Leo Butler (born 1974 in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

) is a British playwright. His plays have been staged, among others, by 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 app ...

, the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

and the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West E ...

. His plays have been published by Bloomsbury A & C Black.Redundant won the George Devine Award. Between 2005 and 2014 he was Playwriting Tutor for the

Young Writers Programme.

Plays

*'' Made of Stone'' (2000) premiered as part of the Young Writers' Festival at

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 ...

, directed by Deborah Bruce *'' Redundant'' (2001) premiered at

, directed by

Dominic Cooke Dominic Cooke (born 1966) is an English director and writer. Early life Born in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, south London, Cooke was brought up seeing a lot of theatre as a teenager from free theatre tickets provided by the Inner London Ed ...

*''Devotion'' (2002) produced by Theatre Centre premiered at Redbridge Drama Centre, directed by Liam Steel *'' Lucky Dog'' (2004) premiered at

, directed by James Macdonald *''

The Early Bird ''The Early Bird'' is a 1965 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher (director), Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom, Edward Chapman (actor), Edward Chapman, Bryan Pringle, Richard Vernon, John Le Mesurier and Jerry Desmonde. It was t ...

'' (2006) premiered at Queen's Theatre in the Belfast Festival, directed by Rachel O'Riordan *''Heroes'' (2007) premiered by touring with the National Theatre, directed by Samantha Potter *''Airbag'' (2007) a collaboration with Nigerian choreographer Anthony Odey, premiered as a Rough Cut at the

*'' I'll Be The Devil'' (2008) produced by the

, premiered at Tricycle Theatre, directed by Ramin Gray *'' Faces in the Crowd'' (2008) premiered at

, directed by Clare Lizzimore *'' Juicy Fruits'' (2011) produced by Paines Plough, premiered at Oran Mor, directed by George Perrin * ''Alison! : A Rock Opera'' (2012) co-written with Dan Persad premiered at

King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. The original venue was the oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2024, the pub theatre, and the King's Head Theatre now operates from a purpose-b ...

, directed by Nick Bagnall * ''Could You Please Close The Door Please?'' (2012) premiered at Berlin Schaubuhne as part of the Festival of International Drama. * ''Sixty-Nine'' (2012) premiered at The Pleasance Courtyard,

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

, directed by Donnacadh O'Briain * ''Do It!'' (2013) premiered at

Open Court Season, directed by Ned Bennett. * ''

Boy A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy ...

'' (2016) premiered at the

, directed by Sacha Wares * ''Decades'' (2016) premiered at the Ovalhouse theatre, produced by the BRIT School, directed by Eva Sampson. * '' Woyzeck'' (2018) premiered at

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 ...

, an adaptation of Georg Buchner's original play, directed by Roxana Silbert. * '' All You Need is LSD'' (2018) premiered at

, co-produced with Told by an Idiot theatre company, directed by Paul Hunter and Stephen Harper. * ''Meet Mo'' (2020) produced online by Theatre Royal Stratford East, a short musical composed by Leo Butler, directed by Eva Sampson. * ''Cinderella'' (2022) produced by Theatre Royal Stratford East book and lyrics by Leo Butler, music and lyrics by Robert Hyman, directed by Eva Sampson. * ''Innocent Creatures'' (2023) produced by National Theatre Connections.

Film

*''Self Made'' (2011 feature) co-written with Gillian Wearing, UK Film Council/Northern Film & Media, premiered at the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...

2011.

Television

*''Jerusalem the Golden'' (2002) single drama produced by BBC Four/Fictionlab, directed by Louis Caulfield, starring Rudolph Walker and Eddie Marsan.

Music

*''

Alison! A Rock Opera ''Alison! A Rock Opera'' is a musical with music and lyrics by playwright Leo Butler and Dan Persad. The modern rock 'n' roll song-cycle tells the story of ordinary woman Alison who breaks up with her boyfriend Jimmy and goes on a journey of self ...

'' (2012) a rock opera, written by Leo Butler and Dan Persad. * ''The Collective Psychosis of the 21st Century'' (2017) an album of songs written & performed by Leo Butler and Dan Persad

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Leo 1974 births Living people Writers from Sheffield English dramatists and playwrights Alumni of Rose Bruford College English male dramatists and playwrights