Sarah Grochala (born 9 January 1973) is a British playwright. Her plays have been performed at the Finborough Theatre, Theatre503, Hampstead Theatre,

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is an Off West End theatre 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, Dalst ...

and Soho Theatre in London. Her plays have been produced internationally by the Griffin Theatre,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Tiyatro Yan Etki Istanbul, Turkey and on the Toronto Fringe Toronto Fringe Festival, Canada. Her book on playwriting, ''The Contemporary Political Play'', was published in 2017.

Early life and education

Grochala was born in Hemel Hempstead and grew up in Nantwich,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. She trained as an actress at the

Drama Centre Drama Centre London (often abbreviated as Drama Centre) was a British drama school in King's Cross, London, where it moved in 2011 after a major reshaping of the University of the Arts London. It was part of Central Saint Martins, a constitu ...

in London, and studied English Language and Literature at St John's College, Oxford University.

Career

Between 1998 and 2006, Grochala worked as actress in theatre and television. She appeared in the television drama ''

Every Woman Knows a Secret ''Every Woman Knows a Secret'' is a 1999 British television drama series written by William Humble based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Rosie Thomas. The series aired on ITV from 18 March to 1 April 1999 is both set and filmed in Berkshi ...

'' 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 of Justice, High Court judge wh ...

''. She also starred as Jo March 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 (1832–1888). Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the lives ...

. She studied playwriting on the MPhil in Playwriting Studies at Birmingham University, a course created by the British playwright David Edgar. She later gained a PhD in contemporary British playwriting from Queen Mary, University of London. 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 in June 2009. It has since been revived internationally by the Griffin Theatre in

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 and the playwright

Jennifer Haley Jennifer Haley is an American playwright. 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 University in 2005, where she ...

; 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 depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'', 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, and is the course leader of the MA MFA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media Programme at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

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)

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)

The Ninth Doctor Adventures

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

Star Cops

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

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)

References

External links

Sarah Grochala Official Website

Biography
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Agent's Website

Academic Profile
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Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Website

Sarah Grochala
at the Internet Movie Database {{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