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Nicôle Lecky

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Nicôle Lecky in 2018, picture from comedy sketch with Milanka Brooks

Nicôle Lecky is a British actress, singer and writer. She is best known for her 2018 play Superhoe and its 2022 TV-series adaptation Mood.

Early life

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Lecky (born 1990[1][2]) grew up in Stratford, East London.[3] She is English-Jamaican and has siblings.[4][5] Her father was an electrician and former DJ, and her mother a mental-health nurse. Lecky studied for a time at King's College London, but graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. At age 18, she was signed by a theatrical agent.[6][7][8] Her mother died when Lecky was 19.[9]

Work

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Lecky has written for the soap opera EastEnders: E20, and her acting roles include the TV-series Casualty, Fresh Meat, Sense8 and Death in Paradise. She directed The Moor Girl, a short film.[1][10][11]

Her 2018 play Superhoe was a collaboration between the Talawa Theatre Company and the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Jade Lewis. Lecky wrote and performed the monodrama,[1][12] and collaborated with British rapper The Last Skeptik on the play's music.[4][13] Superhoe follows the life of twenty-four year-old Sasha, and Lecky plays several characters.[14] She was inspired by a website that posted personal information on Instagram women involved in sex work.[6] Playwright Levi David Addai, who mentored Lecky around 2019, said in 2020 that she is "one of the most talented young writers, actresses, singer-songwriters in the country right now."[10]

Superhoe received positive reviews. The Evening Standard's reviewer said "[Lecky is] a revelation — singing and rapping eloquently as she delivers a knotty, occasionally grim story with charismatic fluency."[1] The Daily Telegraph's reviewer said "It stands squarely in the tradition of Royal Court writing while being its own fresh thing."[4] WhatsOnStage.com's reviewer said "She knows how to keep the audience on her side with just a backward glance, and her comic timing is superb."[14] The Guardian's reviewer said "Lecky engagingly performs her own writing ... Though rarely surprising, it's a simple story strongly told".[13] Stylist's reviewer said "...be sure to remember Nicôle Lecky. She’s a star slash genius."[15] The Times' reviewer said "The music is terrific, but, if anything, this show could easily use another song. The plot, however, never surprises us even for a moment. ... This is a shame because Sasha has got such sass and spark. You won’t find her at Wetherspoons; you really can’t help but like her."[16]

The BBC decided to adapt Superhoe as a TV-series, and the six part musical drama Mood premiered in 2022 on BBC Three. Lecky played the main character Sasha Clayton, was a series executive producer and writer, and was also involved in creating the music. The characters are those she performed in the play.[6][7][17] As part of her script-writing, she interviewed women involved in sex work online.[7][18] As of 2024, Mood has a 100% score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on five reviews.[19] Shortly after the premiere of Mood, Lecky was signed by the United Talent Agency (UTA).[20]

She has written a second drama for the BBC, which as of 2023 is untitled.[21][22] She plays Julia Blenkinsopp in the 2024 comedy drama Sweetpea.[23][24]

Recognition

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Lecky was nominated for a Best Writer Stage Debut Award in 2019 for Superhoe.[25] She won the Women in Film and TV Awards' The Netflix New Talent Award in 2022.[26]

Mood won two BAFTA awards, Best Mini-Series and Best Original Music: Fiction. Lecky was also nominated in a third category, Best Emerging Talent: Fiction. Accepting the mini-series award, she said "For me to be here, a working class, mixed, Black woman stood here I'm just really proud of that and I hope it really does inspire the next generation of storytellers."[27][9] For Mood, she also received a Royal Television Society Craft & Design Award, Music - Original Score, and was nominated for a Royal Television Society Programme Breakthrough Award.[28][29]

Personal life

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As of 2022, she lives in London.[3]

Books

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  • Lecky, Nicôle (2019). Superhoe. Nick Hern Books. ISBN 978-1-84842-838-6.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hitchings, Henry (5 February 2019). "Superhoe review — Nicôle Lecky is a revelation". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Nicole Lecky". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b Bromley, Joe (31 March 2022). "My London: Nicôle Lecky". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Cavendish, Dominic (6 February 2019). "Superhoe, Royal Court Upstairs, review: a vivid and touching portrait of millennial angst". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  5. ^ Vujić, Katja (8 November 2022). "Nicôle Lecky Has the Range". The Cut. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Ibekwe, Desiree (4 November 2022). "Making a Genre-Bending Show About Social Media and Sex Work". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Khan, Coco (18 February 2022). "'Commissioners: hire more people with different experiences!' Meet Nicôle Lecky, TV's newest superstar". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  8. ^ Power, Ed (1 March 2022). "Nicôle Lecky and Kwame Kwei-Armah Jnr on Mood: 'Black musicians give so much to this country'". i. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b Blair, Olivia (15 May 2023). "ELLE Exclusive: Nicôle Lecky Discusses Her BAFTA Win". Elle. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  10. ^ a b Kellaway, Kate (19 January 2020). "'She's the real deal': top TV writers on mentoring the stars of the future". The Observer. Retrieved 7 February 2024 – via The Guardian.
  11. ^ Andersen, Robin (2023). Investigating Death in Paradise: Finding New Meaning in the BBC Mystery Series. McFarland. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-4766-4943-6.
  12. ^ "Superhoe". Royal Court Theatre. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  13. ^ a b Wyver, Kate (5 February 2019). "Superhoe review – frank and fragile account of sex work". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  14. ^ a b Harrison, Daniella (5 February 2019). "Review: Superhoe (Royal Court)". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  15. ^ Hilton, Phil (2019). "Superhoe review: Nicôle Lecky's extraordinary one-woman show is a work of genius". Stylist. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  16. ^ Treneman, Ann (6 February 2019). "Review: Superhoe at the Royal Court Jerwood Upstairs, SW1". The Times. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  17. ^ Berman, Judy (4 November 2022). "BBC America's Exhilarating 'Mood' Marks the Arrival of a Multitalented Artist". TIME. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  18. ^ Swain, Marianka (1 March 2022). "Mood, review: Nicôle Lecky's supercharged millennial polemic is gripping and grimy". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Mood Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  20. ^ Ravindran, Manori (2 March 2022). "UTA Signs Nicôle Lecky, Creator and Star of BBC Musical Drama 'Mood' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  21. ^ "BAFTA-award winning writer Nicôle Lecky dives into the world of teenage girls and their mothers in new BBC mystery thriller". BBC. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  22. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (25 August 2023). "'Happy Valley' Creator Sally Wainwright, Jenna Coleman, Nicôle Lecky, Sacha Dhawan Series Set at BBC". Variety. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  23. ^ Beecham, Amy (2023). "Exclusive: Sweetpea is the deviously twisted thriller telling a gritty coming-of-'rage' story". Stylist. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  24. ^ Pearce, Tilly (15 October 2024). "Sweetpea ending explained: What happened to Rhiannon? | Radio Times". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  25. ^ Wood, Alex (15 September 2019). "The Stage Debut Awards 2019 winners announced". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  26. ^ Ravindran, Manori; Yossman, K. J. (2 December 2022). "'Masked Singer's' Davina McCall, 'We Are Lady Parts' Creator Nida Manzoor, Sue Barker Among U.K. Women in Film and TV Award Winners". Variety. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  27. ^ "BAFTA Television 2023: The Winners & Nominations". BAFTA. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  28. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (7 March 2023). "Kate Winslet, Kit Connor, Billie Piper in the Mix at Royal Television Society Programme Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  29. ^ "RTS Craft & Design Awards 2022". Royal Television Society. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
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