Sarah Grochala

Sarah studied on the MPhil in Playwriting Studies at Birmingham University and completed a PhD in contemporary British playwriting at Queen Mary, University of London. Before turning to writing she worked as an actress for many years, playing roles in the West End and in television drama.

Her play S-27 won the 2007 Protect the Human Playwriting Competition and was also shortlisted for the King’s Cross Award and the Leah Ryan Award for Emerging Women Writers. S-27 premiered at the Finborough Theatre in June 2009. It has since been revived by the Griffin Theatre in Sydney in 2010 and by Intersection Theatre on the Toronto Fringe in 2012.

In 2011, Sarah was the winner of OffWestEnd.com’s Adopt a Playwright Award for her play SMOLENSK. Her most recent play STAR FISH was shortlisted for the 2016 Nick Darke Award and BBC Script Room 10. Her other full length plays include: WAITING FOR ROMEO (Pleasance Islington 2009; Edinburgh Festival 2006), OPEN GROUND (Theatro Technis 2005) and HOME FREE. She has also written short plays for The Miniaturists, Theatre 503 and Agent 160.

Sarah was on attachment at the National Theatre Studio during 2013/14 and completed residencies with The Orchard Project in Upstate New York and the Studios Key West in Florida in 2015. She was a member of the 2016/17 Orange Tree Writers’ Collective. Alongside her playwriting, she currently writes Dr Who audio dramas for Big Finish.

Until autumn 2016 she was also an Associate Artist with Headlong, where she worked on creating theatrical experiences using digital media. These included: THE NETHER REALM (Royal Court 2014) made in collaboration with the visual artist Michael Takeo Magruder, the director Jeremy Herrin and the playwright Jennifer Haley; and WHAT’S SHE LIKE made in collaboration with Coney. She currently leads the MA/MFA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media programme at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She recently completed her first book on contemporary playwriting, THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL PLAY (Bloomsbury Methuen Drama 2017).