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Dennis Kelly

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For the American football offensive tackle, seeDennis Kelly (American football).For the Jamaican judge, seeDennis Kelly (judge).

Dennis Kelly
BornBarnet,London, England
OccupationPlaywright, television writer, television producer, screenwriter, film producer
EducationFinchley Catholic High School
Alma materGoldsmiths College, University of London
Notable worksDebris(2003)
Osama the Hero(2005)
Love and Money(2006)
DNA(2008)
Orphans(2009)
Matilda the Musical(2010)
Utopia(2013)

Dennis Kellyis a British writer and producer. He has worked for theatre, television and film.

His playDNA,published in 2007 and first performed in 2008, became a core set-text forGCSEin 2010[1]and has been studied by approximately 400,000 students each year.[2]He wrote the book forMatilda the Musical,which featured music and lyrics from musician and comedianTim Minchin.The musical went on to win multiple awards,[3]with Kelly receiving aTony Award for Best Book of a Musical.[4]Afilm adaptationof the musical with screenplay by Kelly was released in December 2022.

For television, he is known for co-creating and co-writing theBBC ThreesitcomPulling,theChannel 4conspiracy thrillerUtopia,and theHBOandSky AtlanticthrillerThe Third Day.Kelly also wrote the screenplay for the 2014 filmBlack Sea.[5]

Personal life

[edit]

Kelly grew up on a council estate inBarnet,North London.[6]A child of an Irish family, he was one of five children and was raised as aCatholic.[7]He attendedFinchley Catholic High School.[8][9]Leaving school at 16 years of age, Kelly went to work in a market and then atSainsbury's.[10]

While working in supermarkets, he discovered theatre when he joined a local youth group, the Barnet Drama Centre.[7]

Kelly says that he struggled with alcoholism during much of his 20s.[10]He attendedAlcoholics Anonymousand has been sober since 2001.[11]

At the age of 30, he graduated fromGoldsmiths College, University of Londonwith First Class Honours in Drama and Theatre Arts.

In September 2011 Kelly married Neapolitan actress Monica Nappo. They had met five years earlier when Nappo was appearing in an Italian premiere of one of Kelly's plays.[6]They separated in 2016 and divorced in 2017. In May 2022 he married Producer Katie Swinden. The couple have one daughter.

At one point Kelly shared his home inDeptfordwith Vladimir Shcherban from theBelarus Free Theatrecompany when Shcherban was homeless. Shcherban had fled fromBelarusto London, with other members of the theatre company, to escape political censorship and persecution in the aftermath of the2010 Belarusian presidential electionwhen oppositional candidates had been arrested.[12]

Career

[edit]

Kelly has creditedSharon Horganfor making him become a writer. They had both initially met in the early 1990s atLOST youth theatrewhere they performed in a production ofAnton Chekov'sThe Seagull.They again met each other some years later while both drunk in a Camden pub. In the pub Kelly explained to Horgan that he had written a play.[13]The next day Horgan phoned Kelly up and told him that they should both put the play on. Kelly has said that "I honestly think, had I not bumped into her, I wouldn’t have become a writer, because I don’t think I’d have had the drive. Sharon always had a lot of drive and was quite fearless."[14]The play that Kelly wrote was calledBrendan's Visit,which was performed at theEtcetera TheatreandCanal Cafe Theatre,with Horgan playing one of the characters.[15]Kelly has disowned the play saying that "I’ve killed everyone who ever saw it, let’s never talk about that ever again. […] I don’t think I can remember what it was about but I’m definitely not going to say what it was about! It was just a sitcom with swearing which is like a lot people’s first plays."[11]

Kelly's first professionally produced playDebriswas written when he was 30 years old.[16]He says he wrote it imagining he'd give himself a part. Staged atTheatre503in 2003, it transferred the next year toBattersea Arts Centre.It was well received and he went on to write the controversially titledOsama the Herowhich was produced byHampstead Theatre,beginning a long-running relationship with the theatre.[citation needed]

He wroteAfter the Endin 2005. It was produced byPaines Ploughin his first out of London production at theTraverse,though it later came to theBush Theatrebefore going on a tour of the UK and internationally in 2006.[citation needed]

Love and Moneywas staged at theRoyal Exchange, Manchesterand then at theYoung Vicin 2006. That same year his sitcomPulling,[17]co-written and starringSharon Horgan,aired onBBC Three.It received good ratings for the channel and was well reviewed, being nominated for aBAFTA TV Awardfor Best Situation Comedy in 2007.[citation needed]

Returning to theatre and the Hampstead Theatre in 2007, his fakeverbatim playTaking Care of Babywas another success for both writer and theatre.[citation needed]

For the 2007National TheatreConnections Festival, he wroteDeoxyriboNucleic Acid(better known by the titleDNA) which after the connections received a professional production alongsideThe MiraclebyLin CoghlanandBaby GirlbyRoy Williamsat theNational Theatrein the Cottesloe.[18] The play is now used widely in schools and is on several curriculums forGCSEdrama.[citation needed]

The second series ofPullingran in 2008 and won aBritish Comedy Award.However, the show was not renewed for a third series, although in 2009 an hour-long special closed the series. That same year he also wrote an episode for Series 8 ofSpooks.[citation needed]

In 2009, his playOrphanswas staged at theBirmingham Repertory Theatrebefore transferring to theTraverse Theatrein Edinburgh as part of theEdinburgh Festival Fringe.[citation needed]

2010s

[edit]

Kelly was one of the ten writers who took part in writingmonologuesbased on a children's account for a one-off event at theOld Vic Theatredirected byDanny Boylein London in support ofDramatic Needin 2010. His three monologues were performed byBen Kingsley,Jenny JulesandCharlie Cox.[19]

In 2010, Kelly returned to the Hampstead Theatre once more for his response to Shakespeare'sKing Lear,The Gods WeepstarringJeremy Irons,with mixed reviews.[citation needed]His script adapted fromRoald Dahl's book forTim Minchin's production of the musicalMatilda[20]proved highly successful, with the musical winning 99 awards between its opening in December 2010[21]and 2021, and scheduled to continue to run in theWest End of Londonuntil at least December 2022.[22]

He wrote an adaptation ofPinocchiofeaturing the songs and score from theWalt Disney filmfor theNational Theatre,opening in December 2017.[citation needed]

Kelly's one-woman playGirls & Boyshad its world premiere at theRoyal Court Theatrein February 2018, directed byLyndsey Turnerand starringCarey Mulligan.[23][24]This production also had a run at theoff-BroadwayNew York theatre,Minetta Lane Theatrein June 2018, to good reviews.[25][26][27]In March 2022,State Theatre Company South Australiaput on a performance of the play at theOdeon Theatre, NorwoodinAdelaideas part of theAdelaide Festival.The performance was directed by the artistic director of STCSA,Mitchell Butel,and starredJustine Clarke.[20][28]This production received overwhelmingly positive reviews, receiving five stars from reviewers[29][30][31]and earning astanding ovationat least one performance.[32]In the Netherlands, the play was staged by Theater Oostpool, directed byDaria Bukvićand starringHadewych Minis,who won the prestigious Theo d'Or prize for her solo performance.[33]

International success and other work

[edit]

His work has been produced in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, Australia, Japan, the United States, France, Belgium, Denmark, Romania and Canada.[citation needed]

Other work includes translations of Péter Kárpáti'sFourth Gate(National Theatre Studio) andThe Colony,a radio play which won Best European Radio Drama at thePrix Europa,2004.[citation needed]

Works

[edit]

Film

[edit]

Theatre

[edit]

Radio

[edit]
  • 12 Shares(2005)
  • The Colony(2004)[36]

Television

[edit]

Abandoned, cancelled or unproduced

[edit]

Plays

[edit]
  • White Pig:a play written around 2002 which Kelly says was about a passive boy with food-obsessed parents who had non-real characters wandering into his life.[11]Kelly has said that, "I used to have lots of these really odd meetings with theatres where I’d go in and they’d tell me how much they loved the play and then tell me they weren’t going to do it".[37]The play was eventually performed publicly atJacksons Laneby students ofMountviewon 30 September 2016.[38]However, no professional production has been mounted and the script remains unpublished.
  • Fifty-Three Million Miles:a play Kelly says was written early in his career, set variously on acouncil estate,aNASAinterview room, and a living pod on Mars.[16][11]The play remaineds unproduced and the script unpublished.

Television

[edit]
  • Pulling,series 3:the television sitcomPulling,which Kelly co-wrote withSharon Horgan,was unexpectedly not renewed for a third series byBBC Threedespite Kelly and Horgan both wanting to write another series. Instead, the channel opted for a one-hour special to tie up loose ends of the narrative.[39]The sitcom had received good ratings, critical success and a nomination for aBAFTA award.[40][41]BBC Three controllerDanny Cohendenied claims the channel was chasing a younger audience, saying the series was cancelled to make room for new shows.[40][39]
  • Utopia,series 3 and 4:in October 2014,Channel 4announced that Kelly's conspiracy thrillerUtopiahad been cancelled after its second series.[42][43]Kelly said, "The people who liked it really liked it, but the ratings were just bad. I don’t know why. I think going out in the summer didn’t help. It’s gutting not being able to finish the story. We did want to do a special. We said to Channel 4, ‘I could finish it off with a two-hour special,’ but they weren’t going for it. I understand, though. It was a risky show to do."[5]The show's cancellation promptedThe Independentin 2015 to publish a list of "The best prematurely cancelled TV shows", withUtopiaplaced first.[44]In 2017The GuardianincludedUtopiain a list of "the best shows that had the plug pulled on them".[45]Publications such asNMEand thei newspaperwebsite felt thatNetflixshould fund a continuation ofUtopiafor its streaming service.[46][47]In a 2020 interview about theUS remake ofUtopia,Kelly said there would be difficulties in making another series but he had not ruled out the possibility.[48]
  • Consider Phlebasadaptation:In February 2018,Amazon Studiosannounced plans to adaptIain Banks'Consider Phlebasfor television, with Kelly as writer.[49]However, development was discontinued in 2020. Kelly said Banks' estate had not yet seen anything he had written for the project but he believed they did not feel ready to proceed.[50]

Film

[edit]
  • World War Zsequel:in 2015 Kelly was reported to have been hired to rewrite a sequel toWorld War Z.The film was being developed byParamount PictureswithBrad Pittto star, and a release slated for June 2017.[51][52]In 2019, Paramount reportedly cancelled the sequel due to budgetary issues, the death of executiveBrad Greywho was a key advocate for the film, and directorDavid Fincher's involvement with hisMindhunterseries.[53]However,The Hollywood Reporterreported the cancellation was mainly due to a Chinese government ban on zombie films.[54]

Awards and honours

[edit]

Awards

Year Award Ceremony Category Nominee Result Ref
2023 British Academy Film Awards Outstanding British Film Matilda the Musical (film) Nominated [55]
2022 British Academy Television Awards Best Single Drama Together Won [56]
2015 BAFTA TV Craft Awards Writer – Drama Utopia Nominated [57]
2014 RTS Programme Awards Drama Series Nominated [58]
Writer – Drama Nominated
BAFTA TV Craft Awards Writer – Drama Nominated [59]
International Emmy Awards Best Drama Series Won [60]
2013 Tony Awards Best Book of A Musical Matilda the Musical Won [4]
Outer Critics Circle Awards Outstanding Book of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) Won [61]
Outstanding New Broadway Musical Nominated
Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Musical Won [62]
Outstanding Book of a Musical Won
2012 South Bank Sky Arts Awards Theatre prize Won [63]
Olivier Awards Best Musical Won [64]
2011 Evening Standard Awards TheNed SherrinAward for Best Musical Won [65]
Critics' Circle Theatre Award Best Musical Won [66]
TMA UK Theatre Awards Best Musical Won [67]
WhatsOnStage Awards TheSEE TICKETSBest New Musical Award Won [68]
2009 The Scotsman Fringe First Award Orphans Won [69]
The Herald (Glasgow) Herald Angel Award Won [70]
British Comedy Award Best Television Comedy Drama Pulling Won [71]
Theater heute Best Foreign Playwright Taking Care of Baby Won
The South Bank Show Awards Comedy Award Pulling Won [72]
2007 TMA Awards Best New Play Taking Care of Baby Nominated
John Whiting Award Won
Laurence Olivier Awards Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre Love and Money Nominated
BAFTA TV Award Best Situation Comedy Pulling Nominated [73]
2006 Meyer-Whitworth Award Osama the Hero Won [74]
2004 Radio & Music Award Scripting for Broadcast The Colony Won
Prix Europa Best European Radio Drama Of The Year Won [75]

Honours

On 9 November 2015,Mountview Academy of Theatre Artsawarded both Kelly andMatildaco-collaborator Tim Minchin an Honorary Doctorate in letters, validated by theUniversity of East Anglia,for their work onMatilda the Musical.[76][77]

In July 2017 Kelly received an 'Honorary Fellowship' fromGoldsmiths, University of London.[78]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Archived webpage from 2016 of Dennis Kelly's page on his agent's website
  2. ^Sierz, Aleks (25 November 2013). Introduction.Dennis Kelly: Plays Two: Our Teacher's a Troll; Orphans; Taking Care of Baby; DNA; The Gods Weep.By Kelly, Dennis. London: Oberon Books Ltd.ISBN9781783195114.
  3. ^Awards section on the Matilda The Musical website
  4. ^ab"Tony award winners 2013 – the full list".The Guardian.10 June 2013.Retrieved17 March2021.
  5. ^abKelly, Stephen (22 November 2014)."Director Kevin Macdonald and writer Dennis Kelly on going back to basics for gripping submarine thriller Black Sea".The Independent.Retrieved12 March2021.
  6. ^ab"Dennis Kelly: I can't imagine a more violent writer than Shakespeare".Evening Standard.10 April 2012.Retrieved11 March2021.
  7. ^abSierz, Aleks (27 July 2005)."In pursuit of monsters".The Telegraph.Archived fromthe originalon 12 November 2012.Retrieved11 March2021.
  8. ^Alumni page on the Finchley Catholic High School website
  9. ^Caven, James (21 December 2015)."Finchley school appeals for photographs and memories as preparations get under way for 90th anniversary".Barnet Borough Times.Retrieved11 March2021.
  10. ^abCosta, Maddy (10 September 2013)."Dennis Kelly: 'I thought that drinking was all I had to offer'".The Guardian.Retrieved11 March2021.
  11. ^abcdDENNIS KELLY: 20% HOT, 100% ALIVE on the Writerly blog
  12. ^Shcherban, Vladimir (20 September 2014)."Too much British theatre is defined by finance and funding".The Guardian.Retrieved11 March2021.
  13. ^Horgan, Sharon (March 2015)."Sharon Horgan talks to Dennis Kelly".Chain Reaction.Series 10. BBC. BBC Radio 4.Retrieved24 March2021.
  14. ^Saner, Emine (4 October 2019)."Sharon Horgan's unstoppable rise as master of honest comedy".The Guardian.Retrieved18 March2021.
  15. ^Sharon Horgan's Acting CV
  16. ^abKelly, Dennis (28 February 2008)."Identity crisis".The Guardian.Retrieved11 March2021.
  17. ^"Pulling",BBC
  18. ^"DNA",National Theatre,2008, archived fromthe originalon 8 June 2009
  19. ^"Dramatic Need",Children's Monologues,November 2010, archived fromthe originalon 31 August 2012
  20. ^ab"Girls & Boys".Adelaide Festival.Retrieved1 March2022.
  21. ^"The Matilda the Musical story".Tim Minchin.6 November 2010.Retrieved1 March2022.
  22. ^"Matilda The Musical".Theatre News and Reviews.20 September 2021.Retrieved1 March2022.
  23. ^Gardner, Lyn (22 February 2018)."Dennis Kelly on Girls and Boys: 'I was shocked Carey Mulligan did it'".The Guardian.Retrieved28 February2022.
  24. ^Billington, Michael (15 February 2018)."Girls and Boys review – gut-wrenching Carey Mulligan charts a marriage's end".The Guardian.Retrieved28 February2022.
  25. ^Brantley, Ben (28 June 2018)."Review: Carey Mulligan Tells a Harrowing Tale of 'Girls & Boys'".The New York Times.Retrieved1 March2022.
  26. ^Scheck, Frank (27 June 2018)."'Girls & Boys': Theater Review ".The Hollywood Reporter.Retrieved1 March2022.
  27. ^Schama, Chloe (27 June 2018)."Theater Can Be Dishearteningly Inaccessible. Carey Mulligan's Devastating New Play Is Changing That".Vogue magazine.Retrieved1 March2022.
  28. ^"Girls & Boys".State Theatre Company South Australia.Retrieved1 March2022.
  29. ^Tune, Cathy (2 March 2022)."Girls & Boys: When Families Fall Apart ~ Adelaide Festival 2022 Review".The Clothesline- Digital Arts Magazine.Retrieved3 March2022.
  30. ^Forester, Gordon (2 March 2022)."Girls & Boys (State Theatre Company South Australia, Adelaide Festival) ★★★★★".Limelight.Retrieved3 March2022.
  31. ^Evans, Steve (1 March 2022)."Adelaide Festival review: Girls & Boys".InDaily.Retrieved3 March2022.
  32. ^Lanzi, Lisa (March 2022)."Girls and Boys".Stage Whispers.Retrieved3 March2022.
  33. ^"Winnaars VSCD Toneelprijzen 2021 & 2022 bekend".VSCD.nl(in Dutch). 11 September 2022.Retrieved9 February2023.
  34. ^"The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas at The Royal Court Theatre".The Royal Court Theatre.Retrieved10 September2013.
  35. ^"doollee - the playwrights database of modern plays".doollee.Archived fromthe originalon 6 July 2006.Retrieved9 August2009.
  36. ^"BBC - The Wire - The Colony - Writers Room".bbc.co.uk.
  37. ^Audio and transcript of part one of 'Nation Theatre Connections Playwrights Roundtable' on the TheatreVOICE website
  38. ^'Autumn/Winter Season 16' Mountview brochure
  39. ^abCohen, Danny; Holmwood, Leigh (2 October 2008)."BBC3 axes Pulling after two series".The Guardian.Retrieved11 March2021.
  40. ^Raphael, Amy (16 May 2009)."There's no moral centre to Pulling because we don't have one!".The Guardian.London.
  41. ^"C4 Utopia".Twitter.9 October 2014.
  42. ^"Exclusive: C4's Utopia won't return for series 3".Den of Geek.Retrieved10 January2018.
  43. ^Rentoul, John (18 January 2015)."The best prematurely cancelled TV shows from Deadwood to Ripper Street".The Independent.Retrieved16 March2021.
  44. ^"My So-Called Life to Utopia: are these the most foolish TV cancellations ever?".The Guardian.22 June 2017.Retrieved16 March2021.
  45. ^Bartleet, Larry (16 June 2015)."10 TV shows cancelled before their time that Netflix should resurrect".NME.Retrieved16 March2021.
  46. ^Butler, Mark (13 November 2017)."Why Utopia deserves a Netflix revival".inews.Retrieved16 March2021.
  47. ^Mellor, Louisa (17 September 2020)."UK Utopia Creator Dennis Kelly: 'There's Always a Possibility of Going Back'".Den of Geek.Retrieved12 March2021.
  48. ^"Amazon Studios to Adapt Consider Phlebas, First Novel of the Culture Series, for Television".Business Wire.21 February 2018.
  49. ^Vincent, James (26 August 2020)."Amazon cancels TV adaptation of Iain M. Banks' sci-fi Culture series".The Verge.Vox Media.Retrieved21 May2024.
  50. ^Siegel, Tatiana; Kit, Borys (30 October 2015)."'World War Z' Sequel Moves Forward After 'Jurassic World 2' Drama (Exclusive) ".The Hollywood Reporter.Retrieved24 March2021.
  51. ^McNary, Dave (30 October 2015)."Brad Pitt's 'World War Z' Sequel Draws Dennis Kelly for New Draft".Variety.Retrieved24 March2021.
  52. ^Perez, Rodrigo (6 February 2019)."Paramount Pulls The Plug On David Fincher's 'World War Z' Sequel".The Playlist.Archivedfrom the original on 8 February 2019.Retrieved6 February2019.
  53. ^Siegel, Tatiana (18 May 2019)."Zombie Films at Cannes: What's Up With All the Undead?".The Hollywood Reporter.Archivedfrom the original on 20 May 2019.Retrieved22 May2019.
  54. ^2023 EE BAFTA Film Awards: The Winners Webpage on the BAFTAs website
  55. ^BAFTA Television 2022: The Winners webpage on the BAFTAs website
  56. ^Television Craft | Writer - Drama in 2015 webpage on the BAFTAs website
  57. ^RTS PROGRAMME AWARDS 2014 on the Royal Television Society website
  58. ^Television Craft | Writer - Drama in 2014 webpage on the BAFTAs website
  59. ^"International Emmys: UK's 'Utopia' Wins Best Drama; Belgium's 'What If' Takes Comedy (FULL LIST)".Variety.24 November 2014.Retrieved30 November2014.
  60. ^"2012-13 Outer Critics Circle Award Winners Announced - PIPPIN Tops List with 7, Followed by KINKY BOOTS".broadwayworld. 13 May 2013.Retrieved3 May2013.
  61. ^"Nominations Announced for 58th Annual Drama Desk Awards".Playbill.29 April 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 1 May 2013.Retrieved3 May2013.
  62. ^"Matilda wins at South Bank awards".BBC News.1 May 2012.Retrieved18 March2021.
  63. ^"Olivier Award Winners Announced - Matilda Dominates!".London Theatre.8 June 2016.Retrieved17 March2021.
  64. ^Jury, Louise; Foster, Alistair (10 April 2012)."Sheridan Smith crowned queen of London stage at our Theatre Awards".The Evening Standard.Retrieved17 March2021.
  65. ^"The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2011".The Critics' Circle. 25 January 2011.Retrieved19 January2012.
  66. ^"THEATRE AWARDS UK 2011".THEATRE AWARDS UK. Archived fromthe originalon 29 December 2011.Retrieved19 January2012.
  67. ^"Full List: 2012 Whatsonstage Award winners".WhatsOnStage.19 February 2012.Retrieved17 March2021.
  68. ^Wiegand, Chris (14 August 2009)."Traverse scores a hat-trick in Edinburgh's Fringe First awards".The Guardian.Retrieved18 March2021.
  69. ^"Angels fly off with awards".The Herald.15 August 2009.Retrieved18 March2021.
  70. ^2009 Winners on the British Comedy Awards website
  71. ^"Pulling scoops South Bank Award".Chortle.21 January 2009.Retrieved18 March2021.
  72. ^2007 Television Award for Situation Comedy on the BAFTAs website
  73. ^Meyer Whitworth Award winners on the Playwright's Studio Scotland website
  74. ^PRIX EUROPA 2004 - AWARDS PDF
  75. ^MountviewLDN (13 November 2015)."Writer Dennis Kelly's Hilarious Graduation Advice".Archivedfrom the original on 13 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  76. ^Snow, Georgia (11 November 2015)."Matilda writers Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly awarded honorary degrees from Mountview".The Stage.Archived fromthe originalon 3 August 2017.
  77. ^Goldsmiths honours Hope Powell CBE, Dennis Kelly, Gabriel Prokofiev, and Dorothy Cross on the Goldsmiths website
[edit]
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