Lynette Linton facts for kids

Lynette Linton, born in 1990, is a talented British playwright and director. She has been nominated for a BAFTA award. She is also the artistic director at The Bush Theatre, a well-known theatre in London. Lynette directed the play Sweat, which won awards and was shown at the Donmar Warehouse. In 2019, Marie Claire magazine recognized her as one of their "Future Shapers."

Early Life and Education

Lynette Linton grew up in Leytonstone, East London. Her family has roots in the Caribbean. Her father is from Guyana, and her mother is from Northern Ireland.

From a young age, Lynette was interested in theatre and writing. She once said she wanted to be like the famous author Malorie Blackman. When she was eight, she moved to Ballymena in Northern Ireland. There, she and her brothers faced racism.

Lynette studied English at the University of Sussex. After that, she joined the National Youth Theatre. This is where she met Rikki Beadle-Blair, who encouraged her to write a play. The play she wrote was called Step. It was about a young man figuring out who he was, inspired by the writer James Baldwin. This play was performed at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. Lynette's writing often explores her own identity and her family's background. In 2013, she also trained to be a director at StoneCrabs.

Career Highlights

In 2014, Lynette Linton started her own production company called Black Apron Entertainment. She named it after the uniforms she and her friends wore at their first jobs at John Lewis. This company has produced several plays and short films. One of their notable works was Passages: A Windrush Celebration at the Royal Court Theatre. This project included seven short films that shared stories related to the Windrush scandal.

In 2016, Lynette became an assistant director at the Gate Theatre. She directed Lynn Nottage's play Sweat at the Donmar Warehouse in 2018. The play was very successful and later moved to the Gielgud Theatre in 2019. It won the 2019 Evening Standard "Play of the Year" award. Lynette also directed Richard II. This was a special production because it was the first time an all-women of color cast performed a Shakespeare play on a UK stage.

In 2019, Lynette Linton was announced as the new artistic director of The Bush Theatre. This was a big moment for the UK theatre world, which has often been led by white men. When asked why she wanted the job, she quoted James Baldwin: "The place in which I'll fit will not exist until I make it." She hopes to make the theatre a more welcoming place for groups that have not always been included, such as people of color and those from working-class backgrounds. Her first season as artistic director began with a new version of Jackie Kay's Chiaroscuro. It also featured other plays by British writers of color. The Evening Standard newspaper said that in terms of "sheer emotional power," nothing was as strong as Linton's Chiaroscuro.

Lynette was chosen as one of Marie Claire magazine's "Future Shapers" in 2019. She was also named one of London's most influential people on the Evening Standard's Progress List.

Theatrical Works

Writing

Lynette Linton has written plays for theatres like Theatre Royal Stratford East and the Arcola Theatre.

• 2013: Step
• 2015: Chicken Palace
• 2017: Hashtag Lightie

Directing

• 2014: This Wide Night at Albany Theatre
• 2015: Assata: She Who Struggles at the Young Vic
• 2016: The Rally at Theatre Royal Stratford East
• 2017: Assata Taught Me at the Gate Theatre
• 2018: This Is
• 2018: Sweat at the Donmar Warehouse
• 2019: Richard II at Shakespeare's Globe (co-directed with Adjoa Andoh)
• 2022: Blues for an Alabama Sky at the National Theatre
• 2022: House of Ife at the Bush Theatre
• 2023: Clydes at the Donmar Warehouse
• 2024: Shifters at the Bush Theatre (also transferred to the Duke of York)
• 2025: Alterations at the National Theatre