Charlene James facts for kids

Charlene James is a British playwright and screenwriter. She writes amazing stories for the stage and for TV shows. She became very well known for her play Cuttin' It. This play bravely talks about a serious issue affecting girls and women in Britain. For this important work, she won many awards.

About Charlene James

Early Life and Acting Dreams

Charlene James grew up in Birmingham, England. From a young age, she loved acting. She took acting classes at a place called Stage2 in Birmingham. Later, she studied acting even more at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.

After a while, Charlene became interested in writing plays. She joined a special program for young writers at the Royal Court Theatre in London. This helped her start her journey as a playwright.

Her Career as a Writer

Writing for the Stage

Charlene's first play was called Maybe Father. It was recognized in 2009 for the Alfred Fagon Award. This meant it was one of the best new plays that year. It was even read aloud at the Young Vic theatre in London.

In 2013, she became a writer-in-residence at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. This meant she worked there full-time, focusing on writing. She spent her time writing about mental health issues for teenagers. In 2014, she wrote a play called Tweet Tweet for the Birmingham Youth Rep.

Charlene became much more famous with her play Cuttin' It in 2014. She was inspired to write it after watching a documentary called The Cruel Cut. This film showed her that a harmful practice affecting girls and women was happening in Britain. Cuttin' It helped people understand this serious problem.

The play won many important awards. These included the George Devine Award and the Alfred Fagon Award. She also won the Critics' Circle Theatre Award and the UK Theatre Award for Best New Play. The Evening Standard Theatre Award named her the Most Promising Playwright.

In 2016, Charlene wrote Bricks and Pieces. This play was performed by Tiata Fahodzi and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. It explored themes like family, loss, and how people communicate. It also looked at the challenges faced by a gay man from an African family living in Britain.

Writing for Television

Charlene has also written for popular TV shows. She wrote for the BBC show The Break. She also worked on Sky's fantasy drama series A Discovery of Witches.

In 2019, it was announced that Charlene would write for Doctor Who. This is a very famous science fiction show. She became only the second Black writer in the show's long history. She co-wrote an episode called Can You Hear Me? with the showrunner, Chris Chibnall. This episode also explored mental health issues.

Later, she worked with Pete McTighe, another Doctor Who writer. They worked together on a supernatural thriller series called The Rising for Sky Max.

Charlene James' Plays

• Maybe Father, 2009
• Do You Wish to Continue?, [short play] 2012
• Lundun
• Dad(die), 2012
• Jump! We'll Catch You, 2013
• Bacon
• Tweet Tweet, 2014
• Cuttin' It, 2014
• Bricks and Pieces, 2016
• Go Home, [short play, published in The Guardian] 2017
• "Reclaim the Night", [monologue] in Snatches: Moments from 100 Years of Women's Lives: Eight Monologues, 2019

Awards and Nominations