Polly Stenham

Polly Stenham (born 16 July 1986) is an English playwright known for her play That Face, which she wrote when she was 19 years old. Background Stenham was born and raised in London. She attributes her love of theatre to her father as he took her to various shows from a young age, including many at the Royal Court Theatre which would later stage her first play. Before university she worked for the Ambassador Theatre Group and the Arcola Theatre, and during this time she enrolled in the Royal Court Young Writers Programme and wrote her first play. Career Stenham's debut play That Face premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in April 2007. It was directed by Jeremy Herrin and starred Lindsay Duncan as the alcoholic mother Martha and Matt Smith as her son Henry. Stenham won the Evening Standards 2007 Charles Wintour Award, the Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright and the 2007 Theatrical Management Association Award for Best New Play.