Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is an English

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme 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 West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal ...

for many years, he is now an Artistic Associate at the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

. He is the inaugural Associate Playwright of Steep Theatre Company,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, where four of his plays, '' Harper Regan,'' ''Motortown'', ''Wastwater'', and ''Birdland'' had their U.S. premieres. His writing is widely performed throughout Europe and, along with Dennis Kelly and

Martin Crimp Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Au ...

, he is one of the most performed English-language writers in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Life

Originally from Stockport,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tamesid ...

, Stephens graduated from the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

with a degree in History. After university, he lived in Edinburgh for several years, where he met his future wife Polly, before later completing a PGCE at the

Institute of Education IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to ...

. He worked as a teacher for a few years, before quitting to become a professional playwright. In 2017, Simon Stephens was appointed to a Professorship at the Manchester School of Writing, at Manchester Metropolitan University. He was a member of Scottish art punk band Country Teasers. He lives in London with his wife and three children.

Plays

* ''Morning Sun'' (2021). Manhattan Theatre Club production premiered in October 2021 at New York City Center Stage I directed by Lila Neugebauer, with Blair Brown, Edie Falco, and

Marin Ireland Marin Yvonne Ireland is an American actress. Known for her work in theatre and independent films, '' The New York Times'' deemed Ireland "one of the great drama queens of the New York stage". Her accolades include a Theatre World Award and nom ...

. * ''Blindness'' (2020). Premiered at Donmar Warehouse, directed by Walter Meierjohann. Adaptation of José Saramago's novel of the same name. * ''Fortune'' (2020). Premiered at Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, directed by Sean Holmes *''Rage'' (2018) premiered at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, directed by Elle While Revival cast premiere at the

University of Wales Trinity Saint David The University of Wales Trinity Saint David ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru Y Drindod Dewi Sant) is a multi-campus university with three main campuses in South West Wales, in Carmarthen, Lampeter and Swansea, a fourth campus in London, England, and learning ...

(2020) * ''Obsession'' (2017). (English translation of Jan Peter Gerrits' play) Premiered at the Barbican Centre, directed by

Ivo Van Hove Ivo van Hove (born 28 October 1958) is a Belgian theatre director known as the artistic director of Toneelgroep Amsterdam in the Netherlands and for his Off-Broadway avant-garde experimental theatre productions. On Broadway, he has directed rev ...

* ''The Seagull'' (2017). Premiered at the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

, directed by Sean Holmes * ''Fatherland'' (2017). Co-created with Frantic Assembly's Scott Graham and Karl Hyde for the Manchester International Festival at the Royal Exchange. *''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music ...

'' (2016) premiered at the National Theatre, directed by Rufus Norris, a new adaptation of

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

's book and lyrics (music by

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

) *'' Heisenberg'' (2015) premiered

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

at the New York City Center-Stage II, directed by Mark Brokaw *''Song From Far Away'' (2015) premiered 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. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 20 ...

, directed by Ivo van Hove *''The Cherry Orchard'' (2014) premiering at the Young Vic, directed by Katie Mitchell *''Carmen Disruption'' (2014) premiering at Deutsches Schauspielhaus, directed by Sebastian Nübling *''Blindsided'' (2014) premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre, directed by Sarah Frankcom *''Birdland'' (2014) premiered at the

, directed by

Carrie Cracknell Carrie Cracknell (born 1980) is a British theatre director. She was Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre, London from 2007–2012. She was Associate Director at both the Young Vic (2012–2013) and the Royal Court (2013–2014). Background ...

*''London'' (2012) incorporating ''Sea Wall'' and ''T5'' premiered at Salisbury Playhouse, directed by George Perrin *''Morning'' (2012) premiered at the

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary p ...

, directed by Sean Holmes *'' The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'' (2012) premiered at the National Theatre, directed by Marianne Elliott, adapted from the Mark Haddon novel of the same name *''A Doll's House'' (2012) premiered at the

, directed by

American premiere at

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

(2014) * ''Three Kingdoms'' (2011) premiered at

Theatre NO99 Theatre NO99 was a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia that began to operate in February 2005. It was a state-owned repertoire theatre that has its own building with two theatre halls in central Tallinn. The theatre closed in 2019. The theatre's na ...

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

, directed by Sebastian Nübling, English premiere at the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

(2012) , German premiere at the Munich Kammerspiele (2011) * '' I Am the Wind'' (2011) translation of the Jon Fosse play premiered at the

, directed by Patrice Chéreau *''Wastwater'' (2011) premiered at the

, directed by Katie Mitchell *''The Trial of Ubu'' (2010) premiered at the Toneelgroep in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, (2012) English premiere at the

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. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director sin ...

, directed by Katie Mitchell *''T5'' (2010) premiered at DryWrite at the Roundhouse, directed by Vicky Jones, and further developed at the

as part of Traverse Live!, directed by Dominic Hill *'' A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky'' (2010) written with David Eldridge and Robert Holman premiered at the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

, directed by Sean Holmes *'' Marine Parade'' (2010) with music by Mark Eitzel premiered at the Brighton Festival directed by Jo McInnes *'' Punk Rock'' (2009) premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre, directed by Sarah Frankcom *''Canopy of Stars'' (2008) premiered at the Tricycle Theatre as part of the 'Great Game' series *''Sea Wall'' (2008) premiered in the Broken Space Season at Bush Theatre, directed by George Perrin *''Pornography'' (2007) premiered at the

directed by Sean Holmes *'' Harper Regan'' (2007) premiered at the National Theatre, directed by Marianne Elliott *''Motortown'' (2006) premiered at the

, directed by Ramin Gray *'' On the Shore of the Wide World'' (2005) premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre, directed by Sarah Frankcom *''Country Music'' (2004) premiered at the

, directed by Gordon Anderson *''Christmas'' (2004) premiered at the Bush Theatre, directed by Joanne McInnes *''One Minute'' (2003) premiered at the ATC, directed by Gordon Anderson *''Port'' (2002) premiered at the Royal Exchange, directed by Marianne Elliott *''Herons'' (2001) premiered at the

, directed by Simon Usher *''Bluebird'' (1998) premiered at the

, directed by Gordon Anderson *''Bring Me Sunshine'' (1997) premiered at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

, directed by Heather Davies

Awards

*''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'' won the

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

for Best New Play 2013 and the 2015

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Play *''Punk Rock'' was nominated at the TMA Awards for Best New Play in 2010, and was also nominated for the Evening Standard Award for Best New Play in 2010 *''Pornography'' won the Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland for Best New Play in 2008-09 *''On the Shore of The Wide World'' won the

for Best New Play in 2006"Olivier Awards, 2006"
olivierawards.com, accessed 3 February 3016 *''One Minute'' won at the

Tron Theatre Awards ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action-adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programme ...

as Best New Play in 2003 *''Port'' won the Pearson Award for Best New Play in 2001

References

External links

Simon Stephens at Doollee
*
Official website of the Sea Wall movie
performed by Andrew Scott {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Simon 1971 births Living people People from Stockport Alumni of the University of York English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English male writers