Jessica Swale Explained

Jessica Swale
Birth Name:Jessica Bronwen Swale
Birth Date:1982 2, df=y
Birth Place:Reading, Berkshire, England
Nationality:British
Education:Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Years Active:2010–present

Jessica Swale (born 27 February 1982)[1] is a British playwright, theatre director and screenwriter. Her first play, Blue Stockings, premiered at Shakespeare's Globe 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 for Best New Comedy, after it transferred from the Globe to the West End, starring Gemma Arterton as the eponymous heroine. She also wrote and directed the feature film Summerland (2020).

Early life and education

Born in Reading, Berkshire, Swale completed her secondary education at Kendrick School, Reading, before studying drama at the University of Exeter.[2] [3] [4] She completed her training at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (MA Advanced Theatre Practice), where she trained as a director.[5]

Career

After drama school, she worked as Max Stafford-Clark's associate director at Out of Joint Theatre Company, on productions including The Overwhelming (2006) at the National Theatre and Andersen's English (2010) at Hampstead.[6] [7] In 2006, she set up Red Handed Theatre Company with Katie Bonna, to perform new works and revive lost classics.[8] She was nominated for an Evening Standard Award for 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.[9]

Swale is also an associate artist with NGO Youth Bridge Global, using theatre as a development tool in war-torn countries, and the author of a series of drama games books, published by Nick Hern.[10]

Stage directing

In 2010, Swale directed the first play by a woman ever to be staged at Shakespeare's Globe, Nell Leyshon's Bedlam.[11] For Red Handed Theatre Company, she directed The Busy Body (2012), The Rivals (2010), Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (2012) at Southwark Playhouse, The School for Scandal (2013) at the Park Theatre and Palace of the End (2010)[12] at Arcola Theatre. Other credits include Fallen Angels (Salisbury Playhouse),[13] Winter (Theatre Newfoundland, Canada), Sleuth, Sense and Sensibility[14] and Far from the Madding Crowd (Watermill Theatre).[15] [16]

Playwriting

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,[17] and transferred to the West End with Gemma Arterton in the title role.[18] [19] [20] [21] The production received four Olivier nominations, winning Best New Comedy,[22] [23] and is currently being developed as a feature film with Working Title.[24]

Other plays includes All's Will that Ends Will (Bremen Shakespeare Company),[25] Thomas Tallis (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse), The Playhouse Apprentice (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse) and The Mission about illegal adoptions in the 1920s.[26] Her adaptations include Sense and Sensibility, Far from the Madding Crowd (Watermill), The Secret Garden and Stig of the Dump (Grosvenor Park, Chester).[27]

Film and television

Her first short film, the Time's Up movement-inspired comedy Leading Lady Parts, starring Catherine Tate, Gemma Arterton, Felicity Jones, Florence Pugh, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Tom Hiddleston and Gemma Chan, premiered on BBC Four in 2018 and is available for free on YouTube.[28] [29] She then co-wrote the screenplay for (2019).[30] [31]

In 2012, she won the BAFTA JJ Screenwriting Bursary for which she developed an original screenplay, Summerland.[32] She also directed the film herself, and in 2020 it was released by IFC Films and Lionsgate.[33] [34] [35] In 2022, she shot two episodes of Ten Percent for Amazon Prime Video, featuring guest stars Dominic West, Emma Corin, and Himesh Patel.[36]

She is currently writing an original feature with Blueprint and StudioCanal and other projects for Fox Searchlight and Monumental Pictures.

Personal life

Swale lives in South London with a photographer, Michael Wharley.[37]

Writing credits

Plays

Adaptations

Books

Directing credits

Film and television

YearTitleDirectorWriterNotes
2015Love[sic]Short film
2018Leading Lady PartsShort film
2019
2020Summerland
2022Ten PercentEpisodes #1.3 and #1.4
TBAMervPost-production

Plays

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Swale . Jessica . Feb 20, 2020 . Box office opens 27th feb- my bday! One of many lovely things about sharing #summerland at ace @BFIFlare festival. . 2023-01-24 . Twitter . en.
  2. Web site: 2013-08-10 . Jessica Swale interview: Woman on fire . 2023-01-24 . The Independent . en .
  3. Web site: Jessica Swale . 2022-11-17 . Jessica Swale . 28 April 2022 . en-US.
  4. Web site: 2020-08-20 . Hollywood calls for Winnersh playwright, Jessica Swale . 2023-01-24 . Wokingham.Today . en-GB.
  5. Web site: High Profile Alumni . 2023-01-24 . The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama . en.
  6. Web site: Thompson . Jessie . 2017-08-15 . Play Talk: Jessica Swale talks about life as a playwright . 2023-01-24 . Evening Standard . en.
  7. Web site: 2015-09-22 . The restoration of Nell Gwynn . 2023-01-24 . theartsdesk.com . en.
  8. Web site: Sun . Rebecca . 2016-04-15 . Rep Sheet Roundup: 'The Flash' Star Tom Cavanagh Signs With NMA PR . 2023-01-24 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US . Swale co-founded and is artistic director at London's Red Handed Theatre Company.
  9. Web site: Wild . Stephi . BLUE STOCKINGS Opens This Week at Cal State Fullerton . 2023-01-24 . BroadwayWorld.com . en.
  10. Web site: Jessica Swale . 2023-01-24 . Nick Hern Books . en-GB.
  11. Web site: 2013-08-30 . Theatre review: Blue Stockings, Shakespeare's Globe, London . 2023-01-24 . The Independent . en.
  12. Web site: 2010-11-02 . Palace of the End – review . 2023-01-24 . the Guardian . en.
  13. Web site: Casting announced for Noël Coward's Fallen Angels WhatsOnStage . 2023-01-24 . www.whatsonstage.com . 16 July 2015 . en-GB.
  14. Web site: REVIEW: Sense and Sensibility, The Watermill Theatre, Bagnor . 2023-01-24 . Basingstoke Gazette . 9 April 2014 . en.
  15. Web site: Jessica Swale . 2023-01-24 . Jessica Swale . en-US.
  16. Web site: 2015-04-26 . Far From the Madding Crowd review – less haste, more feeling . 2023-01-24 . the Guardian . en.
  17. Web site: Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars in Nell Gwynn at Shakespeare's Globe WhatsOnStage . 2023-01-24 . www.whatsonstage.com . 3 July 2015 . en-GB.
  18. Web site: Curtis . Nick . 2016-02-02 . Gemma Arterton on Nell Gwynn, class and the gender pay gap . 2023-01-24 . Evening Standard . en.
  19. Web site: 2015-11-27 . Gemma Arterton to play Nell Gwynn in West End . 2023-01-24 . the Guardian . en.
  20. Web site: 2016-02-12 . Nell Gwynn review – Gemma Arterton sparkles in chaotic comedy . 2023-01-24 . the Guardian . en.
  21. Web site: Dex . Robert . 2016-02-11 . Gemma Arterton: I'd love to take Nell Gwynn to Hollywood . 2023-01-24 . Evening Standard . en.
  22. News: Furness . Hannah . 2016-04-25 . Nell Gwynn play changed Duke joke after visit from Prince Charles . en-GB . The Telegraph . 2023-01-24 . 0307-1235.
  23. News: 2016-04-03 . Olivier Awards: Record eighth win for Judi Dench . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-01-24.
  24. Web site: Tartaglione . Nancy . 2016-03-11 . Working Title Acquires Film Rights To Hit West End Comedy 'Nell Gwynn' . 2023-01-24 . Deadline . en-US.
  25. Web site: All's Will that ends Will - Birthday Performance for William Shakespeare - 2014 - Shakespeare-Festival Neuss . 2023-01-24 . Shakespeare Festival - Globe Neuss . en.
  26. Web site: 2016-05-13 . The Mission review – Jessica Swale's fury at the baby trade . 2023-01-24 . the Guardian . en.
  27. Web site: 2016-08-14 . Stig of the Dump review – relaxed rapport in the great outdoors . 2023-01-24 . the Guardian . en.
  28. Web site: Steiner . Chelsea . 3 August 2018 . Watch Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Tom Hiddleston, and More Try Out for Leading Lady Parts . 22 December 2022 . The Mary Sue.
  29. Web site: Zemler . Emily . 2018-08-02 . Gemma Arterton's Time's Up-inspired short 'Leading Lady Parts' takes aim at the casting process . 2023-01-24 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  30. Web site: Wiseman . Andreas . 2018-10-03 . Kim Cattrall, Derek Jacobi & Kate Nash Among Cast For Altitude-BBC-Amazon Tie-Up 'Horrible Histories' . 2023-01-24 . Deadline . en-US.
  31. Web site: Toilet humour abounds in TV series spin-off movie . 2023-01-24 . independent . 2 August 2019 . en.
  32. Web site: Riley . Jenelle . 2020-07-29 . Jessica Swale on Her Journey to 'Summerland,' Collaborating With Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Gemma Arterton . 2023-01-24 . Variety . en-US.
  33. Rooney . David . 27 July 2020 . 'Summerland': Film Review . . 22 December 2022.
  34. News: Maher . Kevin . Summerland review — almost repulsively saccharine . . en . 2023-01-24 . 0140-0460.
  35. News: Walden . Celia . 2020-09-05 . Gemma Arterton: 'I wouldn't choose a Bond girl role now' . en-GB . The Telegraph . 2023-01-24 . 0307-1235.
  36. Web site: Hullender . Tatiana . 2022-04-28 . Kelly Macdonald Can't Play Bird Woman In Ten Percent [EXCLUSIVE CLIP] ]. 2023-01-24 . ScreenRant . en.
  37. Web site: Swale . Jessica . Jul 23, 2022 . Meet the new addition to the Swale-Wharley household... . 2023-01-24 . Twitter . en.
  38. Web site: Thomas Tallis by Jessica Swale featuring Harry Christophers' The Sixteen. Shakespeare's Globe.
  39. Web site: Blue Stockings By Jessica Swale. Shakespeare's Globe.
  40. Web site: The Secret Garden. Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre. Summer 2014. 22 July 2015. 1 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170301035322/http://www.grosvenorparkopenairtheatre.co.uk/portfolio/the-secret-garden-5/. dead.
  41. News: 2018-09-13 . Review: This multicultural 'Sense and Sensibility' re-imagines Jane Austen's portrait of the foolish but redeemable heart . en-US . Los Angeles Times . 2023-01-24.
  42. Web site: Drama Games for Rehearsals. Nicky Hearn Books.
  43. Web site: Drama Games for Devising. Nick Hern Books.
  44. Web site: Drama Games for Classrooms and Workshops. Nick Hern Books.
  45. Web site: Thomas Hardy's Far From The Madding Crowd. The Watermill Theatre.
  46. Web site: Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. The Watermill Theatre.
  47. Web site: 2012-09-18 . The Busy Body – review . 2023-01-24 . the Guardian . en.
  48. Web site: 2010-01-17 . Theatre review: The Rivals Southwark Playhouse, London . 2023-01-24 . the Guardian . en.
  49. Web site: 2013-06-14 . The School for Scandal – review . 2023-01-24 . the Guardian . en.

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