Tess Berry-Hart is a British playwright and novelist writing for adults, young adults and children. Novels and theatre plays deal with themes such as the

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

rights,

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...

, and the

sex-positive movement The sex-positive movement is a social and philosophical movement that seeks to change cultural attitudes and norms around sexuality, promoting the recognition of sexuality (in the countless forms of expression) as a natural and healthy part of t ...

. Berry-Hart has also written fiction and

verbatim theatre Documentary theatre is theatre that uses pre-existing documentary material (such as newspapers, government reports, interviews, journals, and correspondences) as source material for stories about real events and people, frequently without altering ...

pieces for stage to support human rights campaigns and to raise funds for the refugee crisis.

Early life

Youngest child of painter and sculptor David Berry-Hart, Tess's paternal grandmother, Alice Berry-Hart, was a journalist and author of children's books and aunt Marian Lines was a playwright and children's author. Great-grandfather

David Berry Hart David Berry Hart (12 October 1851 – 10 June 1920) was a Scottish gynaecological surgeon and academic. Life David Berry Hart was born in Edinburgh on 12 October 1851. He graduated M.B., C.M. from the University of Edinburgh in 1877. Specia ...

was a noted gynaecologist and one of the first male practitioners in the UK. Berry-Hart was born in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, brought up in

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...

on the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...

, and from age 11 to 18, won a music scholarship to study at

Howell's School, Denbigh Howell's School Denbigh (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Ysgol Howell Dinbych'') was a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private girls only school located in Denbigh, Denbigh, Denbighshire. A new co-educational independent school, Myddelton College ...

in North Wales. After school, Berry-Hart spent a year travelling and working in Turkey and Pakistan's North West Frontier as a teacher of English. Berry-Hart graduated magna cum laude with a first-class degree in law from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

Career

Berry-Hart studied 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 ...

Young Writers’ Programme 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 ...

under the tutorship of

Hanif Kureishi Hanif Kureishi (born 5 December 1954) is a British Pakistani playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, and novelist. He is known for his film '' My Beautiful Laundrette'' and novel '' The Buddha of Suburbia''. Early life and education Hanif Kureish ...

and

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is a British-Irish playwright, musician and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is ...

. Berry-Hart was selected to be the Royal Court young writing representative at the Interplay Young European Playwrights Festival in Warsaw, Poland, with first play ''Legoland'' which dealt with post-traumatic stress and mental illness. Berry-Hart's theatre work has been subsequently produced in London, New York, Los Angeles, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Ankara, and translated into German and Turkish. In 2019, Berry-Hart was shortlisted for the BBC Wales Writer in Residence Award in partnership with

National Theatre Wales National Theatre Wales (NTW) was a charity and theatre company based in Wales. It was established in 2009, but following the cessation of funding in April 2024, it closed in December 2024, with its community work being carried on and evolved to ...

. Since November 2021, Berry-Hart is part of the Writers' Group at the

Sherman Theatre The Sherman Theatre () is a venue in the Cathays district of Cardiff. It was built as a twin-auditorium venue in 1973 with financial support from University College Cardiff (now Cardiff University). Sherman Cymru was the name of the Sherman Thea ...

Theatre

In July 2016, Berry-Hart's play CARGO (inspired by experiences encountering child refugees in Calais) set in a cargo container following unaccompanied minors travelling to Europe, was produced by 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 ...

in London. The Turkish translation premiere of Cargo ("Kargo") was produced and toured by the

Turkish State Theatres The Turkish State Theatres ( – DT) is the official directorate of the national theatre companies in Turkey. It is bound to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and financed by the state to promote performed arts and enhance the public interest th ...

in November 2018. In 2018, the Welsh theatre The Other Room (in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

) commissioned Berry-Hart to write a play for its 2019 Violence Series inspired by their experiences as a volunteer during the Syrian refugee crisis. "The Story" premiered in 2019 and subsequently toured Wales and London in Jan-Feb 2020. In October 2020, the Violence Series trilogy won an LPT 2020 theatre award for Best Transfer. "The Story" is published by

Oberon Books Oberon Books is a London-based publisher of drama texts and books on theatre. The company publishes around 100 titles per year, many of them plays by new writers. In addition, the list contains a range of titles on theatre studies, acting, writin ...

. In 2021, Berry-Hart became part of the Writers' Group at the Sherman Theatre Cardiff, developing a play called "Last Flight" loosely inspired by experiences volunteering during the

Fall of Kabul (2021) On 15 August 2021, Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul was captured by the Taliban after 2021 Taliban offensive, a major insurgent offensive that began in May 2021. It was the final action of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), War in Afghan ...

and the 2021 Kabul Airlift evacuation of Afghanistan.

Verbatim theatre commissions

In 2012, Berry-Hart was commissioned to create a verbatim theatre piece, "Someone To Blame" based on the real-life case of

Sam Hallam Sam Hallam (born 1987), from Hoxton, London, is one of the youngest victims of a UK miscarriage of justice after an appeal court quashed his murder conviction in 2012. Background In 2004, aged 17, Hallam had been sentenced to serve a minimum of ...

, a teenager wrongfully convicted of murder and imprisoned for 7 years. The play highlighted inaccuracies in the case against Hallam and was performed by the

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 ...

in the weeks before his second appeal. Hallam was released after a second three-hour hearing at the Court of Appeal. An updated gala performance of "Someone To Blame" was staged at the King's Head after his release. In 2014, Berry-Hart was further commissioned by the

in London to write a play about the lives of LGBT Russians following the passing of the anti-gay laws in Russia ahead of the Winter Olympics. "Sochi 2014" was performed at the King's Head's new writing venue, The Hope Theatre London, in 2014, with other benefit performances occurring in New York (performed by

Uzo Aduba Uzoamaka Nwanneka "Uzo" Aduba () (; born February 10, 1981) is an American actress. She gained wide recognition for her role as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren on the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she w ...

Masha Gessen Masha Gessen () is a Russian and American journalist, author, and translator who has written extensively on LGBT rights. Gessen writes primarily in English but also in Russian. In addition to authoring several nonfiction books, Gessen has con ...

and

Catherine Curtin Catherine Curtin is an American actress. She is best known for her role as correctional officer Wanda Bell in the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019). Other notable recurring roles include '' Insecure'', ''Str ...

) as well as Los Angeles that same year. An updated version of Sochi 2014 was produced and won an NSDF commendation award at the Edinburgh Festival, during August 2014. In 2019, Berry-Hart was commissioned to curate the testimonies of women workers in the developing world to produce a short play for

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

(# March4Women Rally) hosted by CARE International at

Central Hall Westminster The Methodist Central Hall (also known as Central Hall Westminster) is a multi-purpose venue in the City of Westminster, London, serving primarily as a Methodist church and a conference centre. The building also houses an art gallery, a restaura ...

. The play was performed live by

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, List of awards and nominations received by Helena Bonham Carter ...

Meera Syal Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is an English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and by portraying Sanjeev's grandmoth ...

Nicola Thorp Nicola Sian Thorp is an English broadcaster, columnist, activist, and former actress. She is known for her role as Nicola Rubinstein in the ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2017–2019), as well as her contributions to th ...

Naana Agyei-Ampadu Naana Agyei-Ampadu is a British actress of Ghanaian descent. Born in Accra, Agyei-Ampadu moved to the UK as a child. She studied law at the University of Sussex, before embarking on a career in acting. She graduated from the Central School of Sp ...

, and

Nina Sosanya Oluwakemi Nina Sosanya (born 6 June 1969) is an English stage, television, film, and radio actress, and narrator. She is most notable for her roles in ''Teachers'', '' W1A'', and '' Last Tango in Halifax''. Early life and education Oluwakemi N ...

, directed by Berry-Hart. The next year, for IWD 2020, Berry-Hart produced and directed another verbatim play concerning the testimonies of refugees of climate change which was produced at

The Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

and performed by

Natalie Dormer Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982) is an English actress. Best known for her versatility, her roles in period films, blockbusters, independent films, as well as her work on prominent television series. Her accolades include winning an Empi ...

Nicola Coughlan Nicola Mary Coughlan (; born 9 January 1987) is an Irish actress. She is known for her roles as Clare Devlin in Channel 4's sitcom '' Derry Girls'' (2018–2022) and Penelope Featherington in Netflix's ''Bridgerton'' (2020–present). She earned ...

Sanjeev Bhaskar Sanjeev Bhaskar (born 31 October 1963) is a British actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for his work in the BBC Radio 4 and BBC Two sketch comedy series ''Goodness Gracious Me (TV series), Goodness Gracious Me'' and as t ...

and

Himesh Patel Himesh Jitendra Patel (born 13 October 1990) is a British actor. He began his career portraying Tamwar Masood in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2007–2016). On television, this was followed by roles in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Damned'' ( ...

Young adult novels

In 2007, Berry-Hart's first novel, '' Escape from Genopolis'', was published by

Scholastic Corporation Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...

. This was followed by the sequel, ''Fearless'', in 2009.

Refugee crisis

In September 2015, during the

, Berry-Hart visited the

Calais Jungle The Calais Jungle (known officially as Camp de la Lande) was a refugee and immigrant encampment in the vicinity of Calais, France, that existed from January 2015 to October 2016. There had been other camps known as "jungles" in previous years, ...

refugee camp in France and upon returning became aid and advocacy co-ordinator for Calais Action, part of the UK

Grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

Aid movement, sending aid to Calais. Athens, and the islands of Samos, Chios, and Lesvos. Berry-Hart has spoken at the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

in Geneva and

ALNAP ALNAP (Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance) is a UK based non-profit organization that works to increase learning and accountability in the humanitarian aid sector. It produces '' The State of the Humanitarian System'' rep ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

from a volunteer perspective, and appeared as commentator on refugee issues on the BBC, ITV, and various documentaries and campaigns for the rights of refugees and the need for safe and legal routes to asylum. In 2016, Berry-Hart produced a gala weekend of new writing to raise funds for the Syrian refugee crisis at the Southwark Playhouse featuring short pieces of refugee-related writing by Timberlake Wertenbaker, Anders Lustgarten, Barney Norris, Mediah Ahmed, as well as a collection of Syrian refugee poetry performed by

Denise Gough Denise Gough ( ; born 28 February 1980) is an Irish actress. On television, she is best known for her roles in the BBC Two crime drama '' Paula'' (2017), the ITV miniseries '' Too Close'' (2021) and the Disney+ series '' Andor'' (2022–2025). H ...

and

Russell Tovey Russell George Tovey (born 14 November 1981) is a British actor. He is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural comedy-drama '' Being Human'', Rudge in both the stage and film versions of '' The History ...

. The event was compered by comedians

Robin Ince Robin Ince (born 20 February 1969) is an English comedian, actor and writer. He is known for presenting the BBC radio show '' The Infinite Monkey Cage'' with physicist Brian Cox, creating Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People, co-creatin ...

and

Adam Riches Adam Riches (born 29 March 1973) is an English comedian and actor who won the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2011. After his success at the Edinburgh Fringe, he became familiar to UK television audiences through his exaggerated comic parody ...

. Berry-Hart is also a founding member of the Citizens of the World Choir for refugees, migrants and friends. In 2021, Berry-Hart helped support and evacuate LGBTQ Afghans after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, as a volunteer with the Turkey-based NGO Aman Project which supports LGBTQ refugees.

Personal life

Berry-Hart identifies as LGBT and is non-binary using they/them pronouns.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry-Hart, Tess Living people Alumni of King's College London English children's writers English non-binary writers People from Oswestry Year of birth missing (living people) Non-binary dramatists and playwrights Non-binary novelists English LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights English LGBTQ novelists Writers from Shropshire Writers from Warwickshire 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English LGBTQ people