbe. Whittington won the 2016

BBC Audio Drama Awards The BBC Audio Drama Awards is an awards ceremony created by BBC Radio to recognise excellence in the radio industry, in particular in Radio drama, audio dramas. The inaugural awards were presented in 2012 and the ceremony hosted at the BBC Radio ...

for a series or serial for ''D for Dexter''. Whittington began her writing career as a freelance journalist for titles including Nottingham Evening Post, New Statesman and Society and The Face. In 2016, her radio drama D for Dexter won Best Series/Serial in the BBC Audio Drama Awards, and the fourth series was broadcast in November 2017. In 2001, she jointly won the Dennis Potter Screenwriting Award for ''Bollywood Jane'', a work she later adapted for stage. As of 2018, she is co-chair of the Writers' Guild Radio Committee. She held

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its lon ...

fellowships in 2014–2015 at

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

and in 2018–2020 at

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...

. she is a member of the advisory "Art Squad" of the Halifax-based

Northern Broadsides Northern Broadsides is a theatre company formed in 1992 and based at Dean Clough Mill in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded by Barrie Rutter, who was its artistic director until resigning in 2018, followed by Conrad Nelson who was ...

theatre company. Whittington's plays are published by Nick Hern Books and Samuel French. In 2018, Ladies Day was revived in a new production for Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.

Mikron Theatre Company The Mikron Theatre Company is an English touring theatre company, founded in 1972, which is notable for its tours by canal boat during the summer months, and by road in the spring and autumn. The company believes itself to be the only theatre ...

commissioned a play, ''Atalanta Forever'', by Whittington about

women's football Women's football most often refers to: * Women's association football Women's football may also refer to: * Women's gridiron football * Women's Australian rules football * Ladies' Gaelic football * Women's rugby league * Women's rugby union ...

and the short-lived Huddersfield Atalanta Ladies' Football Club for its 2020 season. The 2020 tour was cancelled because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

but the show toured, to outdoor venues only, in 2021. Mikron then commissioned Whittington to write ''A Force to be Reckoned With'', about

women police officers A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...

, for the 2023 season.

Stage plays

*''

'' (1998) *''Player's Angels/The Wills's Girls'' (2002) (

Show of Strength Theatre Company Show of Strength Theatre Company is a Bristol-based theatre company which has produced new and forgotten works since 1986 in a range of venues in Bristol and the South West. The company is funded by Arts Council England and Bristol City Council ...

BBC Radio Four BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at B ...

) *''Bollywood Jane'' (2003) ( Haymarket Theatre, Leicester) *''Satin n Steel'' (2005) (

Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and F ...

Octagon Theatre, Bolton The Octagon Theatre is a producing theatre located in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Programme The Octagon produces eight or nine professional theatre productions each year in its Main Auditorium. Productions come from a wide range of ...

) *''Ladies Day'' (2005) (

Hull Truck Theatre Hull Truck Theatre is a theatre in Kingston upon Hull, England, which presents drama productions, and also tours. In March 2022, the theatre's original premises on Coltman Street, Hull, was recognised by a blue plaque to coincide with the theatr ...

) *''Ladies Down Under'' (2007) (Hull Truck Theatre) *''Tipping the Velvet'' (2009) (

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

) *''Amateur Girl'' (2009) (Hull Truck Theatre) *''The Thrill Of Love'' (2013) (New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme) *''The Dug Out'' (2013) (Splice Theatre, Bristol) *''My Judy Garland Life'' (2014, adaptation) (Nottingham Playhouse) *''Kiss Me Quickstep'' (2016) (New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme) *''Mighty Atoms'' (premiered in 2017 as part of

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

UK City of Culture UK City of Culture is a designation given to a local area (specifically a city before 2025) in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the successful bidder hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneratio ...

celebrations). *''Atalanta Forever'' (commissioned for 2020, toured in 2021) (

) *''A Force to be Reckoned With'' (2023) (

)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittington, Amanda 1968 births Living people Writers from Nottingham English women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers