Biography of Lucy Kirkwood

Lucy Kirkwood is an award-winning British playwright and screenwriter. Born in 1984 in Leytonstone, United Kingdom, to a "city worker" father and a "school sign language communicator" mother, she was raised in London. Kirkwood's parents encouraged her love of theater by regularly bringing her to plays. She brought her creativity to her all-girls elementary school in Woodford, Essex, and starred in multiple plays.

Later, Kirkwood attended the University of Edinburgh, studying English literature. At university, Kirkwood performed in an improv comedy troupe called The Improverts. She also wrote for the university's theatre company.

After graduating from the University of Edinburgh, Kirkwood attended the prestigious Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts, where she received an offer for representation by Mel Kenyon, notable playwright Caryl Churchill's agent. Even before she graduated, the Brush and the National Theatre Studio had commissioned her plays; Kirkwood was also offered a writing position on the teen television drama Skins.

Since graduation, Kirkwood has written a prolific number of projects, including Bloody Wimmin, Chimerica, it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now, and Mosquitoes, among others. Kirkwood's work is informed by her wide-ranging interests, including cultural classics, like Ibsen and Stanley Kubrick, scientists, feminist theory, and her work teaching writing classes at prisons. Kirkwood's plays have won numerous awards and have been performed internationally.