Simon Stephens' play Bring Me Sunshine was staged at 1997 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, transferring to the Riverside Studios in London the same year (revived in 2000 at the Manchester Royal Exchange). B luebird was produced by the Royal Court in London in 1998. Simon Stephens was writer-in-residence at the Royal Exchange Theatre in 1999 and in 2000 he was the Arts Council Resident Dramatist at the Ro yal Court. His next play, Herons (Royal Court, 2001), was nominated for the Olivier Award for Most Promising Playwright. His radio play Five Letters to Elizabeth was broadcast on Radio 4 in 2001, and Digging on Radio 4 in 2003. His next stage play, Port (Royal Exchange, Manchester, 2002), was awarde d the Pearson Award for Best New Play in 2001/2. One Minute was produced by the Actor's Touring Company in June 2003. Christmas premiered at the Pavilion Theatre, Brighton, before transferring to the Bush Theatre, London, in January 2004. Country Music was produced by the Royal Court in 2004.
Simon Stephens began his theatrical career in the literary department of the Royal Court Theatre, where he ran its Young Writers' Programme. His plays for theatre include Bluebird (Royal Court Theatre) Herons (Royal Court Theatre, 2001); Port (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, 2002); One Minute (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 2003 and Bush Theatre, London, 2004); Christmas (Bush Theatre, 2004); Country Music (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 2004); On the Shore of the Wide World (Royal Exchange Theatre and National Theatre, London, 2005); Motortown (Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, 2006); Pornography (Tricycle Theatre, London, 2009); Harper Regan (National Theatre, 2008); Sea Wall (Bush Theatre, 2009); Heaven (Traverse Theatre, 2009); Punk Rock (Lyric Hammersmith, London, 2009); The Trial of Ubu (Essen Schauspielhaus/Toneelgroep Amsterdam, 2010); A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky (co-written with David Eldridge and Robert Holman; Lyric Hammersmith, London, 2010); Wastwater (Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, 2011); Morning (Lyric Hammersmith, 2012); an adaptation of A Doll's House (Young Vic, 2012); an adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (National Theatre, 2012); Blindsided (Royal Exchange, 2014); and Birdland (Royal Court, 2014). His radio plays include Five Letters Home to Elizabeth (BBC Radio 4, 2001) and Digging (BBC Radio 4, 2003). Awards include the Pearson Award for Best New Play, 2001, for Port; Olivier Award for Best New Play for On the Shore of the Wide World, 2005; and for Motortown German critics in Theater Heute's annual poll voted him Best Foreign Playwright, 2007. His adaptation of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Play.
