Sam Rycroft

Sam is an award-winning writer and director. Her plays include: THE UNICORN (Pleasance Edinburgh); THE RIPPLE EFFECT (Mountview); METCALFE AND SONS (Lamda); SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE (North Wall and Edinburgh Festival); HANNA (Arcola and UK Tour); THE SAME OLD, SAME OLD, SAME (Soho); DANIEL (Kiln) and MUCKY KID (Theatre 503).
Sam’s debut play, MUCKY KID, earned her a Most Promising New Playwright nomination at the Offies and won her a Channel 4 Playwrights’ Scheme Bursary. In 2016 she was a recipient of the BBC Performing Arts Fund and was one of five writers invited to take part in the Kiln Theatre’s inaugural New Writers’ Programme, NW6. She was appointed Writer in Residence at Papatango in 2015 and Writer in Residence at the North Wall in 2017. She is an Associate Artist at the North Wall.
Her play CHARLIE CHARLIE was shortlisted for the Bruntwood Award in 2017 and was longlisted for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Playwriting in 2020. Her play WHILST LIFE EXISTS was longlisted for the Bruntwood Award in 2022.
As a director, she has worked at numerous theatres including: RSC, NT, Glyndebourne Opera, Hampstead and Trafalgar Studios.
For screen, Sam has previously been commissioned by Bryncoed Productions. She was shortlisted for the BBC Screenplay First Award and is currently developing a TV version of her stage play WHILST LIFE EXISTS.
Sam’s play THE UNICORN will appear at the Arcola, Vaults Festival and Tour the UK in 2023.