Al Smith

Writer

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Al Smith playwright photo credit Helen Murray

Film, TV & Theatre

Agent: Rose Cobbe
Assistant: Anna Campbell

Film, TV & Theatre

Al Smith is a prolific writer for stage, radio and television.

His original series for BBC Radio 4, LIFELINES, is now in its seventh iteration, and has won numerous prizes, including the Gold Award for Best Fictional Storytelling at the 2017 Radio Academy Awards and Best Original Series at the 2020 BBC Audio Drama Awards.

As a playwright, Al was nominated for the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright for his play Harrogate, which begun its life at HighTide Festival and transferred to the Royal Court. New work includes a commission with the Rose Theatre, and a play for the National Theatre.  

Al is also a frequent TV writer. He is a graduate of the BBC Writers Academy and early in his career won the BFI Wellcome Trust Screenwriting Prize.

In Development

ProductionCompanyNotes

NT CONNECTIONS

National Theatre

Commission

THE DEFECTOR

BBC Radio 3

Commission

UNTITLED

Rose Theatre

Commission

LIFE IN THE FREEZER

English Touring Theatre

Commission

UNTITLED

Traverse Theatre

Commission

SLOAN COMMISSION

Manhattan Theatre Club

Commission

Theatre

ProductionCompanyNotes
2021

The Royal Court

Dir. Hamish Pirie. Published by Methuen / Bloomsbury.

2019

Arcola Theatre, Produced by Audible

Dir. Josh Roche. ★★★★ "a dream voyage to the moon and back" The Guardian.

2016

The Royal Court

Nominated for Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the 2017 Evening Standard Theatre Awards. ★★★★ "an echo chamber of recurring, beautifully deployed details" The Independent. ★★★★ "dark, tender drama defies interpretation" The Telegraph.

Gate Theatre

The Traverse Theatre Edinburgh and The Gate Theatre, London. ★★★★★ "I have seen no other play that takes on the themes of our own brave new dysfunctional world so successfully as Al Smith’s work" The Times.

HARROGATE

2015

HighTide Festival

"ventures into Pinteresque territory." ★★★★ The Guardian

SPORT

2013

Finborough Theatre

Rehearsed Reading, Dir. Bethan Dear

HARROGATE

2013

HighTide

Rehearsed Reading,
Dir. Richard Twyman

THE BIRD

2008

Underbelly / Arcola

Dir. James Yeatman

MAYFLY

2006

Old Vic New Voices 24 Hour Plays

Dir. Michael Longhurst

THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB

2006

Soho Theatre

Dir. Richard Wilson

RADIO

2006

Underbelly / 59E59 NYC

Dir. James Yeatman. Winner of the Sunday Times Playwriting Award at the NSDF.

ENOLA

2005

Underbelly / Arches

Dir. Al Smith, Winner of the
Sunday Times Playwriting Award at the NSDF

Radio

ProductionCompanyNotes

LIFELINES: SERIES 7

2024

BBC Radio 4

ALL BLEEDING STOPS EVENTUALLY

2023

BBC Radio 4

Dir: Sally Avens

LIFELINES: SERIES 6

2022

Radio 4

Dir: Sally Avens

LIFELINES: SERIES 5

2021

BBC Radio 4

Won Best Series at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2022

2021

BBC Radio 4

9 x 45” drama doc. TX 2021

2021

BBC Radio 4

Original 60” radio play. Produced by Sally Avens.

LIFE LINES: SERIES 4

2020

BBC Radio 4

New series of award winning radio drama

2019

BBC Radio 4

2019

BBC Radio 4

Bronze ARIA award 2020 for Best Fictional Storytelling

LIFE LINES: SERIES 2

2019

BBC Radio 4

Won Best Series at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2020
Won Silver at the Prix Europa 2019

CULTURE

2017

BBC Radio 4

Commission

LIFELINES

2016

BBC Radio 4

Gold for Best Fictional Storytelling at the 2017 Radio Academy Awards & Best Series at the 2017 BBC Audio Drama Awards

EVERYMAN

2016

BBC Radio 3

Co-writer

DUCHAMPS URINAL

2015

BBC Radio 4

Co-writer Ben Street
Dir: Lu Kemp

EVERYDAY TIME MACHINES

2014

BBC Radio 3

90" single

LIFE IN THE FREEZER

2013

BBC Radio 4

Dir. Sally Avens

THE POSTMAN OF GOOD HOPE

2009

BBC Radio 4

Dir. Sally Avens

RADIO

2007

BBC Radio 4

Dir. Lu Kemp

OK COMPUTER

2007

BBC Radio 4

Co-writer. Dir. Lu Kemp

Television

ProductionCompanyNotes

EASTENDERS

2019

Episode 5783 (Re-write)

EASTENDERS

2019

BBC

Episode 5787 (Re-write)

EASTENDERS

2019

Episode 5781 (Re-write)

2016

BBC

Episode 9 THE SINS OF THE FATHER

SHAKESPEARE LIVE

2015

BBC/RSC

Dir: Greg Doran

2015

BBC

Episode 2 HOW TO CATCH A LOBSTER

AFRICA

2013

BBC / Discovery / France2

TV feature

AFRICA

2013

BBC / Discovery

Script editor, 5 episodes

THE CUT

2011

BBC

Exec producer & writer on 3 series (40 episodes)

EASTENDERS

2009

BBC

3 episodes

HOLBY CITY

2008

BBC

5 episodes

DOCTORS

2006

BBC

1 episode

CASUALTY

2006

BBC

1 episode