Juliet Gilkes Romero

Juliet Gilkes Romero, previously credited as Juliet Gilkes is an English playwright and screenwriter, known for "politically charged" works that discuss British colonial history, Black British history, and slavery. Her accolades include the Writers' Guild Award for Theatre Play in 2009 and the Alfred Fagon Award in 2020. Romero was also known for her career in journalism, notably working as part of BBC World Service before entering the theatre industry. to a Barbadian father and a Trinidadian mother. She grew up in Trimley St Mary, Suffolk, and who often took her to the theatre.

Career

Journalism Romero joined the BBC in 1987 as a local radio news producer and reporter. She left the BBC in 2010 and continued to work as a freelance journalist, including for Sky News, before going full-time as a playwright. Romero has spoken openly about the lack of diversity in the field of journalism, as well as the challenges she faced as one of the few Black female journalists in the newsroom.

Scriptwriting While still working as a journalist, Romero decided to pursue screenwriting, having previously written recreationally. She wrote her first play during the course and has since established a career in playwriting.

Romero is known as a playwright for "politically charged" productions. Her first short play, Bilad Al-Sudan, was written in response to the genocidal conflict in Darfur in 2006 and was staged at the Tricycle Theatre (now Kiln Theatre) as part of the How Long Is Never collection of short plays curated by Nicolas Kent. Romero's first full length production, At the Gates of Gaza (2008), follows the story of the British West Indies regiment after World War I. In addition to writing plays, she has also written for radio and won the Writers' Guild Award for Theatre Play the following year. The production also toured across the UK, including performances at Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, New Wolsey Theatre, and Harrogate Theatre.

The Whip (2020) The Whip examined the abolition of slavery in Britain, particularly in the lead up to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 and the associated bailout of former slave owners - unknown to most members of the public until the publication of a (soon deleted) tweet from HM Revenue and Customs in 2018. The play was produced by Royal Shakespeare Company and premiered at the Swan Theatre in February 2020, though the run was unexpectedly cut short the following month due to the outbreak of COVID-19. It was re-released the following January and remained available until 16 March 2021.

The Whip won the Alfred Fagon Award in 2020. She is an associate lecturer of the MA Dramaturgy & Writing for Performance programme at Goldsmiths, her alma mater.

Personal life Romero resides in Sydenham, London. and HighTide, a theatre company in Suffolk, where she grew up.

Razing Cane Stephen Joseph Theatre Rehearsed reading; previously shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award in 2013 2020 The Whip The Swan Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company Television

Audio drama

Published play texts

Awards and nominations