Sarah Grochala
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sarah Grochala (born 9 January 1973) is a British playwright. Her plays have been performed at the
Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...
,
Theatre503 Theatre503 is a theatre based at 503 Battersea Park Road in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth, above The Latchmere pub. The venue is known for promoting the work of new writers. History The theatre was founded in 1982 as the La ...
,
Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...
,
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 ...
and
Soho Theatre Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, and Soho Theatre Walthamstow in north-east London. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three pe ...
in London. Her plays have been produced internationally by the Griffin Theatre,
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Tiyatro Yan Etki
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and on the Toronto Fringe
Toronto Fringe Festival The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival, featuring un-juried plays by unknown or well-known artists, taking place in the theatres of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Several productions originally mounted at the Fringe have later been ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. Her book on playwriting, ''The Contemporary Political Play'', was published in 2017.


Early life and education

Grochala was born in
Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...
and grew up in
Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture ...
,
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
. She trained as an actress at the Drama Centre in London, and studied English Language and Literature at St John's College,
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
.


Career

Between 1998 and 2006, Grochala worked as actress in theatre and television. She appeared in the television drama '' Every Woman Knows a Secret'' and the TV series ''
Judge John Deed ''Judge John Deed'' is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Mr Justice Deed, a High Court judge who tries to seek real ...
''. She also starred as
Jo March ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...
in the 2004/2005 West End production of
Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...
. She studied playwriting on the MPhil in Playwriting Studies at
Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
, a course created by the British playwright David Edgar. She later gained a PhD in contemporary British playwriting from
Queen Mary, University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...
. Her early plays ''Open Ground'' (2005) and ''Waiting for Romeo'' (2006) were produced on the fringe in London and Edinburgh. ''Waiting for Romeo'' was revived by Tiyatro Yan Etki in Istanbul in 2014 and ran in rep at the theatre until 2016. The production won the 2015 Ekin Yazin Dostları Theatre Award for Best Play (Small Venue). Her breakthrough play ''S-27'' won the 2007 Protect the Human Playwriting Competition and was also shortlisted for the 2007 King's Cross Award and the 2010 Leah Ryan Award for Emerging Women Writers. ''S-27'' premiered at the
Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...
in June 2009. It has since been revived internationally by the Griffin Theatre in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
in 2010 and by Intersection Theatre on the Toronto Fringe in 2012. In 2011, Grochala was the winner of OffWestEnd.com's Adopt a Playwright Award for her play ''Smolensk''. Her most recent play ''Star Fish'' was shortlisted for the 2016 Nick Darke Award. From 2012 to 2016, she was an associate artist with the theatre company Headlong, where she worked on creating theatrical experiences using digital media. These included: ''The Nether Realm'' (Royal Court 2014) made in collaboration with the visual artist Michael Takeo Magruder, the director
Jeremy Herrin Jeremy Herrin (born 19 January 1970) is an English theatre director. He is a Founding Director of Second Half Productions with Alan Stacey and Rob O’Rahilly. He was previously Artistic Director of the British touring theatre company; Headlo ...
and the playwright
Jennifer Haley Jennifer Haley is an American playwright.she was born in Oct. 3,1974.She grew up in San Antonio, Texas and studied acting at the University of Texas at Austin for her undergraduate degree. Haley also received a MFA in playwriting at Brown Univer ...
; and ''What's She Like'' made in collaboration with the interactive theatre company Coney. In 2019, she wrote for ''
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 ...
'', contributing to the Big Finish spin-off, ''The Eighth of March''. She would write for further releases, including ''The Robots'', ''The First Doctor Adventures'' and ''Lady Christina''.


Personal life

Grochala 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 ...
, and is the course leader of the MA MFA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media Programme at
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school 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 ...
.


Publications


Plays

* ''Open Ground'' (Teatro Technis, London 2005) * ''Waiting for Romeo'' (Hill Street Theatre, Edinburgh 2006) * ''Gift'' (Kings Head, London 2008) * ''Viable Alternatives'' (Green Man Festival, Wales 2008) * ''Remains'' (Theatre503, London 2009) * ''S-27'' (Finborough Theatre, London 2009) * ''The Return'' (Birmingham University, 2010) * ''Standing Out of the Light'' (Theatre503, London 2010) * ''Skin'' (Arcola, London 2010) * ''The Beautiful Ones'' (Latitude Festival, England 2011) * ''Red Shoes'' (Chapter Arts, Cardiff; Theatre503, London; Arches, Glasgow 2012) * ''Emperor's New Clothes'' (Cockpit Theatre, London 2012) * ''The Shadow'' (Soho Theatre, London 2014) * ''Little Mermaid'' (Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff 2014) * ''Alexandria n.'' (Primrose Hill Community Library, London 2015) * ''Intelligence''


Big Finish


The Eighth of March

* ''Narcissus'' (2018)


The Robots

* ''Do No Harm'' (Series 2, 2020) * ''Off Grid'' (Series 4, 2021)


The First Doctor Adventures

* ''The Hollow Crown'' (Volume 5, 2021)


Lady Christina

* ''Outback'' (Series 2, 2021)


The Avengers: The Comic Strip Adaptations

* ''Mother’s Day'' (Volume 05: Steed & Tara King, 2021) * ''Stand and Deliver'' (Volume 06: Steed & Mrs Peel, 2022)


The Fifth Doctor Adventures

* ''God of War'' (Forty: Volume 01, 2022) * ''Resistor '' (In the Night, 2023)


The Ninth Doctor Adventures

* ''The False Dimitry'' (Back to Earth, 2022)


Star Cops

* ''Death in the Desert'' (Series 3A; The High Frontier, 2022)


UNIT

* ''Traitors’ Gate'' (UNIT: Nemesis 4: Masters of Time, 2023)


The Fourth Doctor Adventures

* ''The Face in the Storm'' (Series 13, 2024)


Books

* ''The Contemporary Political Play'' (Methuen Drama 2017) * ''The Theatre of Rupert Goold'' (Methuen Drama 2020)


Digital

* ''1984 Digital Double'' (Headlong/Cultural Institute at King's 2013) * ''PRISM'' (Headlong/Cultural Institute at King's 2014) * ''The Nether Realm'' (Headlong/Royal Court 2014) * ''What's She Like'' (Headlong/Coney 2016)


Awards

* ''The Women’s Prize for Playwriting'' (2023) for ''Intelligence''


References


External links


Sarah Grochala Official Website

Academic Profile
o
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Website

Sarah Grochala
at the
Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grochala, Sarah 1973 births English dramatists and playwrights Living people Writers from London Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Associate fellows of the Higher Education Academy