Eve Leigh
Rebecca "Eve" Leigh (born 1984) is an American-born playwright, theatre maker and dramaturg who lives and works in the United Kingdom.[1]
Early life
[edit]Leigh is the daughter of musical theatre composer Mitch Leigh and artist Abby Leigh.[2] She was born Rebecca Leigh in New York City, where she grew up.[3][4]
She studied history at Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating in 2006.[5]
Career
[edit]Leigh's first production was her own adaptation of The Dybbuk, by S. Ansky.[6] It ran at the King's Head Theatre in Islington in January and February 2008.[7] Her production of Lisa Kron's Well transferred from the Trafalgar Studios to the Apollo Theatre.[8] In December 2008, the production was nominated for Best New Comedy at the whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards.[9]
In February 2019, Leigh's play The Trick premiered at the Bush Theatre.[4] The Trick concerns a woman grieving for her deceased husband and uses magic metaphorically, according to Matt Trueman in The Stage as "a means of dealing with the disappearing act that is death". The Times referred to it as "a sideways look at the subject of ageing and grief that sometimes strikes the right poignant or urgent note, but also goes seriously awry".[10] The Guardian commented that it was "a magic show with nothing up its sleeve"[11]
In 2019, Leigh contributed a short play to Brexit Stage Left, a festival of staged readings at The Yard Theatre 'considering Britain's relationship to Europe in a post-Brexit world'.[12]
Leigh's play Midnight Movie opens at the Royal Court Theatre in November 2019.[13] Her published plays include Silent Planet (2014) and Stone Face (2016),[14] which was nominated for 3 Offies, including Best New Play.
Personal life
[edit]Leigh lives in London with her husband, the theatre maker Tom Penn.
Boris Johnson incident
[edit]In June 2019, Leigh and her spouse Tom Penn recorded an altercation between neighbour Carrie Symonds and then Tory leadership contender Boris Johnson. Penn called the police, who attended and spoke to ‘all occupants of the address’. After officers told Penn and Leigh that ‘no offences or concerns [were] apparent’,[15] the couple sent the audio file to The Guardian, which broke the story the following day.[16][17]
References
[edit]- ^ "Eve Leigh". Oberon Books. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ Karim, Fariha (24 June 2019). "Pro-Remain couple put the skids under runaway campaign". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ Gates, Anita (17 March 2014). "Mitch Leigh, Who Composed 'Man of La Mancha,' Dies at 86". p. A21. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- ^ a b Trueman, Matt (26 February 2019). "The Trick's Eve Leigh: 'The more you enjoy your life, the better your work is going to be'". The Stage. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ "The Goody Pet - Because Every Pet Deserves More".
- ^ Austin, Jeremy (23 January 2008). "Rev. of The Dybbuk". The Stage. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
- ^ "Time Out". Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
- ^ "The Home of London Theatre".
- ^ "WOS Theatregoers' Choice Nominees Announced | What's on Stage News | Whatsonstage". Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ Treneman, Ann. "Review: The Trick at Bush Theatre, W12".
- ^ "The Trick review – a magic show with nothing up its sleeve". TheGuardian.com. 26 February 2019.
- ^ "BREXIT STAGE LEFT". The Yard Theatre. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ "Midnight Movie". Royal Court. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "Eve Leigh". Oberon Books. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ Murphy, Simon (22 June 2019). "Scotland Yard press operation faces questions over Boris Johnson row". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "Neighbour who called police over Boris Johnson row goes public". TheGuardian.com. 22 June 2019.
- ^ "Revealed — the neighbours who taped Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds's quarrel".