Dawn King

Last updated
Dawn King
Born
Dawn Elizabeth King

1978 (age 46–47)
Stroud, England
Alma mater Goldsmiths, University of London
Years active2002–present
Website www.dawn-king.com

Dawn Elizabeth King (born 1978) is an English playwright and screenwriter. Her play Foxfinder won the inaugural Papatango New Writing Prize and an Off West End Award among other accolades. Her plays since have included A Brave New World and The Trials. King's short film The Karman Line (2014) was nominated for a British Academy Film Award.

Contents

Early life

King was born in Stroud, Gloucestershire. King attended Cashes Green Primary School and then Archway School. [1] She graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London. [2]

Career

King's play Foxfinder won the 2011 Papatango New Writing Prize and was produced at the Finborough Theatre, directed by Blanche McIntyre. [3] For her work, King won the Off West End Award for Most Promising Playwright [4] and the 2013 Royal National Theatre Foundation (RNTF) Playwright award. [5] Foxfinder was also shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize [6] and the inaugural James Tait Black Memorial Prize. [7] King was the Finborough Theatre's 2012 Pearson Writer-in-Residence. [8] Foxfinder had its U.S. premiere in Pasadena with the Furious Theatre Company. [9]

King reunited with Blanche McIntyre for her next play Ciphers, which premiered in 2013. The production was a collaboration between the Out of Joint theatre company, the Bush Theatre and Exeter's Northcott Theatre. [10] [11] Ciphers is a spy thriller inspired by the real-life story of Gareth Williams. [12]

In 2014, King's short film The Karman Line starring Olivia Colman premiered at the South by Southwest (SXSW). [13] King was named a 2014 Screen International Star of Tomorrow. [14] The Karman Line was nominated for a British Academy Film Award in the British Short Film category. [15]

King adapted Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel Brave New World for stage in a 2015 co-production between the Royal & Derngate in Northampton and the Touring Consortium theatre company. It was directed by James Dacre. [16] [17]

Foxfinder returned to the stage in 2018 with the Loft Theatre Company in Leamington [18] before having a short West End run at the Ambassadors Theatre later in the year starring Iwan Rheon and directed by Rachel O'Riordan. [19]

After a run in Germany, King's eco-play The Trials had its UK premiere at the Donmar Warehouse in 2022 starring Joe Locke and William Gao and directed by Natalie Abrahami. [20] King mostly wrote the play during lockdown, inspired by the September 2019 climate strikes led by Greta Thunberg. [21] The Trials was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. [22] [23] Also staged in 2022 was Addictive Beat for the Boundless Theatre Company starring Fionn Whitehead and Boadicea Ricketts. [24]

In 2024, King contributed to Cutting the Tightrope: The Divorce of Politics from Art, a 2024 collection of short plays written in response to censorship surrounding Palestine in the arts. [25] The Trials was revived in 2025 at Southwark Playhouse. [26]

Select plays

References

  1. ↑ "Ciphers, a tense thriller by Stroud raised playwright Dawn King, show at Cheltenham's Everyman". Stroud News. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  2. ↑ "Papatango Playwriting Festival 2011: Foxfinder by Dawn King" (PDF). Finborough Theatre. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  3. ↑ Billington, Michael (5 December 2011). "Foxfinder – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  4. ↑ "Finborough Theatre scoops Off West End Theatre Awards". BBC News. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  5. ↑ Trueman, Matt (6 December 2013). "Playwright Dawn King wins National Theatre award for Foxfinder". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  6. ↑ Gilbert, Ryan (18 March 2013). "Annie Baker Wins 2013 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for The Flick". Broadway. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  7. ↑ "James Tait Black prize creates new drama award". BBC News. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  8. ↑ "Dawn King - A Life in Letters". The Herald. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  9. ↑ Meisel, Myron (14 January 2014). "Foxfinder: Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  10. ↑ Bosanquet, Theo (6 June 2013). "Out of Joint co-produces Dawn King's Ciphers, Blanche McIntyre directs". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  11. ↑ Billington, Michael (23 October 2023). "Ciphers – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  12. ↑ "Ciphers: In Conversation with Dawn King". Bush Theatre. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  13. ↑ Ladson, Sarah (7 May 2015). "The Screening Room: "The Kármán Line"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  14. ↑ Halligan, Finnuala (5 June 2014). "Dawn King, UK Stars of Tomorrow 2014". Screen Daily. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  15. ↑ "Bafta Film Awards 2015: Winners". BBC News. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  16. ↑ "Sophie Ward to star in adaptation of Brave New World". WhatsOnStage. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  17. ↑ Monroe, Jazz (10 September 2015). "Enslaved by Our Own Fallibility, Weakness and Desire – I Suppose Aldous Huxley Was Right". Vice. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  18. ↑ Colivicchi, Anna (11 May 2018). "Foxes are a metaphor for human imperfection in Dawn King's Foxfinder". The Boar. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  19. ↑ Dowd, Vincent (13 September 2018). "Poldark and Thrones stars boost playwright Dawn King". BBC News. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  20. ↑ Gans, Andrew (15 August 2022). "Check Out Photos From U.K. Premiere of Dawn King's The Trials, Featuring Heartstopper's Joe Locke". Playbill. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  21. ↑ Dickson, Andrew (4 August 2022). "Twelve angry children: young jurors call adults to account for climate crisis in The Trials". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  22. ↑ "The Trials by Dawn King". Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  23. ↑ Rosky, Nicole (1 April 2021). "BWW Exclusive: Meet the 2021 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalists- Dawn King". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  24. ↑ Ell, Jenny (18 August 2022). "Dunkirk star Fionn Whitehead cast in Boundless Theatre's new play ADDICTIVE BEAT". West End Best Friend. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  25. ↑ Marcolina, Cindy (3 December 2024). "Review: Cutting the Tightrope: The Divorce of Politics from Art, Arcola Theatre". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  26. ↑ "Southwark Playhouse's 19-25 Young Ensemble presents The Trials by Dawn King". Theatre News. 23 June 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.