James Graham (playwright)

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

Graham's first professional play Albert's Boy was produced by the Finborough Theatre in 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. 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).[2] 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.

Graham's debut feature film X+Y premiered in 2015, and 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.[3]

In June 2018 Graham was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative.[4]

In January 2019, Graham's life and work was the subject of an in-depth BBC One documentary as part of the Imagine series.[5]

In May 2019 his play This House was voted Play of the Decade in Bloomsbury Publishing's '60 Years of Modern Plays' public vote.[6]

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.[7]

His plays are published by Methuen.[8]

• Bubble (2020) (premiered at the Nottingham Playhouse and was live-streamed online)
• Quiz (2020) (Three-part TV drama series for ITV)
• The Crown episode 3.6 'Tywysog Cymru' (2019)
• Brexit: The Uncivil War (2019) (Television film for Channel 4)
• Sketching (2018) (premiered at Wilton's Music Hall)[9]
• The Culture (2017) (premiered at the Hull Truck Theatre)[10]
• Quiz (2017) (premiered at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester)[11]
• Labour of Love (2017) (premiered at the Noel Coward Theatre)[12]
• Ink (2017) (premiered at the Almeida Theatre)[13]
• Monster Raving Loony (2016) (premiered at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth)[14]
• Coalition (2015) (Television film for Channel 4)
• X+Y (2015) (theatrical film)
• The Vote (2015) (premiered at the Donmar Warehouse)[15]
• The Children's Monologues (2015) (Wrote the monologue 'Biyonace' for the one-off event at the Royal Court Theatre)
• Finding Neverland (2014) (premiered at the A.R.T.)[16]
• The Angry Brigade (2014) (premiered at Theatre Royal, Plymouth)[17]
• Privacy (2014) (premiered at the Donmar Warehouse)[18]
• This House (2012) (premiered at the National Theatre)[19]
• Sixty Six Books (co-author) (2011) (premiered at the Bush Theatre)[20]
• Basset (2010) (National Theatre Connections play)
• Relish (2010) (premiered at the Tramshed in Shoreditch)
• The Man (2010) (premiered at the Finborough Theatre)[21]
• The Whisky Taster (2010) (premiered at the Bush Theatre)[22]
• A History of Falling Things (2009) (premiered at the Clwyd Theatr Cymru)
• SuddenLossOfDignity.Com (2009) written in collaboration with Zawe Ashton, Joel Horwood, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Michelle Terry (premiered at the Bush Theatre)[23]
• Tory Boyz (2008) (premiered at the Soho Theatre)
• Sons of York (2008) (premiered at the Finborough Theatre)[24]
• Little Madam (2007) (premiered at the Finborough Theatre)[25]
• Eden's Empire (2006) (premiered at the Finborough Theatre)[26]
• Albert's Boy (2005) (premiered at the Finborough Theatre)[27]

• James Graham at IMDb