Charlene James 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 ...

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 ...

. She won substantial acclaim for her play ''Cuttin' It'', which addresses the issue of

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. Prevalence of female ge ...

in Britain, for which she won numerous awards.

Early life

James grew up in

Birmingham, England Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands region, in England. It is the largest local authority district in England by population and the second-largest cit ...

. She became interested in acting as a child, and took acting classes at Stage2 in Birmingham. She went on to study acting at the

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry (American actor), Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Immaculate Conception grade school in Highland Park, Illinois and is now located in Chica ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

before becoming interested in playwriting, and earned a place in the young writers' program 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 West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

in London.

Career

Playwriting

Her first play, ''Maybe Father'', was short-listed for the

Alfred Fagon Award The Alfred Fagon Award is granted annually for the best new play by a Black British playwright of Caribbean or African descent, resident in the United Kingdom. It was instituted in 1996 and first awarded in 1997, to recognise the work of Black Bri ...

in 2009, and received a reading at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...

theatre in London. She took a post as writer-in-residence at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

in 2013, where she focused on writing about teen

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

. She wrote ''Tweet Tweet'' for on a commission the Birmingham Youth Rep in 2014. The one-act play addresses issues of teen suicide and the pressures of

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

. James came to greater public awareness with her 2014 play ''Cuttin' It.'' The play focuses on two teenage girls, both Somalis living in England, who have different perspectives on the practice of

(FGM). James was inspired to write the play after watching the documentary ''The Cruel Cut'' by filmmaker Leyla Hussein, and after learning that FGM is practiced in Britain. ''Cuttin' It'' earned James 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 ...

, the

Critics' Circle Theatre Award The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, known as the Drama Theatre Awards until 1990, are British theatrical awards presented annually for the closing year's theatrical achievements. The winners, from theatre throughout the United Kingdom, are selec ...

, the UK Theatre Award for Best New Play, and 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 Most Promising Playwright . She was a finalist for the 2016-17

Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...

, also honoring ''Cuttin' It''. James' play ''Bricks and Pieces'' was commissioned and performed in 2016 by

Tiata Fahodzi Tiata Fahodzi (ti∙a∙ta fa∙hoon∙zi) – meaning "theatre of the emancipated" – is a British African theatre company founded in 1997 by Femi Elufowoju Jr. It receives funding as a National Portfolio Organisation of the Arts Council England ...

in collaboration with the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

. The play examines themes of family, loss, masculinity, as well as communication and its lack, and addresses the challenges of being a gay man from an African family in Britain.

Screenwriting

She has written for the BBC's ''The Break'' and Sky's fantasy drama series ''

A Discovery of Witches ''A Discovery of Witches'' is a 2011 historical-fantasy novel and the debut novel by American scholar Deborah Harkness. It follows Diana Bishop, a history of science professor at Yale University, as she embraces her magical blood after finding ...

''. In November 2019, James was announced as one of the writers for the twelfth series of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', making her the second black writer on the television series in its entire history following

Malorie Blackman Oneta Malorie Blackman (born 8 February 1962) is a British writer who held the position of Children's Laureate from 2013 to 2015. She primarily writes literature and television drama for children and young adults. She has used science fiction ...

the previous series. She co-wrote the seventh episode, '' Can You Hear Me?'', with showrunner

Chris Chibnall Christopher Antony Chibnall (born 21 March 1970) is an English television writer and producer, best known as the creator and writer of the award-winning ITV (TV network), ITV mystery-crime drama ''Broadchurch'' (2013-17) and as the third showr ...

. The episode dealt with mental health issues, including examining past trauma for companion Yazmin Khan (Mandip Gill). She would later collaborate with ''Doctor Who'' alum

Pete McTighe Pete McTighe is a British screenwriter and executive producer. He wrote several episodes of '' Wentworth'', an Australian prison drama series that won Most Outstanding and Most Popular Drama at the Logie Awards. He is the creator and writer of t ...

on his supernatural thriller series ''

The Rising The Rising may refer to: Film and television * ''Mangal Pandey: The Rising'', a 2005 Indian film * The Rising (MacGyver), "The Rising" (MacGyver), the series premiere of the 2016 television series ''MacGyver'' * The Rising (TV series), ''The Ri ...

'' for Sky Max.

Plays

* ''Maybe Father'', 2009 *''Do You Wish to Continue?'', hort play2012 * ''Lundun'' * ''Dad(die)'', 2012 *''Jump! We'll Catch You'', 2013 * ''Bacon'' * ''Tweet Tweet'', 2014 * ''Cuttin' It'', 2014 * ''Bricks and Pieces'', 2016 * ''Go Home'', hort play, published in ''The Guardian''">The_Guardian.html" ;"title="hort play, published in ''The Guardian">hort play, published in ''The Guardian''2017 * "Reclaim the Night", [monologue] in ''Snatches: Moments from 100 Years of Women's Lives: Eight Monologues,'' 2019

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Charlene James's CVCharlene James talking about ''Tweet Tweet''Charlene James interview about playwriting
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Charlene Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) British dramatists and playwrights British science fiction writers Black British women writers Black British writers English television writers English screenwriters British women television writers