Amanda Whittington (born 1968 in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

) is an English dramatist who has written over 30 plays for theatre and radio. Her work is widely performed by companies across the UK, with recent productions at Hull Truck, Oldham Coliseum, New Vic Theatre and Nottingham Playhouse.

Be My Baby "Be My Baby" is a song by American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number 2 in ...

is a popular GCSE and 'A' level choice in English Literature and Theatre Studies. She currently has two titles in Nick Hern Books' Top Ten Most Performed Plays. In 2017, she was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy by Publication at the University of Huddersfield. Original stage plays include Be My Baby, The Thrill of Love, Ladies Day, Ladies Down Under, Mighty Atoms, Kiss Me Quickstep, Amateur Girl, Bollywood Jane, Satin n Steel, The Dug Out and Player's Angels (adapted for Bristol as The Wills's Girls). Stage adaptations include Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe, My Judy Garland Life by Susie Boyt and Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters. Original radio plays include D for Dexter (returning series), The All-Clear, Louisa's, The Dock Nuremberg, Once Upon a Time, Paradise Place and The Nine Days Queen. Book adaptations for radio include Man At The Helm by Nina Stibbe. Whittington won the 2016

BBC Audio Drama Awards The BBC Audio Drama Awards is an awards ceremony created by BBC Radio to recognise excellence in the radio industry, in particular in audio dramas. The inaugural awards were presented in 2012 and the ceremony hosted at the BBC Radio Theatre, Br ...

for a series or serial for ''D for Dexter''. Whittington began her writing career as a freelance journalist for titles including Nottingham Evening Post, New Statesman and Society and The Face. In 2016, her radio drama D for Dexter won Best Series/Serial in the BBC Audio Drama Awards, and the fourth series was broadcast in November 2017. In 2001, she jointly won the Dennis Potter Screenwriting Award for ''Bollywood Jane'', a work she later adapted for stage. As of 2018, she is co-chair of the Writers' Guild Radio Committee. She held

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its long ...

fellowships in 2014-2015 at

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...

and in 2018-2020 at

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...

. she is a member of the advisory "Art Squad" of the Halifax-based

Northern Broadsides Northern Broadsides is a theatre company formed in 1992 and based at Dean Clough Mill in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded by Barrie Rutter, who was its Artistic Director until resigning in 2018, followed by Conrad Nelson who was i ...

theatre company. Whittington's plays are published by Nick Hern Books and Samuel French. In 2018, Ladies Day was revived in a new production for Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.

Mikron Theatre Company The Mikron Theatre Company is an English touring theatre company, founded in 1972, which is notable for its tours by canal boat during the summer months, and by road in the spring and autumn. The company believes itself to be the only theatre c ...

commissioned a play, ''Atalanta Forever'', by Whittington about women's football and the short-lived Huddersfield Atalanta Ladies' Football Club for its 2020 season. The 2020 tour was cancelled because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

but the show toured, to outdoor venues only, in 2021. Mikron then commissioned Whittington to write ''A Force to be Reckoned With'', about

women police officers A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

, for the 2023 season.

Stage plays

*''

'' (1998) *''Player's Angels/The Wills's Girls'' (2002) (

Show of Strength Theatre Company Show of Strength Theatre Company is a Bristol-based theatre company which has produced new and forgotten works since 1986 in a range of venues in Bristol and the South West. The company is funded by Arts Council England and Bristol City Council b ...

BBC Radio Four 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' ...

) *''Bollywood Jane'' (2003) (

Haymarket Theatre, Leicester The Leicester Haymarket Theatre is a theatre in Leicester, England, next to the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Belgrave Gate in Leicester City centre. History The Haymarket Theatre was opened by Sir Ralph Richardson and the opening season started ...

) *''Satin n Steel'' (2005) (

Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and Fr ...

Octagon Theatre, Bolton The Octagon Theatre is a producing theatre located in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Programme The Octagon produces eight or nine professional theatre productions each year in its Main Auditorium. Productions come from a wide range of ty ...

) *''Ladies Day'' (2005) (

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 ...

) *''Ladies Down Under'' (2007) (Hull Truck Theatre) *''Tipping the Velvet'' (2009) (

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

) *''Amateur Girl'' (2009) (Hull Truck Theatre) *''The Thrill Of Love'' (2013) (New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme) *''The Dug Out'' (2013) (Splice Theatre, Bristol) *''My Judy Garland Life'' (2014, adaptation) (Nottingham Playhouse) *''Kiss Me Quickstep'' (2016) (New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme) *''Mighty Atoms'' (premiered in 2017 as part of Hull's

UK City of Culture UK City of Culture is a designation given to a city (or a local area from 2025) in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the successful bidder hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneration for the ye ...

celebrations). *''Atalanta Forever'' (commissioned for 2020, toured in 2021) (

) *''A Force to be Reckoned With'' (2023) (

)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittington, Amanda 1968 births Living people 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers