Rebecca Lenkiewicz – författare

I cry in the daytime and in the night season am not silent. Psalm 22Late at night, shoeless, in the rain, a film actor playing the poet Yeats turns up drunk at his appointed Sligo digs. He is met by the grandmother and they dance together to 'Lili Marlene'. In the morning they are discovered, sharing a blanket, by Patrick and his three daughters. Patrick craves tobacco, whiskey and a date with the local barmaid; the sisters yearn for sensation and escape.A funny, modern, intoxicated tale of love and loss, The Night Season premiered at the National Theatre, London, in 2004.

'An absorbing work, full of passion, pathos and sly humour, set in the hip art scene of London's East End.... There is a rare combination of pain, wit and originality in Lenkiewicz's writing that bodes exceptionally well for the future... This is a play that combines raw pain, frank sexuality and ribald comedy to potent and ultimately uplifting effect.' Daily Telegraph 'Lenkiewicz, whose characters speak with vicious and lyrical fluency, catches people in the grip of erotic-emotional trouble... in this rich comedy of crazy Eros.' Evening Standard'Fresh, self-confident and thoughtful... Lenkiewicz writes fine dialogue, and every word feels comfortable in the mouths of her actors. Their conversations are crisp, witty and sexy - her text repays reading....Shoreditch Madonna confirms the progress of an imaginative writer and a sensitive director.' New StatesmanShoreditch Madonna premiered at Soho Theatre, London, in July 2005.

Love is just fear I suppose. Masquerading as a fever. Then you explore each other and suddenly you have licence to become totally pedestrian. And ultimately abusive.The first original play by a living female playwright to be performed on the National Theatre's main stage. London, 1913. The Suffragette Movement is at its height. Thousands of women of all classes serve time in Holloway Prison in their fight to gain the vote. Amongst them is Lady Celia Cain, shackled by both the policies of the day and a frustrating marriage. Inside, she meets a young seamstress, Eve Douglas, and her life spirals into an erotic but dangerous chaos.Her Naked Skin premiered at the National Theatre, London, 2008.'Rebecca Lenkiewicz's outstanding play is a remarkable testament to the courage of a band of sisters who were vilified and viciously repressed in their quest for representation and emancipation . . . Her Naked Skin marries epic public concerns with the most intimate dilemmas . . . A big play with a big heart and I recommend it with a matching warmth. Lenkiewicz is making history here.' DAILY TELEGRAPH

The fashionables? They just want to know if a painting's hot. Whether it will gain.Queen Victoria said of Turner, 'He is quite mad.' A cockney who spoke his mind, he did not fit into the norm of the artist. Society saw him as a misfit, shocking, controversial. He was a visionary, the father of modern painting. The play examines his relationship to three women in his life. English painting is dead. It's dealers making fortunes out of sentimental dross. Cherubs. Dogs. The Painter by Rebecca Lenkiewicz premiered at the Arcola Theatre, London, in January 2011 in the production which marked the opening of its new premises on Ashwin Street.

Imagine a world where the Stephen Lawrence Case and the Hillsborough Disaster never made it to court. Since 2012 the government has made sweeping cuts to the provision of legal aid. In this new reality, in cases from civil law to immigration, the voices of those seeking justice are in danger of never being heard.The Invisible tells the stories of ordinary people whose access to legal aid has been denied, examining how the cuts are driving ever deeper cracks into the fabric of our society.Rebecca Lenkiewicz's The Invisible was commissioned by the Bush Theatre, London, where it premiered in July 2015.

Walkern, 1712. England has been free from witch-hunts for decades until Jane Wenham is blamed for a tragic death and charged with witchcraft. A terrifying ordeal begins, as the village is torn between those who want to save Jane's life and those who claim they want to save her soul.Inspired by events in a Hertfordshire village, the play explores sex and society's hunger to find and create witches.Rebecca Lenkiewicz's Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern premiered at Watford Palace Theatre before going on UK tour in September 2015, in an Out of Joint, Watford Palace Theatre and Arcola Theatre co-production, in association with Eastern Angles.

Walkern, 1712. England has been free from witch-hunts for decades until Jane Wenham is blamed for a tragic death and charged with witchcraft. A terrifying ordeal begins, as the village is torn between those who want to save Jane's life and those who claim they want to save her soul.Inspired by events in a Hertfordshire village, the play explores sex and society's hunger to find and create witches.Rebecca Lenkiewicz's Jane Wenham: The Witch of Walkern premiered at Watford Palace Theatre before going on UK tour in September 2015, in an Out of Joint, Watford Palace Theatre and Arcola Theatre co-production, in association with Eastern Angles.

Play something kitty-cat-ish . . . sweet. Imagine I've died and you're galloping through fields.As their thirtieth wedding anniversary approaches, Alice and Edgar are locked in a bitter struggle. They've driven away their children and their friends. Their relationship is sustained by taunts and recriminations. When a newcomer breaks into the midst of the fray, their insular lives threaten to spin out of control.We're all just bodies and when we're dead we're worm food, but as long as your body keep going, flailing or thrashing about, we are duty bound to fight, to scratch and kick, until you're fucked. That's my philosophy. Laced with biting humour, The Dance of Death is August Strindberg's landmark drama about a marriage pushed to its limits, adapted in a thrilling new version by Rebecca Lenkiewicz. The Dance of Death opened at the Bath Theatre Royal's Ustinov Theatre in May 2022 before going on UK tour in an Arcola Theatre, Cambridge Arts Theatre, Royal & Derngate, Northampton, Oxford Playhouse and Theatre Royal Bath Productions co-production.

Play something kitty-cat-ish . . . sweet. Imagine I've died and you're galloping through fields.As their thirtieth wedding anniversary approaches, Alice and Edgar are locked in a bitter struggle. They've driven away their children and their friends. Their relationship is sustained by taunts and recriminations. When a newcomer breaks into the midst of the fray, their insular lives threaten to spin out of control.We're all just bodies and when we're dead we're worm food, but as long as your body keep going, flailing or thrashing about, we are duty bound to fight, to scratch and kick, until you're fucked. That's my philosophy.Laced with biting humour, The Dance of Death is August Strindberg's landmark drama about a marriage pushed to its limits, adapted in a thrilling new version by Rebecca Lenkiewicz.The Dance of Death opened at the Bath Theatre Royal's Ustinov Theatre in May 2022 before going on UK tour in an Arcola Theatre, Cambridge Arts Theatre, Royal & Derngate, Northampton, Oxford Playhouse and Theatre Royal Bath Productions co-production.

As a boy, you would never leave me alone. You were always bringing me things. Drawings, or dead animals . . . Larry is an acclaimed television celebrity, but his life and career are rapidly unravelling. Forced to unpick his past and confront his future, he is met by his troubled twin brother, his domineering mother and his dangerously unpredictable former lover, the famous actress Marianne Barre.A lush and unsettling tale of love and Hollywood, Small Hotel opened at Theatre Royal Bath in October 2025.

Clean Break is a British theatre company set up in 1979 by two women in prison. It exists to tell the stories of women with experience of the criminal justice system and to transform women’s lives through theatre.Over 40 years, Clean Break has commissioned some of the most progressive and brilliant women writers to write ground-breaking plays, alongside developing the writing skills of the women they work with in its London studios and in prisons. This is a collection of monologues from this canon.Rebel Voices: Monologues for Women by Women celebrates the opportunities inherent when women represent themselves. Offering female performers a diverse set of monologues reflecting a range of characters in age, ethnicity and lived experience, the material is drawn from a mix of published and unpublished works. This book is for any performer who does not see themselves represented in mainstream plays, for lovers of radical women’s theatre and for rebels everywhere who believe that the act of speaking and being heard can create change.

Rebecca Lenkiewicz's BBC Radio 3 full-cast drama starring Annette Crosbie and David Bradley about a love affair between two former foster siblings. Originally broadcast in the 'Drama on 3' slot on BBC Radio 3 on 11 July 2010. A desperate love story, and a beautiful history of the treatment of mental health, written by one of Britain's foremost playwrights for the two lead actors. Sarah and Ken met as foster siblings, and fell in love. While he has married a good wife and fathered beautiful children, she has spent her whole life in institutions, and they have maintained a passion for each other that has no place in either of their surroundings. And now it's 1968 and time to change. Featuring Annette Crosbie and David Bradley in the lead roles of Sarah and Ken, with Jessica Raine as Lorna. Also starring Christine Kavanagh, David Seddon, Vineeta Rishi and Jude Akuwudike. Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.

A chilling collection of classic gothic horror and ghost stories adapted or written by women In this breathtaking collection of gothic horror and eerie tales, draw the curtains and pull the blankets close for two classic Victorian horror tales in new adaptations, Dracula starring Nicky Henson, Charles Edwards, Don Gilet and Ellie Kendrick and Frankenstein, with Jamie Parker (Harry Potter) as Frankenstein and Shaun Dooley (Gentleman Jack, Broadchurch) as the Monster. Next is a thrilling drama about the scandalous Mary Shelley and Lord Byron in Bloody Poetry. In the sensational psycho-sexual thriller The Mysteries of Udolpho with Robert Glenister (Suspicion, Spooks), a young woman is trapped in a castle of nightmares and villains. But who can she trust?Four spine-chilling dramatised tales follow: The Cold Embrace, where a handsome artist makes a terrible mistake, Man-size in Marble, in which newly-weds must face a horrifying truth, Afterward sees a couple paying the price for an unexpected windfall, and The Demon Lover, featuring Jenny Howe (Silent Witness, Eastenders) about a woman struggling home through the Blitz.Finally, two of Mary Shelley's finest short stories, 'The Mortal Immortal '- when a young apprentice drinks a potion to cure his heartbreak but discovers a feeling far worse - and 'Rodger Dodworth: The Reanimated Englishman' - where a man is woken after 170 years encased in ice.Cast and credits Dracula Written by Rebecca LenkiewiczStory written by Bram StokerDirected by Jessica DromgooleFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 14 October 2012Frankenstein Dramatised by Lucy CatherineWritten by Mary ShelleyDirected by Marc BeebyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 28 October - 4 November 2012Bloody Poetry Written by Howard BrentonAdapted by Alison HindellDirected by Alison HindellFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 20 October 2012The Mysteries of Udolpho Written by Ann RadcliffeDramatised by Catherine CzerkawskaDirected by David BlountFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 13 October - 24 October 1996The Cold Embrace Written by Mary BraddonProduced by Marion NancarrowDirected by Christopher HawesFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 26 July 1997Man-size in Marble Written by Edith NesbitProduced by Marion NancarrowDramatised by Christopher HawesFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 17 November 1997Afterward Written by Edith WhartonProduced by Marion NancarrowDirected by Christopher HawesFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 November 1997The Demon LoverWritten by Elizabeth BowenProduced by Marion NancarrowDirected by Christopher HawesFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 17 July 1997'The Mortal Immortal'Written by Mary ShelleyProduced by Gemma JenkinsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 3 December 2005'Rodger Dodworth: The Reanimated Englishman'Written by Mary ShelleyProduced by John CardyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 May 1982(c)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

A collection of wide-ranging and ambitious short plays reflecting the complexities of women and political power in the United Kingdom.The four plays published here look back to the moments in history when women possessed - or achieved - power, and what they did with it.The Milliner and the Weaver by Marie Jones, about the Suffragette movement in Ireland, as the question of Home Rule divides the nation.The Lioness by Rebecca Lenkiewicz is about Queen Elizabeth I, the myth and the reality.Handbagged by Moira Buffini, about the working relationship between Mrs Thatcher and the Queen.Bloody Wimmin by Lucy Kirkwood, about the protests at Greenham Common, a political landmark in the fight for nuclear disarmament.The plays were first performed at the Tricycle Theatre, London, as part of the Women, Power and Politics season in June 2010.The other plays presented in the season are available in the companion volume, Women, Power and Politics: Now.