Leo Butler
Writer
Film, TV & Theatre
Leo won the George Devine Award for his Royal Court play REDUNDANT. His plays MADE OF STONE, LUCKY DOG, FACES IN THE CROWD were also produced at the Royal Court.
Other plays include, I’LL BE THE DEVIL (RSC/The Kiln), WOYZECK (Birmingham Rep), ALL YOU NEED IS LSD (Told By an Idiot), INNOCENT CREATURES (National Theatre), and the critically acclaimed BOY (Almeida Theatre).
He collaborated with Turner Prize winning artist Gillian Wearing on the 2011 feature film, SELF MADE.
He has stage and screen projects in development, including the feature film LUCKY DOG produced by Bosena Films.
His plays are published as single texts and in collected anthologies by Bloomsbury.
In Development
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
LUCKY DOG | Bosena Films | |
LIVING | Royal Court Theatre | New Commission |
Theatre
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
INNOCENT CREATURES 2023 | National Theatre Connections | Dir. Various |
CINDERELLA 2022 - 2023 | Theatre Royal Stratford East | Dir. Eva Sampson |
MEET MO 2021 | Theatre Royal, Stratford East | Dir. Eva Sampson |
ALL YOU NEED IS LSD 2018 | Told By An Idiot UK Tour / Birmingham Rep Theatre | Dir. Paul Hunter & Stephen Harper |
WOYZECK 2018 | Birmingham Rep Theatre | Dir. Roxana Silbert |
DECADES 2016 | The Bridge Theatre Company / UK Tour | Dir. Eva Sampson |
BOY 2016 | Almeida Theatre | Dir. Sacha Wares |
DO IT! 2013 | Royal Court - Open Court Season | Dir. Ned Bennett |
SIXTY NINE 2012 | Edinburgh Pleasance Theatre | Dir. Donnacadgh O’Briain |
JUICY FRUITS 2011 | Paines Plough / UK Tour | Dir. George Perrin |
ALISON! A ROCK OPERA 2011 - 2014 | Royal Court Theatre / King’s Head Theatre / & Various Venues | As Co-Director with Nick Bagnall |
FACES IN THE CROWD 2008 | Royal Court Theatre | Dir. Claire Lizzimore |
I'LL BE THE DEVIL 2008 | RSC / Tricycle Theatre | Dir. Ramin Gray |
HEROES 2007 | National Theatre Education Tour | Dir. Samantha Potter |
AIRBAG 2007 | Royal Court Rough Cuts Season | As Writer |
THE EARLY BIRD 2006 | Ransom Prod. / Queen’s Theatre, Belfast | Dir. Rachel O'Riordan |
LUCKY DOG 2004 | Royal Court Theatre | Dir. James Macdonald |
DEVOTION 2002 | Theatre Centre / UK Schools Tour. | Dir. Liam Steele |
REDUNDANT 2001 | Royal Court Theatre | Dir. Dominic Cooke |
MADE OF STONE 2000 | Royal Court Theatre Young Writers' Festival 2000 | Dir. Deborah Bruce |
Film
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
SELF MADE 2011 | UK Film Council / Northern Film & Media. | Dir. Gillian Wearing |
Television
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
JERUSALEM THE GOLDEN 2002 | BBC Four / BBC Fictionlab | Dir. Louis Caulfield |
SELECTED REVIEWS
BOY (Almeida, 2016)
‘Quiet, undemonstrative and compassionate, this is a devastating portrait of life for those young people at the bottom of the pile in contemporary Britain. Butler’s play appears simple but is in fact very skilful. He essentially dramatises an experience that is fundamentally antithetical to dramatic narrative. And he gives voice to a boy whose largest problem is his inarticulacy.’ Financial Times
WOYZECK (Birmingham Rep, 2018)
‘With genuine humanity, humour and insight, Butler’s adaptation recasts Woyzeck in a multifarious world that freely incorporates references to Twitter, 1950s electric shock treatment, 1920s robot fantasies, war in the Middle East and supermarket meal deals. A desolate, spellbinding achievement’. The Guardian.
I’LL BE THE DEVIL (Royal Shakespeare Company, 2008)
"this lush, savage, nightmarish imagining of colonial Ireland circa 1762 suggests an imagination that has suddenly, gloriously and recklessly taken wing. I was thrilled at the provocation of it, transfixed by its darkness" The Daily Telegraph.
LUCKY DOG (Royal Court, 2004)
“a darkly funny and remarkably poignant portrait of a marriage. Butler's dialogue combines naturalistic chat, a musical sense of phrase and pause, and surreal episodes. The last act is an extraordinary coup de theatre, imbued with an almost heavenly sense of new-found tenderness and atonement.” The Independent on Sunday.
REDUNDANT (Royal Court, 2001)
“Butler boldly creates a psychologically complex female lead, surrounding her with unjudged dead-beats, each distinctively vocalising caustic Sheffield vernacular. He also looks to be a master of stage craft, subtly manipulating his audience and characters with dramatic reversals, before arriving at an ending that is inevitable, surprising and loaded with pity and fear" The Evening Standard.
SELF MADE (UK Film Council/Gillian Wearing, 2011)
“a compelling exercise that deliberately blurs the lines between documentary and fiction. Artfully constructed and thought-provoking, the film probes how drama can serve as a vehicle for both therapy and exhibitionism. It packs real emotional wallop.” Variety.