"Whether delving into the underground world of sex-trafficking, addressing the complex layers of US-China relations, or navigating the individual and communal fallouts of an environmental nuclear catastrophe, Lucy Kirkwood is fearless in tackling situations and dynamics she hasn’t experienced. But rather than landing on a set of well-articulated conclusions, Kirkwood’s passion for precise and comprehensively observed moments yields plays in the midst of irresolvable perspectives or ambiguous impulses. “I don’t want to make something that tells you what I think about something,” she explains. “I want to ask questions. I’m trying to understand people better.”

​

Growing up in Wanstead in East London as the oldest daughter of a city analyst and a sign-language interpreter, Kirkwood came to writing by way of performing. She wrote her first play, Grady Hot Potato, in 2005 to give herself something to perform at the student-run Bedlam Theatre in Edinburgh. It was selected for the National Student Drama Festival and garnered Kirkwood the PMA Award for Most Promising Playwright. It also caught the attention of esteemed literary agent Mel Kenyon who served on the panel for the award. Two years later, Kirkwood graduated from university with commissions from Bush Theatre and the National Studio Theatre. She considered continuing her training as an actor at RADA and had made it to the final round of auditions before Kenyon called and encouraged her to devote her energies to playwriting full-time."

​

-Nathan Norcross, Studio Theatre