Shelagh Stephenson – författare

Tom Cavallero, Hollywood actor, and his girlfriend Iona are spending Christmas in England with his oldest friends, Bea and Kitty. Bea''s new lover, Tad, would rather hole up quietly with his copy of Pathology For Beginners. Her daughter Joni would rather be in Shepherds Bush. Northumberland in a blizzard isn''t quite what Tom was expecting. And how can anyone relax when Iona''s filming their every move? She''s making a documentary about ''the real Tom''. But who is that exactly? And what''s out there in the garden that disturbs them all so much?

Tom, Bea and Kitty go back a long way. They''ve known each other since they were young and unformed. But who have they become? And what price have they paid?

Ancient Lights premiered at the Hampstead Theatre in November, 2000.

"An acute and funny writer, Stephenson carves out a welcome territory that is distinctive, contemporary and theatrical." - Independent

Tom Cavallero, Hollywood actor, and his girlfriend Iona are spending Christmas in England with his oldest friends, Bea and Kitty. Bea''s new lover, Tad, would rather hole up quietly with his copy of Pathology For Beginners. Her daughter Joni would rather be in Shepherds Bush. Northumberland in a blizzard isn''t quite what Tom was expecting. And how can anyone relax when Iona''s filming their every move? She''s making a documentary about ''the real Tom''. But who is that exactly? And what''s out there in the garden that disturbs them all so much?

Tom, Bea and Kitty go back a long way. They''ve known each other since they were young and unformed. But who have they become? And what price have they paid?

Ancient Lights premiered at the Hampstead Theatre in November, 2000.

"An acute and funny writer, Stephenson carves out a welcome territory that is distinctive, contemporary and theatrical." - Independent

At three o''clock in the morning, this is what I think. I think somebody killed him. They killed him, God, I don''t know how I''m uttering these words ... they killed him because he''s white and Western and they hated him. And it wasn''t personal. Which somehow makes it worse.

When Lia and Nick''s son disappears when overseas, all they have is an email that he was thinking of going to Jakarta, leaving them with their own grief and uncertainty. And then a stranger appears, uncannily like their son, covered in scars and holding Adam''s passport...Enlightenment is a powerful study of parental grief and of hope amidst uncertainty. Published to tie-in with the world premier at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in March 2005.

In The Memory of Water (winner of the 2000 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy), three sisters meet on the eve of their mother''s funeral. As the conflicts of the past converge, everyday lies and tensions reveal the particular patterns and strains of family relationships. ''"Combines a flair for witty dialogue with a relish for the dynamics of theatre ... a mistress of comic anguish" Guardian

Five Kinds of Silence (winner of the 1996 Writers'' Guild Award for Best Original Radio Play and the 1997 Sony Award for Best Original Drama) is the story of a family in which control has become the driving force, where everything has its place, and where there are only rules, duties and punishments. "An acute and funny writer, Stephenson carves out a welcome territory that is distinctive, contemporary and theatrical" Independent

At three o''clock in the morning, this is what I think. I think somebody killed him. They killed him, God, I don''t know how I''m uttering these words ... they killed him because he''s white and Western and they hated him. And it wasn''t personal. Which somehow makes it worse.

When Lia and Nick''s son disappears when overseas, all they have is an email that he was thinking of going to Jakarta, leaving them with their own grief and uncertainty. And then a stranger appears, uncannily like their son, covered in scars and holding Adam''s passport...Enlightenment is a powerful study of parental grief and of hope amidst uncertainty. Published to tie-in with the world premier at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in March 2005.

In The Memory of Water (winner of the 2000 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy), three sisters meet on the eve of their mother''s funeral. As the conflicts of the past converge, everyday lies and tensions reveal the particular patterns and strains of family relationships. ''"Combines a flair for witty dialogue with a relish for the dynamics of theatre ... a mistress of comic anguish" Guardian

Five Kinds of Silence (winner of the 1996 Writers'' Guild Award for Best Original Radio Play and the 1997 Sony Award for Best Original Drama) is the story of a family in which control has become the driving force, where everything has its place, and where there are only rules, duties and punishments. "An acute and funny writer, Stephenson carves out a welcome territory that is distinctive, contemporary and theatrical" Independent

1799 - On the eve of a new century, the house buzzes with scientific experiments, furtive romance and farcical amateur dramatics. 1999 - In a world of scientific chaos, cloning and genetic engineering, the cellar of the same house reveals a dark secret buried for 200 years.

An Experiment with an Air Pump was joint recipient of the 1997 Margaret Ramsay Award and premiered at The Royal Exchange Theatre Company, Manchester in February 1997. Due for a major London production in autumn 1998. Her previous play The Memory of Water won the 1996 Writers'' Guild Award for Best Original Radio Play and the 1997 Sony Award for Best Original Drama