Laura Wade is an English playwright.

Early life

Wade was born in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

. She grew up in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

, where her father worked for a computer company. After completing her secondary education at

Lady Manners School Lady Manners School is an English secondary school located in Bakewell, a market town in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District ...

Bakewell Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known also for its local Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, about 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Sheffield. In the 2011 census, ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, she studied drama at

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

and was later a member of 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 non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

Young Writers' Programme.

Career

Laura Wade's first play, ''Limbo'', was produced at the

Sheffield Crucible The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

Studio Theatre in 1996. ''16 Winters'' was produced at the Bristol Old Vic Basement Theatre in 2000. After university she worked for the children's theatre company Playbox Theatre in Warwick. Wade's adaptation of

W. H. Davies William Henry Davies (3 July 1871 – 26 September 1940) was a Welsh poet and writer, who spent much of his life as a tramp or hobo in the United Kingdom and the United States, yet became one of the most popular poets of his time. His themes inc ...

' ''Young Emma'' opened at the

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(where she was later Writer-in-Residence) in December 2003. Both ''Young Emma'' and ''16 Winters'' were directed by Tamara Harvey, a contemporary from Bristol. In 2004, Wade was a writer on attachment at

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

and her play '' Colder Than Here'' was produced there in February 2005. Her next play '' Breathing Corpses'' played at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in March 2005. In March 2006, she returned to the Soho Theatre with ''Other Hands''. 2010 marked her reappearance at the Sheffield Crucible with her reworking of '' Alice in Wonderland'', entitled ''Alice''. Wade's first radio play, ''Otherkin'', was broadcast on

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' ...

on 30 August 2007, a 45-minute play billed as episode 2 of the ''Looking for Angels'' series. Her second, ''Hum'', about the Bristol Hum, was broadcast on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

on 20 May 2009. Between these two she also wrote ''Coughs and Sneezes'' for the Radio 4 series ''Fact to Fiction''. In April 2010, her play ''

Posh Posh is an informal adjective for "upper class". It may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Posh'' (album), a 1980 album by Patrice Rushen *" Posh!", a 1968 song from the musical ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' * ''Posh'' (2006 TV series), a 2006 Philip ...

'' began a sell-out run at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the

, London. An article about Wade in the ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' at the time drew parallels between the Riot Club, the subject of ''Posh'', and the Bullingdon Club, an exclusive Oxford University dining society. On 11 May 2012, an updated version of ''

'' opened at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

in London, Wade's first play to appear in the West End. A film adaptation of the play, ''

The Riot Club ''The Riot Club'' is a 2014 British thriller drama film directed by Lone Scherfig and written by Laura Wade, based on Wade's 2010 play ''Posh''. The film stars Sam Claflin, Max Irons and Douglas Booth. It is set among the Riot Club, a fictional ...

,'' directed by

Lone Scherfig Lone Scherfig (; born 2 May 1959) is a Danish film director and screenwriter who has been involved with the Dogme 95 film movement and who has been widely critically acclaimed for several of her movies, including the Oscar-nominated film '' An ...

, was released in 2014. In February 2015, the regional premiere of ''

'' was co-produced by Nottingham Playhouse and

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 ...

. In 2015, Wade adapted

Sarah Waters Sarah Ann Waters (born 21 July 1966) is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as '' Tipping the Velvet'' and '' Fingersmith''. Life and education Early life Sa ...

novel ''

Tipping the Velvet ''Tipping the Velvet'' (1998) is a historical novel by Sarah Waters; it is her debut novel. Set in England during the 1890s, it tells a coming of age story about a young woman named Nan who falls in love with a male impersonator, follows her ...

'' into a stage play of the same name. The play premiered at

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

in September 2015, before transferring to the

Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. On 4 July 2018, Wade's play ''

Home, I'm Darling ''Home, I'm Darling'' is a play by Laura Wade. Plot summary Judy and Johnny lead a 50’s lifestyle, clothes, décor, appliances. She stays at home while Johnny works as an estate agent. He hopes for a promotion. He realises they have financi ...

'' premiered at

Theatr Clwyd Theatr Clwyd () is a regional arts centre and producing theatre from Mold, Flintshire, in North East Wales. It opened as Theatr Clwyd in 1976, but was known between 1998 and 2015 as Clwyd Theatr Cymru, before reverting to its original name. His ...

. It was directed by Tamara Harvey, and starred

Katherine Parkinson Katherine Jane Parkinson (born 9 March 1978) is an English actress. She appeared in Channel 4's '' The IT Crowd'' comedy series as Jen Barber, for which she received a British Comedy Best TV Actress Award in 2009 and 2014, and was nominated twice ...

. The play transferred to the National Theatre for a summer 2018 run, to the

in January 2019, and later won Best Comedy at the

2019 Laurence Olivier Awards The 2019 Laurence Olivier Awards was held on 7 April 2019 at the Royal Albert Hall. The ceremony was hosted by Jason Manford. Eligibility Any new production that opened between 22 February 2018 and 19 February 2019 in a theatre represented in th ...

. Wade adapted the unfinished

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 ...

novel ''

The Watsons ''The Watsons'' is an abandoned novel by Jane Austen, probably begun about 1803. There have been a number of arguments advanced as to why she did not complete it, and other authors have since attempted the task. A continuation by Austen's niece ...

'' into a play, which premiered at

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya John Hidalgo Moya (5 May 1920 – 3 August 1994), ...

on 3 November 2018, directed by

Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...

. It had a further run at the

Menier Chocolate Factory The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat off-West End theatre, which comprises a restaurant, bar and rehearsal rooms. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate, Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street in ...

from 20 September 2019. The West End transfer of ''

'' was delayed by 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 ...

. Wade's plays are published by

Oberon Books Oberon Books is a London-based independent 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, act ...

in the UK and by

Dramatists Play Service Dramatists Play Service (also known as The Play Service) is a theatrical-publishing and licensing house, established in 1936 by members of the Dramatists Guild of America and the Society for Authors' Representatives. DPS publishes English-language ...

in the US. On 25 August 2022 it was announced that Laura Wade would be one of the writers and executive producers of the new

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

series ''

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

'', based on the novel by

Jilly Cooper Jilly Cooper, CBE (born 21 February 1937), is an English author. She began her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. She is most famous for w ...

Personal life

From 2007 to 2011, Wade lived with actor

, son of actors

Timothy West Timothy Lancaster West, CBE (born 20 October 1934) is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on both stage and television, including stints in both ''Coronation Street'' (as Eric Babbage) and ''EastEnders'' (as Stan Carter) ...

and

Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a ...

. After a two-year split, Wade and West reunited, and now have two daughters, born in 2014 and 2017.

Plays

Published

*'' Colder Than Here'', 2005, premiered at the

**American premiere, produced by

MCC Theater MCC Theater (Manhattan Class Company) is an off-Broadway theater company located in New York City, founded in 1986 by artistic directors Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey and William Cantler. Blake West joined the company in 2006 as executive direc ...

, New York, September 2005 *'' Breathing Corpses'', 2005, premiered at the

**American premiere, produced b
Luna Theater Company
at Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, October 2007 *''Other Hands'', 2006, premiered at the

**American premiere, produced b
Luna Theater Company
at Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, January 2010 *''Catch'', 2006, premiered at the

*''Alice'', 2010, premiered at the

*''

'', 2010, premiered at the

*''

'', 2018, premiered at the

*''

'', 2018, premiered at Theatr Clywd

Unpublished

*''Limbo'', Sheffield Crucible Studio, 1996 *''Fear of Flying'',

, 1997 *''White Feathers'',

, 1999 *''16 Winters'',

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

Basement, 2000 *''The Wild Swans'', Playbox Theatre, Warwick, 2000 *''TwelveMachine'', Playbox Theatre, Warwick, 2001 *''The Last Child'', Playbox Theatre, Warwick, 2002 *''Young Emma'',

, 2003

Awards

Critics' Circle Theatre Award The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, originally called ''Drama'' Theatre Awards up to 1990, are British theatrical awards presented annually for the closing year's theatrical achievements. The winners, from theatre throughout the United Kingdom, ar ...

for Most Promising Playwright for '' Breathing Corpses'' and '' Colder Than Here'', 2005 * Pearson Playwrights Award Bursary in association with the

, 2004 * Pearson Playwrights Best Play Award for '' Breathing Corpses'', 2005 *Joint winner of the

George Devine George Alexander Cassady Devine (20 November 1910 – 20 January 1966) was an English theatrical manager, director, teacher, and actor based in London from the early 1930s until his death. He also worked in TV and film. Early life and education ...

Award for '' Breathing Corpses'', 2006 *

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 ...

Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for '' Breathing Corpses'' and '' Colder Than Here'', 2006 *

Winner for Best Comedy for ''

'', 2019

References

External links

Laura Wade at the Rod Hall AgencyDramatists Play Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Laura Living people Alumni of the University of Bristol English women dramatists and playwrights People from Bedford 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers 1977 births