Alex Oates (born 1987 in Newcastle) is an English playwright from the North East.

Background

Born in Newcastle, Oates was born to a nurse and policeman and raised in

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around e ...

in the North East of England. He moved to London to attend Middlesex University in 2006 where he studied Theatre Arts. Oates also studied for a semester at

New Paltz New Paltz () is an incorporated U.S. town in Ulster County, New York. The population was 14,003 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston. New Paltz contains a village, also wit ...

where he specialised in dramatic writing under Prof. Laurence Carr. On graduating Oates was selected to write for '' EastEnders: E20'' and spent time in the story department at '' EastEnders''. Oates was later selected out of thousands for the 2010 Old Vic New Voices 24 hour plays which sparked his career in theatre.

Career

Oates first play ''Fan Fiction'' was produced as a reading at the St. James Theatre directed by Dominic Shaw and starring

Iwan Rheon Iwan Rheon (, ; born 13 May 1985) is a Welsh actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Simon Bellamy in the E4 series '' Misfits'', Ramsay Bolton in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', and Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Ma ...

Russell Tovey Russell George Tovey (born 14 November 1981) is an English 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 Histo ...

and

Rebecca Ryan Rebecca Ryan (born 27 April 1991) is an English actress, best known for her role as Debbie Gallagher in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series '' Shameless'' (2004–2009). Ryan also appeared as Vicki MacDonald in the BBC One school-based drama seri ...

. Oates then wrote ''Silk Road'' for the

Edinburgh Fringe 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 ...

(Assembly). ''Silk Road'' tackles the issue of buying drugs online and was the first play funded by the digital currency

Bitcoin Bitcoin ( abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is a decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distr ...

, it starred James Baxter and was directed by Dominic Shaw. Oates next play ''Pig'' was produced by Silent Uproar productions for

Hull Truck Theatre Hull Truck Theatre is a theatre in Kingston upon Hull, England, which presents drama productions, and also tours. In March 2022, the theatre's original premises on Coltman Street, Hull, was recognised by a blue plaque to coincide with the theatr ...

July 2015 and later transferred to the

New Diorama Theatre The New Diorama Theatre is an eighty-seat theatre near Regent's Park in the London Borough of Camden, opened in 2010. The theatre received two Peter Brook awards during the first two years of its programming. Its artistic director is the playwrig ...

in September 2015. Pig was based on extensive research and interviews with police officers and was about the state of the British police force. Oates has collaborated with actress

Katie Sheridan Katie Teresa Sheridan is an English actress. She has appeared in feature films such as '' Heretiks'' (2018) and ''Together'' (2018), and her television roles include appearances in the BBC series ''Doctors'', '' Waking the Dead'' and ''Love So ...

to create new online romantic comedy,

Match Not Found ''Match Not Found'' is a British romantic comedy web series set entirely on Skype created and written by actress Katie Sheridan and British playwright Alex Oates. Format The story is told in vlog-style by Kat with her friends entering the conv ...

launched October 2015. Oates is also a recipient of the prestigious Peggy Ramsay Legacy grant. Oates play ''All In a Row'' was long listed for the Bruntwood Prize in 2016 and a revised version won th
Bolton Octagon's Top Five
competition, being selected from 850 plays to receive a rehearsed reading in March 2017. Following the boom in price of Bitcoin ''Silk Road'' was revived for Vault Festival London and

Live Theatre Live Theatre, formerly Live Theatre Company, is a new writing theatre and company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. As well as producing and presenting new plays many of which go on to tour nationally and internationally, it seeks out an ...

Newcastle starring Josh Barrow. To mark the production it was published by Bloomsbury Methuen ''Silk Road'' transferred into the West End in August 2018 where

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

four star review described it as "Sharp witted, effortlessly engaging and surprisingly sweet". Oates next play All In A Row proved controversial at

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London, located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations. History The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They identified the need for a h ...

for its use of puppetry and brutal take on the themes of severe autism. The Guardian's four star review described it as "a lively, compassionate and darkly humorous show with the unmistakable ring of truth". Oates was nominated for Most Promising Playwright at The Off West End Awards for the play.

Plays

* ''Zombie Nation'' (2011) as part of the 24 hour plays,

Old Vic Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...

, directed by Ed Stambolloullan * ''Fan Fiction'' (2012) Rehearsed Reading,

St James Theatre St. James Theatre is a Broadway theatre in New York City. St. James Theatre may also refer to: Australia * St. James Theatre, Sydney, multi-storey building in Elizabeth Street, not to be confused with diminutive St James' Hall, Sydney New Zeala ...

, directed by Dominic Shaw * ''Silk Road'' (2014) Assembly Studios, directed by Dominic Shaw * ''Hansel'' (2015) Assemble Fest, Directed by Alex Mitchell * ''Pig'' (2015)

Hull Truck Hull Truck Theatre is a theatre in Kingston upon Hull, England, which presents drama productions, and also tours. In March 2022, the theatre's original premises on Coltman Street, Hull, was recognised by a blue plaque to coincide with the theatr ...

and New Diorama, Directed by Alex Mitchell * ''Mutations'' (2016)

Pleasance Islington Pleasance Islington (also known as Pleasance London or the Pleasance Theatre) is a fringe theatre in Islington, London, opened in 1995. It is run by the Pleasance Theatre Trust and is the sister venue of the original Pleasance Edinburgh. It h ...

, Reading in association with

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, directed by Gareth Taylor * ''A Memory For Forgetting'' (2017)

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 ...

, The Miniaturists 61, Directed by Dominic Shaw * ''All In A Row'' (2017) Bolton Octagon, Top Five Readings Season, Directed by Ben Occhipinti * ''Silk Road (How To Buy Drugs Online'')(2018), Vault Festival,

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million Pound sterling, pound restoration project aiming to reinstate ...

Directed by Dominic Shaw * ''Rules For Being A Man'' (2018), Norfolk Tour, Directed by Daniel Burgess * '' All in a Row'' (2019),

, Directed by Dominic Shaw *''Our Liam of Lourdes'' (2019),

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

, Directed by Jessica Dromgoole *''How To Explode'' (2019), Customs House South Shields, Directed by Fiona Martin *''Sealhugging'' (2021), Laurels Theatre, Whitley Bay *''The Filleting App'' (2023), selected for RSC 37 Plays project

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oates, Alex Living people English dramatists and playwrights English television writers 1987 births