Polly Stenham (born 16 July 1986) is an English

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 ...

known for her play '' That Face'', which she wrote when she was 19 years old.

Background

Stenham was born and raised in London. She attributes her love of theatre to her father as he took her to various shows from a young age, including many 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 ...

which would later stage her first play. Before university she attended

Wycombe Abbey Wycombe Abbey is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private girls' boarding and day school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The school was founded in 1896 by Dame Frances Dove (1847–1942), who was previously headmistress of ...

and later worked for the

Ambassador Theatre Group ATG Entertainment, formerly The Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), is a major international live entertainment organisation headquartered in the United Kingdom, with offices in Woking (head office), London, New York, Sydney, Mannheim and Cologne. ...

and the

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 ...

. During this time she enrolled in the Royal Court Young Writers Programme and wrote her first play.

Career

Stenham's debut play '' That Face'' premiered at the

in London in April 2007. It was directed by Jeremy Herrin and starred

Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Scottish actress. She is the recipient of three BAFTA nominations and one Scottish BAFTA nomination, as well as two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her work on stage. She has starred in sever ...

as the alcoholic mother Martha and

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Prince Philip in Netflix's historical series ''The Crown ( ...

as her son Henry. Stenham won the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

''s 2007 Charles Wintour Award, the Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright and the 2007 Theatrical Management Association Award for Best New Play. The play received praise from some reviewers, with Charles Spencer of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' commenting:

This is one of the most astonishing debuts I have seen in more than 30 years of theatre reviewing. Its author, Polly Stenham, a graduate of the Royal Court's Young Writers Programme, is 20 now, just 19 when she wrote a play that sent me reeling into the night... In every respect this is a remarkable and unforgettable piece of theatre.

Stenham represented the Royal Court at the 2007

Latitude Festival Latitude Festival is an annual music and arts festival set within the grounds of Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. The first edition of the festival took place in 2006 and has continued annually (apart from 2020 when it was cancel ...

before ''That Face'' transferred to the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...

in the West End in 2008 with largely the same cast and again under Jeremy Herrin's direction. Her second play, ''Tusk Tusk'' premiered in the downstairs theatre at 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 ...

in March 2009 directed by Jeremy Herrin. In 2011 Stenham, along with friend Victoria Williams, opened an art gallery, the Cob Studios and Gallery (named after her art collector father) in Camden, London. In 2013 her third play ''No Quarter'' was staged at the

, directed by Jeremy Herrin and starring

Tom Sturridge Thomas Sidney Jerome Sturridge (born 5 December 1985) is an English actor. His early films include '' Being Julia'' (2004), '' Like Minds'' (2006), and '' The Boat That Rocked'' (2009). He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Pl ...

. The company also included

Taron Egerton Taron Egerton ( ; born 10 November 1989) is a Welsh actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he performed in stage plays before gaining recognition for his starring role as a spy in the action comedy films '' Kingsman: Th ...

in his first year after studying at

RADA 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 Lond ...

. In 2013 film director

Nicolas Winding Refn Nicolas Winding Refn (; born 29 September 1970) is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer. He directed the ''Pusher'' trilogy (1996–2005), the crime drama '' Bronson'' (2008), and the adventure film '' Valhalla Rising'' (2009). I ...

confirmed ''I Walk With the Dead'' as his next project and that Polly Stenham was confirmed to write the screenplay with Refn. They stated that the film will have an all female cast. Refn admitted that he asked Stenham to write the screenplay to tackle his own perceived inability to write female characters. The project was later renamed ''

The Neon Demon ''The Neon Demon'' is a 2016 psychological horror art film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, co-written by Mary Laws, Polly Stenham, and Refn, and starring Elle Fanning. The plot follows an aspiring model in Los Angeles whose beauty and youth ...

'' and was released in June 2016 to mixed reviews. In 2014 her fourth play ''Hotel'' was staged at the Temporary Theatre, The National Theatre, directed by Maria Aberg. In 2018, ''Julie'', her adaptation of

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

's ''Miss Julie'', was staged at Lyttleton Theatre, directed by Carrie Cracknell and starring

Vanessa Kirby Vanessa Nuala Kirby (born 18 April 1987 or 1988) is an English actress and producer. She rose to international prominence with her portrayal of Princess Margaret in the Netflix drama series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017), for which she won the Bri ...

and Eric Kofi AbrefaIn. In 2017 Walter & Zoniel's portrait of Polly was hung at the National Portrait Gallery and in 2018 Polly was elected as a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

in its "40 Under 40" initiative. In October 2019 her first collection, ''Plays I'', comprising her first four plays, ''That Face, Tusk Tusk'', ''No Quarter'' and ''Hotel'' was published by

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

. Stenham's work is studied at GCSE, A-level and University level. She is currently developing the TV series Dope Girls with Bad Wolf Productions. Stenham was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to theatre and literature.

Private life

Stenham lives in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She is a fan of

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

's album ''

In Rainbows ''In Rainbows'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 10 October 2007 as a download, followed by a retail release internationally through XL Recordings on 3 December 2007 and in North America t ...

'', which she says she listened to constantly while writing ''Tusk Tusk''.

Work

*
Plays I
' (2019) published by

*''Julie'' (2018) at the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

directed by Carrie Cracknell *''Hotel'' (2014) at the

directed by Maria Aberg *''No Quarter'' (2013) at the

directed by Jeremy Herrin *''Tusk Tusk'' (2009) at the Royal Court Theatre directed by Jeremy Herrin *'' That Face'' (2007) at the Royal Court Theatre then (2008)

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

(2009) directed by Jeremy Herrin

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stenham, Polly 1986 births Living people English dramatists and playwrights People educated at Wycombe Abbey People educated at Rugby School Alumni of University College London Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Wycombe Abbey