James Graham (playwright)

British playwright and television writer

James Graham

OBE FRSL

Graham in 2016

Born| 1982 or 1983 (age 42–43)[1]
Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England
Alma mater| Ashfield Comprehensive School
University of Hull
Genre| Political drama, comedy
Notable awards| Laurence Olivier Award

James Graham (born 1982 or 1983)[1] is a British playwright and screenwriter. His work has been staged throughout the UK and internationally, at theatres including the Bush, Soho Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool and the National Theatre.

## Early life and education

[edit]

James Graham grew up in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire,[1] and was educated at Ashfield School, Kirkby-in-Ashfield and the University of Hull, where he studied drama.

## Career

[edit]

Graham's first professional play, Albert's Boy, was produced by the Finborough Theatre in west London, where Graham became playwright-in-residence. His first major play This House was commissioned by the Royal National Theatre, where it was critically and commercially acclaimed, transferred to the larger Olivier Theatre, and was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best New Play. This House was revived in 2016 and ran for two years, first in the West End and then on a national tour.[citation needed]

He wrote the book for the Broadway musical Finding Neverland, and two of his own plays, Privacy and Ink (for which he received his first Tony Award nomination), transferred to Broadway.[citation needed]

Graham's debut feature film X+Y premiered in 2015. He has written numerous TV dramas, including the TV films Coalition (which won the Royal Television Society award for Best Single Film) and Brexit: The Uncivil War (nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie). In 2019, Graham wrote and executive produced a three-part TV adaptation of his stage play Quiz, which aired in 2020.[2]

In 2022, it was announced that Graham had written the book for a new musical about the life of televangelist Tammy Faye Messner, with Elton John and Jake Shears writing the music. Tammy Faye opened at the Almeida Theatre in October 2022, and was nominated for four Olivier Awards, winning two.[3] Tammy Faye transferred to Broadway in October 2024 and closed two months later.[4]

In 2023, he wrote Dear England for the National Theatre, starring Joseph Fiennes, a portrait of England footballer and team manager Gareth Southgate.[5] Dear England transferred to the West End, and in 2024, the BBC announced they had commissioned Graham to adapt the play into a TV drama series.[6]

His plays are published by Methuen.[7]

## Personal life

[edit]

In March 2024, he was the guest on the long running BBC Radio 4 series Desert Island Discs, hosted by Lauren Laverne.[8] During his appearance, Graham said he has had relationships with women and men, describing his relationship history as "varied and flexible", but refusing to define or place a label on his sexuality. He also explained his struggle ("until recently") with relationships and "the level of commitment, vulnerability and intimacy that a healthy one requires".

## Work

[edit]

### Plays

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* Albert's Boy (2005) (premiered at the Finborough Theatre)[9]
* Eden's Empire (2006) (premiered at the Finborough Theatre)[10]
* Little Madam (2007) (premiered at the Finborough Theatre)[11]
* Sons of York (2008) (premiered at the Finborough Theatre)[12]
* Tory Boyz (2008) (premiered at the Soho Theatre)
* SuddenLossOfDignity.Com (2009) written in collaboration with Zawe Ashton, Joel Horwood, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Michelle Terry (premiered at the Bush Theatre)[13]
* A History of Falling Things (2009) (premiered at the Clwyd Theatr Cymru)
* The Whisky Taster (2010) (premiered at the Bush Theatre)[14]
* The Man (2010) (premiered at the Finborough Theatre)[15]
* Relish (2010) (premiered at the Tramshed in Shoreditch)
* Basset (2010) (National Theatre Connections play)
* Sixty Six Books (co-author) (2011) (premiered at the Bush Theatre)[16]
* This House (2012) (premiered at the National Theatre before a national tour)[17]
* Privacy (2014) (premiered at the Donmar Warehouse before transferring to Off-Broadway)[18]
* The Angry Brigade (2014) (premiered at Theatre Royal, Plymouth)[19]
* Finding Neverland (2014) (premiered at the A.R.T.)[20]
* The Children's Monologues (2015) (wrote the monologue "Biyonace" for the one-off event at the Royal Court Theatre)
* The Vote (2015) (premiered at the Donmar Warehouse)[21]
* Monster Raving Loony (2016) (premiered at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth)[22]
* Ink (2017) (premiered at the Almeida Theatre before transferring to the West End and then Broadway)[23]
* Labour of Love (2017) (premiered at the Noël Coward Theatre)[24]
* Quiz (2017) (premiered at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester before transferring to the West End)[25]
* The Culture (2017) (premiered at the Hull Truck Theatre)[26]
* Sketching (2018) (premiered at Wilton's Music Hall)[27]
* Bubble (2020) (premiered at the Nottingham Playhouse and was live-streamed online)
* Best of Enemies (2021) (premiered at the Young Vic before transferring to the West End)
* Shoot (2021) (short play written for Sky Arts "Play in a Day', performed live at Alexandra Palace and later broadcast on Sky Arts)
* Tammy Faye (2022) (musical about the life of Tammy Faye Messner, co-written with Elton John, premiered at the Almeida Theatre)
* Town Planning in the Apocalypse (2023) (short play written for the National Youth Theatre, performed in February 2023 as part of an all-night showcase of NYT students at the Duke of York's Theatre)
* Dear England (2023) (premiered at the National Theatre)[28]
* Boys from the Blackstuff (2023) (adapted from the Alan Bleasdale TV Series, premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool)[29]
* Punch (2024) (adapted from the book Right from Wrong by Jacob Dunne, premiered at Nottingham Playhouse and the Young Vic)

### Screenwriting

[edit]

* X+Y (2015) (theatrical film)
* Coalition (2015) (Television film for Channel 4)
* Brexit: The Uncivil War (2019) (Television film for Channel 4)
* The Crown (2019) episode 3.6, "Tywysog Cymru"
* Quiz (2020) (three-part TV drama series for ITV)
* Sherwood (2022-) (crime drama series for BBC1)
* The Way (2024) (dystopian drama series for BBC1)[30]
* Brian and Maggie (2025)[31]

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## Recognition and honours

[edit]

In 2018, Graham won his first Olivier Award, for Labour of Love as Best New Comedy (his other play Ink was nominated for an Olivier in the same year).[32]

He won his second Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2024, for Dear England.[33]

In June 2018, Graham was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative.[34]

In January 2019, Graham's life and work was the subject of an in-depth BBC One documentary as part of the Imagine series.[35]

In May 2019, his play This House was voted Play of the Decade in Bloomsbury Publishing's "60 Years of Modern Plays" public vote.[36]

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to drama and young people in British theatre.[37]

In June 2024, the New Statesman included Graham in The Left Power List 2024, the magazine's "guide to the 50 most influential people in progressive politics".[38]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Chakelian, Anoosh (28 January 2013). "Ayes to the playwright: James Graham interview". Total Politics. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
2. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (16 August 2010). "ITV and AMC Order 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' Cheating Drama 'Quiz'". Variety. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
3. ^ Sherwood, Harriet (23 August 2022). "Musical Tammy Faye tells gay icon's life story with score by Elton John". The Guardian.
4. ^ Quinn, Dave (22 March 2024). "Tammy Faye Heads to Broadway! Elton John and Jake Shears' Divine Musical to Debut This Fall". People.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
5. ^ "Dear England | National Theatre". www.nationaltheatre.org.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
6. ^ "BBC announces Dear England, a new drama based on James Graham's hit play about Gareth Southgate". BBC.com. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
7. ^ Bloomsbury.com. "Bloomsbury - Search". Retrieved 9 February 2017.
8. ^ "James Graham - Extended Edit". Desert Island Discs. BBC Radio 4. March 2024.
9. ^ "Alberts Boy - 2005 - Finborough Theatre". www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
10. ^ "Eden's Empire". www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk. Finborough Theatre. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
11. ^ "Little Madam". www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk. Finborough Theatre. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
12. ^ "Finborough Theatre". www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk.
13. ^ Bushtheatre.co.uk Archived 11 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
14. ^ "The Whisky Taster", Bushtheatre.co.uk Archived 24 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
15. ^ "Finborough Theatre". www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk.
16. ^ "Curtis Brown". www.curtisbrown.co.uk.
17. ^ "This House on Tour - in the UK from February to June 2018". www.nationaltheatre.org.uk. 20 April 2016. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
18. ^ Spencer, Charles (22 April 2014). "Privacy, Donmar Warehouse, review". Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
19. ^ "The Angry Brigade, Theatre Royal, Plymouth - Kate Maltby". 26 September 2014. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
20. ^ Shao, Yiqing (11 July 2014). "Writer James Graham Talks New Musical Finding Neverland". Boston Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
21. ^ Mountford, Fiona (7 March 2015). "James Graham interview: meet the writer bringing drama to this year's election race". independent.co.uk. The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
22. ^ "Monster Raving Loony – The Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth". Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
23. ^ Kenny, Fred. "Spring 2017 Season - Spring 2017 - What's on & Tickets - Almeida - About Us". almeida.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
24. ^ "Labour of Love, a new comedy by James Graham". Labour of Love. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
25. ^ Supercool (20 August 2017). "Quiz | Chichester Festival Theatre". Chichester Festival Theatre. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
26. ^ "Hull Truck Theatre". Retrieved 9 February 2018.
27. ^ "Wilton's Music Hall | James Graham's Sketching". Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
28. ^ "Gareth Southgate play starring Joseph Fiennes to hit National Theatre". BBC News. 21 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
29. ^ Fisher, Mark (31 May 2024). "Boys from the Blackstuff review – powerful portrayals of working-class pride". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
30. ^ Goldbart, Max (16 February 2023). "James Graham, Michael Sheen & Adam Curtis Combine On Dystopian Drama 'The Way' For The BBC". Deadline. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
31. ^ Williams, Zoe (10 January 2025). "'She was a fiend!': how the interview that destroyed Thatcher became an intense TV drama". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
32. ^ Masso, Giverny (9 April 2018). "Olivier Awards 2018: Political theatre is making a comeback, says James Graham". The Stage. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
33. ^ "2024 Olivier Awards: Full list of winners". London Theatre.co.uk. 14 April 2024. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
34. ^ Flood, Alison (28 June 2018). "Royal Society of Literature admits 40 new fellows to address historical biases". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
35. ^ "BBC One - imagine..., 2019, James Graham: In the Room Where It Happens".
36. ^ "This House 60 Years of Modern Plays". Bloomsbury. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
37. ^ "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N12.
38. ^ "The Left Power List 2024". New Statesman. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* James Graham at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Works by James Graham

Stage|

* Albert's Boy (2005)
* Eden's Empire (2006)
* Little Madam (2007)
* Sons of York  (2008)
* Tory Boyz  (2008)
* SuddenLossOfDignity.Com  (2009)
* A History of Falling Things (2009)
* The Whisky Taster (2010)
* The Man (2010)
* Basset  (2010)
* Sixty-Six Books (2011)
* This House (2012)
* Privacy (2014)
* The Angry Brigade (2014)
* Finding Neverland (2014)
* The Vote (2015)
* Monster Raving Loony (2016)
* Ink (2017)
* Labour of Love (2017)
* Quiz (2017)
* The Culture (2017)
* Sketching (2018)
* Bubble (2020)
* Best of Enemies (2021)
* Tammy Faye (2022)
* Dear England (2023)
* Punch (2024)

Screen|

* X+Y (2015)
* Coalition (2015)
* Brexit: The Uncivil War (2019)
* "Tywysog Cymru" (2019)
* Quiz (2020)
* Sherwood (2022–)
* The Way (2024)
* Brian and Maggie (2025)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Norway
* Korea
* Israel

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

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