Jessica Swale is a British playwright, theatre director and screenwriter. Her first play, ''Blue Stockings,'' premiered at

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

in 2013. It is widely performed by UK amateur companies and is also studied on the Drama GCSE syllabus. In 2016 her play ''Nell Gwynn'' 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 as ...

for Best New Comedy, after it transferred from the Globe to the West End, starring

Gemma Arterton Gemma Christina Arterton (born 2 February 1986) is an English actress and producer. After her stage debut in Shakespeare's ''Love's Labour's Lost'' at the Globe Theatre (2007), Arterton made her feature film debut in the comedy '' St Trinian's'' ...

as the eponymous heroine.

Early life and education

Born in Reading, Berkshire, Swale completed her secondary education at

Kendrick School Kendrick School is a selective girls' grammar school situated in the centre of Reading, Berkshire, UK. In February 2011, Kendrick became an Academy. History The school is named after John Kendrick, a Reading cloth merchant who died in 1624. ...

, Reading, before studying drama at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

. She completed her training at the

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

(MA Advanced Theatre Practice), where she trained as a director.

Career

After drama school, she worked as

Max Stafford-Clark Maxwell Robert Guthrie Stewart "Max" Stafford-Clark (born 17 March 1941) is a British theatre director. Life and career Stafford-Clark was born in Cambridge, England. the son of David Stafford-Clark, a physician, and Dorothy Crossley (née Old ...

's associate director at Out of Joint, on productions including ''The Overwhelming'' at the National Theatre and Andersen's ''English'' at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

. In 2006 she set up Red Handed Theatre Company with Katie Bonna, to perform new works and revive lost classics. She was nominated for an

Evening Standard Award The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standar ...

(Best Director) for her production of ''The Belle's Stratagem'' and received the Peter Brook Empty Space Award for Best Ensemble for Red Handed in 2012. Swale is also an associate artist with NGO Youth Bridge Global, using theatre as a development tool in war-torn countries. She is the author of a series of drama games books, published by

Nick Hern Nick Hern Books is a London-based independent specialist publisher of plays, theatre books and screenplays. The company was founded by the former Methuen drama editor Nicholas Hern in 1988. History Nick Hern Books was founded in June 1988,Sar ...

. Swale lives in South London with a photographer, Michael Wharley.

Stage directing

For Red Handed :''The Busy Body, The Rivals, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' (

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 ...

); ''The School for Scandal'' (Park Theatre) and ''Palace of the End'' (

Arcola Arcola may refer to: Places ; Australia * Arcola, Grafton, a heritage-listed house in New South Wales ;Canada * Arcola, Saskatchewan, a town in the Province of Saskatchewan * Arcola Airport, an airport in the Province of Saskatchewan ;England * ...

). Other credits include ''Fallen Angels'' (

Salisbury Playhouse Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the English city of Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was built in 1976 and comprises the 517-seat Main House and the 149-seat Salberg, a rehearsal room and a community & education space. It is part of Arts Council En ...

), ''Bedlam'' (Shakespeare's Globe), ''Winter'' (Theatre Newfoundland, Canada) and ''Sleuth'', ''Sense and Sensibility'' and ''Far from the Madding Crowd'' (

Watermill Theatre The Watermill Theatre is a repertory theatre in Bagnor, Berkshire. It opened in 1967 in Bagnor Mill, a converted watermill on the River Lambourn. As a producing house, the theatre has produced works that have subsequently moved on to the West E ...

Plays

As a playwright, Swale's first play ''Blue Stockings'' premiered at Shakespeare's Globe in 2013 and won her an Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright nomination. ''Nell Gwynn'' premiered at Shakespeare's Globe in 2015, starring

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw (; born 21 April 1983) is a British actress who is known for her performances on stage and screen. In 2017 she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama ...

, and transferred to the West End starring

. The production received four Olivier nominations, winning Best New Comedy, and is currently being developed as a feature film with

Working Title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

. Other plays includes ''All's Will that Ends Will'' (Bremen Shakespeare Company), ''Thomas Tallis'' (

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is an indoor theatre forming part of Shakespeare's Globe, along with the Globe Theatre on Bankside, London. Built making use of 17th-century plans for an indoor theatre, the playhouse recalls the layout and style of th ...

), ''The Playhouse Apprentice'' (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse) and ''The Mission'' about illegal adoptions in the 1920s. Her adaptations include ''Sense and Sensibility'', ''Far From the Madding Crowd'' (Watermill), ''The Secret Garden'' and ''Stig of the Dump'' (Grosvenor Park, Chester).

Screenwriting

In 2012, she won the BAFTA JJ Screenwriting Bursary for which she developed an original screenplay, '' Summerland''. She is currently writing the feature film ''Nell Gwynn'' for Working Title, alongside an original feature with Blueprint and Studio Canal and other projects for Fox Searchlight and Monumental Pictures.

Selected works

Plays

*''The Playhouse Apprentice'' (2016) *''

Nell Gwynn Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stag ...

'' (2015) premiered at

and transferred to the Apollo Theatre, West End, in 2016 *''Thomas Tallis'' (2014): premiered at The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse *''All's Will that ends Will'' (2014): premiered at Bremer Shakespeare Company *'' Blue Stockings'' (2013): premiered at

Adaptations

* ''Stig of the Dump'' (2016): adapted from the novel by

Clive King David Clive King (28 April 1924 – 10 July 2018) was an English author best known for his children's book ''Stig of the Dump'' (1963). He served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in the last years of the Second World War and then worked for t ...

and premiered at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre * ''Far from the Madding Crowd'' (2015): adapted from

the novel ''The Novel'' (1991) is a novel written by American author James A. Michener. A departure from Michener's better known historical fiction, ''The Novel'' is told from the viewpoints of four different characters involved in the life and work of ...

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

and premiered at the

* ''The Secret Garden'' (2014): adapted from

by Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett, premiered at

Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre holds an eight week annual repertory season in Chester, United Kingdom. The productions are staged in the round, in a purpose built theatre constructed each summer in Grosvenor Park. The theatre The company was f ...

* ''Sense and Sensibility'' (2014): adapted from

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

and premiered at the

Books

*''Drama Games: For Rehearsals'' (2016) *''Drama Games: For Devising'' (2012) *''Drama Games: For Classrooms and Workshops'' (2009)

Filmography

Directing credits

*'' Summerland'' (2020) *''

Leading Lady Parts ''Leading Lady Parts'' is a 2018 short film directed by Jessica Swale. Inspired by the Time's Up movement, the film stars several A-list actresses auditioning for a leading lady role, offering a critique of the casting process. It premiered ...

'' (2018) *''Fallen Angels'' (2015) at

*''Far from the Madding Crowd'' (2015): adapted from

, premiered at The Watermill Theatre *''Sense and Sensibility'' (2014): adapted from

, premiered at The Watermill Theatre *''Bedlam'' (2010) at

*''Winter'' at Newfoundland Theatre, Canada *For Red Handed Theatre Company:''The Busy Body, The Rivals, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me'' (

); ''The School for Scandal'' (Park Theatre) and ''Palace of the End'' ( Arcola Theatre).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swale, Jessica 1982 births Living people English theatre directors Women theatre directors English women dramatists and playwrights 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English women writers People from Reading, Berkshire Writers from Berkshire Alumni of the University of Exeter