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Staff Profile

Dr Zoe Cooper

Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing

Background

I am a playwright and dramaturge.


From the 1st of November 2024 until April 2026 I will take up the full time position of Writer in Residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

You can read about that role here:


Meet Our Two New Writers-in-Residence | Royal Shakespeare Company


During that time I will be on secondment from Newcastle University and will not be able to undertake any teaching, research or administrative duties at Newcastle University.


As a playwright I was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (2019), the oldest international prize for female playwrights writing in the English language. I have been shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Playwriting (2023) longlisted and shortlisted for the Charles Wintour Evening Standard Prize for Playwrighting (2016 and 2019 respectively), and I won the Most Promising Playwrights Prize at the Off West End Awards (2017). I was the inaugural winner for the Screen Skills New Writing Prize (2019). I have been awarded three Peggy Ramsay Awards. I have also been shortlisted for the Rod Hall Memorial Prize, the Adrienne Benham Prize and a Broadway World Award. I have received a T S Eliot Commission and I have undertaken residencies in the USA at MacDowell and Yaddo.


My plays are published by Methuen Bloomsbury and Nick Hern Books. As a playwright I have worked/am working with: the National Theatre, Live Theatre, Old Vic Theatre, Paines Plough, the Orange Tree Theatre, Farnham Maltings, Unicorn Theatre, the Leeds Playhouse, Theatre503, Northern Stage and the Royal Shakespeare Company amongst others.

Before joining Newcastle University I worked in theatres across London and the UK for a number of years. My work was mainly focussed on the selection, development and support of writers of all levels. I continue to work to support playwrights.


Education

PhD Creative Writing - Newcastle University

MPhil B Playwrighting - Birmingham University

BA English Literature - Cambridge University

I am represented by Jonathan Kinnersley at The Agency. All professional enquiries about my work as a playwright should be directed to Jonathan.

Research


Recent work includes:

Northanger Abbey

A queer reimagining of the gothic novel by Jane Austen. Produced by the Orange Tree Theatre, Theatre by the Lake, Octagon Theatre, Stephen Joseph Theatre, it toured for 5 months between January and May 2024. It is published by Nick Hern Books.

A Song for Ella Grey

An adaptation of the book for young people by David Almond, set in the north east. Commissioned by Pilot Theatre and coproduced by Pilot, Northern Stage and York Theatre Royal. It toured in spring 2024 and is published by Nick Hern Books.

Out of Water

Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Orange Tree Theatre. It opened in April 2019 at the Orange Tree. The play was shortlisted for the Charles Wintour Evening Standard Award and was a Finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Published by Methuen Bloomsbury.

Jess and Joe Forever

Commissioned by the Old Vic Theatre, it played at the Orange Tree in London in 2016 before touring. It then had a second run at the Traverse Theatre in 2017. It received a new production at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. It has since enjoyed productions in Australia and the Czech Republic. I won the Off West End Most Promising Playwright Award for the play. Published by Methuen Bloomsbury

The Snow Queen 

A new theatrical version of the short story by Hans Christian Andersen, with songs by the award winning singer and song writer Josienne Clarke. The play was commissioned by the National Theatre's 'Let's Play' scheme in 2018. The 'Let's Play' scheme commissions new plays for primary school children to perform. The Snow Queen has since enjoyed many school productions all over the country.

As a playwright I have worked/am working with: the National Theatre, Live Theatre, Old Vic Theatre, Paines Plough, the Orange Tree Theatre, Farnham Maltings, Unicorn Theatre, the Leeds Playhouse, Theatre503, Northern Stage and the Royal Shakespeare Company amongst others. 

I am represented by Jonathan Kinnersley at The Agency. All professional enquiries about my work as a playwright should be directed to Jonathan.

Publications