Ella Hickson (born 1985) is a British

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 theatrical director, living in London.

Early life

Hickson was brought up in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

in Surrey and educated at

Guildford High School Guildford High School is an independent day school for girls that was founded in 1888. Approximately 1,000 girls between ages 4 to 18 attend the school from Guildford and its surrounding towns and villages. The school comprises a Junior School ...

from 1996 to 2003.

Career

Hickson's first play, '' Eight'', produced by the

Edinburgh University Theatre Company Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC) is a student theatre company at the University of Edinburgh. The EUTC was founded in 1871 as the ''Edinburgh University Amateur Dramatic Club'' and adopted its current name in the 1970s. Since 1980 it ha ...

, won a Fringe First, the

Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award The Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award is a theater prize given annually at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. History The Award has presented by the Carol Tambor Theatrical Foundation since 2004. In a formal agreement with the Fringe Society, i ...

and the NSDF Emerging Artists Award at 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 ...

in 2008. The show toured to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in January 2009 and opened at

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 restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

in July 2009. Hickson's second play '' Precious Little Talent'' opened at Trafalgar Studios in March 2011, directed by

James Dacre James Charles Dacre (born May 1984) is a British theatre director. He has been artistic director of Royal & Derngate Theatres in Northampton since 2013. Early years James Dacre was born in 1984, the son of Paul Dacre, former editor of the '' ...

. In 2012 her third play ''Boys'' premiered at HighTide Festival Theatre directed by

Robert Icke Robert Icke (; born 29 November 1986) is an English writer and theatre director. He has been referred to as the "great hope of British theatre." He is best known for his play ''The Doctor'', and his modern adaptations of classic texts, includ ...

for

Headlong Theatre Headlong is a British touring theatre company noted for making bold, innovative productions with some of the UK’s finest artists. Jeremy Herrin took over the artistic directorship of the company in 2013, and is the current artistic director. Ar ...

. It went on to tour at Nuffield Southampton Venues, as well as Soho Theatre London. In 2013 her play ''

Wendy & Peter Pan ''Wendy & Peter Pan'' is a play by Ella Hickson, adapted from the original play and novel ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' by J.M. Barrie. The play is a re-telling of the classic children's story which features Wendy Darling as ...

'', an adaptation of

J.M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

's novel, was produced at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

for the Christmas 2013 season, directed by Jonathan Munby. It was later revived for the Christmas 2015 season. In 2014 her adaptation of the legends of '' Merlin'' opened at

Royal & Derngate Royal & Derngate is a theatre complex in the Cultural Quarter of Northampton, England, consisting of the Royal Theatre and Derngate Theatre. The Royal was built by theatre architect Charles J. Phipps and opened in 1884. Ninety-nine years late ...

and Nuffield Southampton, directed by Liam Steel. In October 2016 her play ''Oil'' premiered at the Almeida, starring Anne-Marie Duff and 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 ...

. In 2018 the Almeida staged ''The Writer'', directed by

Blanche McIntyre Blanche may refer to: People * Blanche (singer), stage name of Belgian singer and songwriter Ellie Delvaux *Blanche (given name) * Blanche (surname) Places Australia *Blanche Harbor (South Australia), a bay on the east coast of Eyre Peninsula ** ...

and featuring

Sam West Samuel Filmore West (October 5, 1904 – November 23, 1985) was a center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for three different teams from to . Listed at , 165 lb., West batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Longview, Texa ...

Romola Garai Romola Sadie Garai (; born 6 August 1982) is a British actress and film director. She appeared in ''Amazing Grace'', ''Atonement'', and ''Glorious 39'', and in the BBC series '' Emma'', '' The Hour'' and ''The Crimson Petal and the White''. In ...

and

Lara Rossi Lara Rossi is a British actress. She is known for her role as Arabela Seeger in the German-French-Italian-American television series ''Crossing Lines'' as well as the Finnish sci-fi movie '' Iron Sky: The Coming Race''. She also played the part ...

. In 2019 ''Anna'' a binaural thriller, opened at The National Theatre. Hickson collaborated with sound designers, Ben and Max Ringham. The play was directed by Natalie Abrahami. Hickson currently teaches at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Recognition

In 2011, Hickson appeared in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

's culture section as one of the four young playwrights to watch in the future. In June 2018 she was elected Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

in its "40 Under 40" initiative.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickson, Ella 1985 births Living people People educated at Guildford High School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh English dramatists and playwrights Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature