Writer
​​Lucy Roslyn is a multi-award-winning playwright and theatre maker based in the Midlands, known for her intimate, character-driven writing that often carries a covertly political undertone.
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Selected as a Paines Plough Mentored Writer, for the BBC Voices Programme and for the Hampstead Theatre Inspire Course, she was shortlisted for the Popcorn Award for her historical drama LOVETT in 2025. Her work blends dark comedy with heartfelt storytelling, aiming to resonate with audiences long after the curtain falls. With a passion for historical and psychological themes, Lucy frequently explores the complexities of dubious morals. As the co-founder of BoonDog Theatre, her notable works include PENNYROYAL published by Nick Hern, ORLANDO, selected for Brits Off Broadway in 2023, and the critically acclaimed PISKIE.
She is excited to collaborate on unique and compelling TV and film projects.
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previous work
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​"There is an animal within, and the animal wants, and wants, and wants"
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​Newly-widowed Mrs Lovett needs to find a way to survive. Using skills learned from a whaler father, a courtesan mother and a butcher husband, Eleanor “recalibrates” her life - and her relationship with God.
An origin story set before her infamous partnership with Sweeney Todd.
You may think you already know Mrs. Lovett, but this new play explores what made her: the brutal choices and disappointments of a life in poverty. When the difference is life or death, morality becomes a moveable feast - and Eleanor is getting hungry...​​
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★★★★★ "Confrontational, enthralling, and richly detailed... a complex exploration of the impact of religiously justified misogyny on the most vulnerable in society" - Binge Fringe
★★★★★ "An extraordinarily powerful hour" - Broadway Baby
★★★★ "A show that will stick with you long after you’ve left the theatre" - Edinburgh Reviews
★★★★ "This is theatre as character archaeology – digging beneath the folklore to find the living, breathing woman... a masterful piece" - Edinburgh Guide
★★★★ "A dark, intense play that’s a treat for all" - Three Weeks
Shortlisted for the Popcorn Award
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piskie -
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Directed by Jamie Firth.
Artwork Madison Coby.
Stage manager Naomi Shanson.
"The game is… 'I believe in you'”
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Ouida Burt is a respected therapist, an academic, and a stone cold sceptic.
Welcome to her lecture where we debunk fears of the irrational and fantastic - it is time to turn a light on all those things that go bump in the night. But one of the things that keeps Ouida up in the night cannot be explained....
Inspired by the folklore of Dartmoor, PISKIE explores why even the most rational people can have irrational beliefs. A beautiful new story about the tug of war between fantasy and reality.
*Piskie is a Cornish word for Pixie.
★★★★★ “Completely captivating from start to finish” - Theatre Weekly
★★★★★ “Piskie asks what role hope plays in many people’s willingness to believe the unlikely” - The Scotsman
★★★★★ “A hauntingly beautiful work of art... I am going to be thinking about this show for a long time” - The Student
★★★★ "A magical and uplifting tale of missing hope and the dreams which carry us on" - Edinburgh Guide
★★★★ "As delicate as it is powerful" - North West End
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orlando -
Directed by Josh Roche.
Design by Sophie Thomas.
Produced by Jessie Anand.
Lights by Peter Small.
Sound by Kieran Lucas
"I see you, and I see light hitting a prism"
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Have you ever lived outside yourself? Have you ever dreamed of escaping your identity, or yearned to leave behind those definitions handed down to you: loud or quiet, male or female, straight, gay, working/middle/upper class? In 1928 Virginia Woolf imagined her own freedom through the character of Orlando and wrote "the longest and most charming love letter in literature". A new play about finding your own escape through a character who who lives and loves, writes and rewrites through four hundred years.
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★★★★★ “See this play and you will leave changed, renewed and with faith that you can become whoever you want to be” - All About Solo (Critics Choice)
★★★★★ "A masterful display of wit, word play and compelling physical presence" - Queer Forty.
★★★★★ "the writing is top drawer giving all the signs of being an impromptu chat with the audience which disguises the carefully crafted narrative" - LondonTheatre1
★★★★★ "A deeply moving tale that tackles love and gender politics and mixes them with a passion for literature and the classics, confirming Roslyn a gorgeous storyteller" - The Upcoming
pennyroyal -
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Directed by Josh Roche.
Produced Jessie Anand.
Lights by Cheng Keng.
Music by Hugh Sheehan.
Set Design by Sophie Thomas.
Stage Manager Kit Fowler
"I think of my body sometimes like it's a spooky hotel, and I'm just haunting it. Like, I was a guest in the hotel, and then I died."
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When Daphne is diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency at the age of nineteen, her sister Christine helps in the only way she knows how: by donating her eggs. But as the years go by what seemed a simple gesture of love begins twist their relationship.
Inspired by Edith Wharton's striking 1922 novella The Old Maid comes a new story about sisterhood, enduring love and regrets many years in the making. ​
Following the cancellation of Orlando going to New York, the same team collaborated over lockdown to create this play. It premiered at the Finborough Theatre in London to critical acclaim.
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âœâœâœâœâœ "And we are gripped. And we are involved. And we care... beautiful to behold" - PlaysTheThing​
âœâœâœâœâœ "Poetic in it's use of words and exquisite in it's execution" - Close-up Culture​
âœâœâœâœâœ "Lays a strong claim to be considered play of the year" - AKH Loves Theatre​
âœâœâœâœâœ "by far the most enjoyable new play I have encountered for a long time" - LondonTheatre1​
​âœâœâœâœ "A beautiful, moving and thoughtful study into a deeply personal relationship" - Broadway World
The State vs John Hayes
Directed by Jemma Gross
Produced Epsilon Productions.
Image by Paul Hancock
Music by Joe Bennett
Sound by Sophie Cotton
Stage managed by Chris Silvester
Huntsville Prison, Texas, 1959; Elyese Dukie is on Death Row for murdering her husband and her lover.
Tomorrow she goes to court for the last time. But tonight Elyese reveals the one thing she won’t tell the court or the string of psychiatrists sent to diagnose her: that she is not alone in her cell… John Hayes is in there with her.
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Psychopath or seductress?
Murderer or manipulator?
Psychiatric hospital or the electric chair?
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Lucy Roslyn’s striking one act, psychological thriller is based on extensive research into real-life killers. It received critical acclaim becoming an award winning production performing throughout the UK, London and New York.
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John Lloyd’s MUST SEE for theatre tragedy,
The Independent. Edinburgh Festival 2013
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"Astonishing... a very special, intriguing and disturbing piece of theatre it may only be an hour in length but it's impact lasts much longer" - The Stage
★★★★★
"Dangerous and thrilling, helmed by a complicated but arresting character. 60 minutes where you feel you’ve been struck right in the face by a piece of blistering theatre. " - Grumpy Gay Critic
★★★★★
"Within it's 60 minutes more is said about gender, identity, and female sexuality than many plays twice its length"- Female Arts
★★★★★
“A compelling, twisted drama that I wished would never end”- Salford Online
★★★★★
“A story of sexual confusion, forbidden love, and maybe just maybe a justified crime”- Fringe Guru
★★★★★
“Utterly brilliant. Well researched and well written this play borrows from real life to create another world that lingers in one’s mind long after the curtains fall”- The Argus Guide
Showmanship
Written and performed by Lucy Roslyn
Directed by Jamie Firth
Image by Paul Hancock
Sound design by Chris Silvester
Edinburgh collaborator Chiara Ciabattoni
“People will pay to believe that anything is possible”
1935. Dust Bowl America. As the worst recorded dust storm in history is about to hit - a storm which will come to be known as The End of the World - a tinpot Circus rolls into town. Myra Collins, the fortune-teller, is plying her trade, for there is trade here to be done.
People are desperate for even the smallest sign of hope, and Myra is no different. But these are desperate times,
and hope comes at a price...
"Easy money, for an old fraud like me"
A darkly funny, one act psychological thriller based on research into charlatan psychics throughout history. Laced with poignancy and devilry, ​"Showmanship"​ is the next circus installment by multi award-winning BoonDog Theatre.
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Debuting at the Hen and Chickens Theatre, going on to become a critically acclaimed, sell out show during Edinburgh Fringe 2018. It was chosen to perform in Theatre503 "Best of the Fest" season 2018,
Dumfries Festival 2019 and Brighton Fringe 2019.
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"A masterclass in the art of monologue"- Edinburgh Guide
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★★★★
"The perfect blend of darkly comic, brutally emotional and bitterly cynical, Showmanship's beating heart is put on full display.... An emotional tour-de-force"- Broadway Baby
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★★★★
"Sassy, thoughtful and darkly witty.... a captivating, thoroughly bewitching hour"- The List
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★★★★
"Hypnotic and masterful"- West End Wilma
★★★★
"Sends the audience out in a state of wonderment"- Bouquets and Brickbats
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★★★★
"Remarkably poetic"- Broadway Baby (Brighton)
GOODY
Written by Lucy Roslyn
Starring:
Jesse Rutherford as Frances
Lucy Roslyn as Goody
Directed by Jamie Firth
Image by Paul Hancock
Sound design by Chris Silvester
with special thanks to Sean Browne
"I'm the only one who hears you Goody. I'm the only one listening"
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Winners of Les Enfants Terribles Greenwich Partnership Award, 2017, Goody premiered in 2017 at the Pleasance Courtyard Edinburgh and Greenwich Theatre London. This striking play tells the story of a complicated and heartfelt relationship between one man and his performing chimpanzee.
Based on research into performing animals, both past and in the present day, with special thanks to Monkey World and the ape sanctuaries of the UK.
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1934. Dust Bowl America. Backstage at the travelling circus we uncover the complex relationship between one man and his performing chimpanzee, Goody. Marooned in a world she does not comprehend, Goody finds comfort with her only companion... her trainer Frances.
How do they communicate? How to the cohabit? Who is in Control?
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Mervyn Stutter's Pick Of The Fringe 2017.
"Wonderfully directed, written, acted and staged. See this show and see your own humanity."
Fringe Review MUST SEE SHOW
★★★★★
"A timeless story, fantastically well told by BoonDog Theatre"
EdFringe Review
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★★★★
"... a hidden gem of the 2017 Fringe season. Goody is, at its very core, incredible theatre. I cannot recommend it highly enough." EdFringe Review
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★★★★
"Two of the finest performances at the fringe... Goody is a brutal display of animal cruelty and human compassion"
Broadway Baby
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★★★★
"Lucy Roslyn’s performance as eponymous chimp (Goody) is among the most astute and well-observed performances I have seen in recent years... A masterclass in character drama."
730 Review
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★★★★
"Roslyn is, quite simply, breathtaking... a wonderful double-act that is simultaneously life-affirming and heart-wrenching."
Theatre Bubble
