View source for Dennis Kelly

{{short description|British film, television, and theater writer}}
{{otherpeople}}
{{BLP sources|date=July 2020}}

{{Use British English|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = Dennis Kelly
| image =
| imagesize = 
| caption = 
| birth_date = 
| birth_place = [[Chipping Barnet|Barnet]], London, England
| occupation = Playwright, television writer, television producer, screenwriter, film producer
| education = [[Finchley Catholic High School]]
| alma_mater =  [[Goldsmiths, University of London|Goldsmiths College, University of London]]
| notableworks = ''[[Debris (play)|Debris]]'' (2003)<br />''[[Osama the Hero]]'' (2005) <br />''[[Love and Money (play)|Love and Money]]'' (2006)<br />''DNA'' (2008)<br />''[[Orphans (Dennis Kelly play)|Orphans]]'' (2009)<br />''[[Matilda the Musical]]'' (2010) <br />''[[Utopia (UK TV series)|Utopia]]'' (2013)}}

'''Dennis Kelly''' is a British writer and producer. He has worked for theatre, television, and film.

His play ''DNA'', published in 2007 and first performed in 2008, became a core set-text for [[GCSE]] in 2010<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160817033617/http://www.casarotto.co.uk:80/client/dennis-kelly-11505 Archived webpage from 2016 of Dennis Kelly's page on his agent's website]</ref> and has been studied by approximately 400,000 students each year.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kelly |first=Dennis |date= 25 November 2013|title=Dennis Kelly: Plays Two: Our Teacher's a Troll; Orphans; Taking Care of Baby; DNA; The Gods Weep |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fTM2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT7 |location=London |publisher=Oberon Books Ltd |pages= |isbn= 9781783195114|contributor-first=Aleks |contributor-last=Sierz |contribution=Introduction}}</ref> He wrote the book for ''[[Matilda the Musical]]'', which featured music and lyrics from musician and comedian [[Tim Minchin]]. The musical went on to win multiple awards,<ref>[http://uk.matildathemusical.com/about/the-story/#awards Awards section on the Matilda The Musical website]</ref> with Kelly receiving a [[Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical]].<ref name=Tony>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Tony award winners 2013 – the full list |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/jun/10/tony-awards-2013-winners-full-list |access-date=17 March 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=10 June 2013}}</ref> A [[Matilda (2022 film)|film adaptation]] of the musical with screenplay by Kelly was released in December 2022.

For television, he is known for co-creating and co-writing the [[BBC Three]] sitcom ''[[Pulling (TV series)|Pulling]]'', the [[Channel 4]] conspiracy thriller ''[[Utopia (UK TV series)|Utopia]]'', and the [[HBO]] and [[Sky Atlantic]] thriller ''[[The Third Day (TV series)|The Third Day]]''. Kelly also wrote the screenplay for the 2014 film ''[[Black Sea (film)|Black Sea]]''.<ref name=BlackSea>{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Stephen |title=Director Kevin Macdonald and writer Dennis Kelly on going back to basics for gripping submarine thriller Black Sea |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/director-kevin-macdonald-and-writer-dennis-kelly-going-back-basics-gripping-submarine-thriller-black-sea-9875591.html |access-date=12 March 2021 |work=The Independent |date=22 November 2014}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Kelly grew up on a council estate in [[Chipping Barnet|Barnet]], North London.<ref name=Shakespeare>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Dennis Kelly: I can't imagine a more violent writer than Shakespeare |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/dennis-kelly-i-can-t-imagine-a-more-violent-writer-than-shakespeare-6736124.html |access-date=11 March 2021 |work=Evening Standard |date=10 April 2012}}</ref> A child of an Irish family, he was one of five children and was raised as a [[Catholic]].<ref name=Monsters>{{cite news |last1=Sierz |first1=Aleks |title=In pursuit of monsters |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3645365/In-pursuit-of-monsters.html |access-date=11 March 2021 |work=The Telegraph |date=27 July 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112064406/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3645365/In-pursuit-of-monsters.html |archive-date=12 November 2012}}</ref> He attended [[Finchley Catholic High School]].<ref>[https://www.finchleycatholic.org.uk/page/?title=Alumni&pid=32 Alumni page on the Finchley Catholic High School website]</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Caven |first1=James |title=Finchley school appeals for photographs and memories as preparations get under way for 90th anniversary |url=https://www.times-series.co.uk/news/14159765.finchley-school-appeals-for-photographs-and-memories-as-preparations-get-under-way-for-90th-anniversary/ |access-date=11 March 2021 |work=Barnet Borough Times |date=21 December 2015}}</ref> Leaving school at 16 years of age, Kelly went to work in a market and then at [[Sainsbury's]].<ref name=Drinking>{{cite news |last1=Costa |first1=Maddy |title=Dennis Kelly: 'I thought that drinking was all I had to offer' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/sep/10/dennis-kelly-gorge-mastromas-interview |access-date=11 March 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=10 September 2013}}</ref>

While working in supermarkets, he discovered theatre when he joined a local youth group, the Barnet Drama Centre.<ref name=Monsters/>

Kelly says that he struggled with alcoholism during much of his 20s.<ref name=Drinking/> He attended [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] and has been sober since 2001.<ref name=Writerly>[https://writerlyblogblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/17/dennis-kelly-20-hot-100-alive/ DENNIS KELLY: 20% HOT, 100% ALIVE on the Writerly blog]</ref>

At the age of 30, he graduated from [[Goldsmiths, University of London|Goldsmiths College, University of London]] with First Class Honours in Drama and Theatre Arts.

In September 2011, Kelly married Neapolitan actress Monica Nappo. They had met five years earlier when Nappo was appearing in an Italian premiere of one of Kelly's plays.<ref name=Shakespeare/> They separated in 2016 and divorced in 2017. In May 2022, he married Producer Katie Swinden. The couple have one daughter.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harvey |first1=Chris |title=Matilda: the Musical writer Dennis Kelly: 'I don't believe in cancelilng stuff - we should let people speak' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/matilda-musical-writer-dennis-kelly-cancel-culture-tortured/ |access-date=6 February 2025 |publisher=The Telegraph |date=4 September 2020}}</ref>

At one point Kelly shared his home in [[Deptford]] with Vladimir Shcherban from the [[Belarus Free Theatre]] company when Shcherban was homeless. Shcherban had fled from [[Belarus]] to London, with other members of the theatre company, to escape political censorship and persecution in the aftermath of the [[2010 Belarusian presidential election]] when oppositional candidates had been arrested.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shcherban |first1=Vladimir |title=Too much British theatre is defined by finance and funding |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2014/sep/20/british-theatre-finance-funding-grants |access-date=11 March 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=20 September 2014}}</ref>

==Career==

Kelly has credited [[Sharon Horgan]] for making him become a writer. They had both initially met in the early 1990s at [[Stockwell Playhouse|LOST youth theatre]] where they performed in a production of [[Anton Chekov]]'s ''[[The Seagull]]''. They again met each other some years later while both drunk in a Camden pub. In the pub Kelly explained to Horgan that he had written a play.<ref>{{Cite episode| title= Sharon Horgan talks to Dennis Kelly| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b05mtcjp | access-date= 24 March 2021 | series= Chain Reaction | first= Sharon | last= Horgan | network= BBC | station= BBC Radio 4 | date= March 2015 | series-no=10}}</ref> The next day Horgan phoned Kelly up and told him that they should both put the play on. Kelly has said that "I honestly think, had I not bumped into her, I wouldn’t have become a writer, because I don’t think I’d have had the drive. Sharon always had a lot of drive and was quite fearless."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Saner |first1=Emine |title=Sharon Horgan's unstoppable rise as master of honest comedy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/oct/04/sharon-horgan-motherland-unstoppable-rise-as-the-master-of-honest-comedy |access-date=18 March 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=4 October 2019}}</ref> The play that Kelly wrote was called ''Brendan's Visit'', which was performed at the [[Etcetera Theatre]] and [[Canal Cafe Theatre]], with Horgan playing one of the characters.<ref>[https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/cv/9059/acting Sharon Horgan's Acting CV]</ref> Kelly has disowned the play saying that "I’ve killed everyone who ever saw it, let’s never talk about that ever again. […] I don’t think I can remember what it was about but I’m definitely not going to say what it was about! It was just a sitcom with swearing which is like a lot people’s first plays."<ref name=Writerly/>

Kelly's first professionally produced play ''[[Debris (play)|Debris]]'' was written when he was 30 years old.<ref name=Identity>{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Dennis |title=Identity crisis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2008/feb/28/theatre.television |access-date=11 March 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=28 February 2008}}</ref> He says he wrote it imagining he'd give himself a part. Staged at [[Theatre503]] in 2003, it transferred the next year to [[Battersea Arts Centre]]. It was well received and he went on to write the controversially titled ''[[Osama the Hero]]'' which was produced by [[Hampstead Theatre]], beginning a long-running relationship with the theatre.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

He wrote ''[[After the End (play)|After the End]]'' in 2005. It was produced by [[Paines Plough]] in his first out of London production at the [[Traverse Theatre|Traverse]], though it later came to the [[Bush Theatre]] before going on a tour of the UK and internationally in 2006.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

''[[Love and Money (play)|Love and Money]]'' was staged at the [[Royal Exchange, Manchester]] and then at the [[Young Vic]] in 2006. That same year his sitcom ''[[Pulling (TV series)|Pulling]]'',<ref>{{citation
  |title = Pulling
  | work=BBC
  | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/tv/pulling/index.shtml  
  }}</ref> co-written and starring [[Sharon Horgan]], aired on [[BBC Three]]. It received good ratings for the channel and was well reviewed, being nominated for a [[BAFTA TV Award]] for Best Situation Comedy in 2007.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

Returning to theatre and the Hampstead Theatre in 2007, his fake [[verbatim theatre|verbatim play]] ''[[Taking Care of Baby]]'' was another success for both writer and theatre.{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}

For the 2007 [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] Connections Festival, he wrote ''DeoxyriboNucleic Acid'' (better known by the title ''DNA'') which after the connections received a professional production alongside ''The Miracle'' by [[Lin Coghlan]] and ''Baby Girl'' by [[Roy Williams (playwright)|Roy Williams]] at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] in the Cottesloe.<ref>{{citation
 |title       = DNA
 |work        = National Theatre
 |url         = http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/31801/productions/baby-girl-dna-the-miracle.html
 |year        = 2008
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090608033609/http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/31801/productions/baby-girl-dna-the-miracle.html
 |archive-date = 8 June 2009}}</ref>
The play is now used widely in schools and is on several curriculums for [[GCSE]] drama.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

The second series of ''[[Pulling (TV series)|Pulling]]'' ran in 2008 and won a [[British Comedy Award]]. However, the show was not renewed for a third series, although in 2009 an hour-long special closed the series. That same year he also wrote an episode for Series 8 of ''[[Spooks (TV series)|Spooks]]''.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

In 2009, his play ''[[Orphans (Dennis Kelly play)|Orphans]]'' was staged at the [[Birmingham Repertory Theatre]] before transferring to the [[Traverse Theatre]] in Edinburgh as part of the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]].{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

===2010s===
Kelly was one of the ten writers who took part in writing [[monologue]]s based on a children's account for a one-off event at the [[Old Vic Theatre]] directed by [[Danny Boyle]] in London in support of [[Dramatic Need]] in 2010. His three monologues were performed by [[Ben Kingsley]], [[Jenny Jules]] and [[Charlie Cox]].<ref>{{citation
 |title       = Dramatic Need
 |work        = Children's Monologues
 |url         = http://www.dramaticneed.org/monologues.php
 |date        = November 2010
 |url-status     = usurped
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120831193303/http://www.dramaticneed.org/monologues.php
 |archive-date = 31 August 2012}}</ref>

In 2010, Kelly returned to the Hampstead Theatre once more for his response to Shakespeare's ''[[King Lear]]'', ''The Gods Weep'' starring [[Jeremy Irons]], with mixed reviews.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} His script adapted from [[Roald Dahl]]'s book for [[Tim Minchin]]'s production of the musical ''[[Matilda the Musical|Matilda]]''<ref name=adfest/> proved highly successful, with the musical winning 99 awards between its opening in December 2010<ref>{{cite web | title=The Matilda the Musical story | website=Tim Minchin | date=6 November 2010 | url=https://www.timminchin.com/matilda/ | access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref> and 2021, and scheduled to continue to run in the [[West End of London]] until at least December 2022.<ref>{{cite web | title=Matilda The Musical  | website=Theatre News and Reviews | date=20 September 2021 | url=https://www.londonboxoffice.co.uk/news/post/matilda-new-photo-video | access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref>

He wrote an adaptation of ''[[Pinocchio (2017 play)|Pinocchio]]'' featuring the songs and score from the [[Pinocchio (1940 film)|Walt Disney film]] for the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]], opening in December 2017.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

Kelly's one-woman play ''[[Girls & Boys (play)|Girls & Boys]]'' had its world premiere at the [[Royal Court Theatre]] in February 2018, directed by [[Lyndsey Turner]] and starring [[Carey Mulligan]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Gardner | first=Lyn | title=Dennis Kelly on Girls and Boys: 'I was shocked Carey Mulligan did it' | website=[[The Guardian]] | date=22 February 2018 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/feb/22/dennis-kelly-interview-girls-and-boys-carey-mulligan-royal-court | access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Billington | first=Michael | title=Girls and Boys review – gut-wrenching Carey Mulligan charts a marriage's end | website=[[The Guardian]] | date=15 February 2018 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/feb/15/girls-and-boys-review-carey-mulligan | access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref> This production also had a run at the [[off-Broadway]] New York theatre, [[Minetta Lane Theatre]] in June 2018, to good reviews.<ref>{{cite web | title=Review: Carey Mulligan Tells a Harrowing Tale of 'Girls & Boys' |first=Ben |last=Brantley| website=[[The New York Times]] | date=28 June 2018 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/theater/girls-and-boys-review-carey-mulligan.html | access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Scheck | first=Frank  | title='Girls & Boys': Theater Review | website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=27 June 2018 | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/girls-boys-theater-review-1123412/ | access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | first=Chloe |last=Schama | title=Theater Can Be Dishearteningly Inaccessible. Carey Mulligan's Devastating New Play Is Changing That. | website=[[Vogue magazine]] | date=27 June 2018 | url=https://www.vogue.com/article/girls-and-boys-carey-mulligan | access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref> In March 2022, [[State Theatre Company South Australia]] put on a performance of the play at the [[Odeon Theatre, Norwood]] in [[Adelaide]] as part of the [[Adelaide Festival]]. The performance was directed by the artistic director of STCSA, [[Mitchell Butel]], and starred [[Justine Clarke]].<ref name=adfest>{{cite web  | title=Girls & Boys  | website=[[Adelaide Festival]] | url=https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/girls-boys/ | access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Girls & Boys | website=[[State Theatre Company South Australia]]| url=https://statetheatrecompany.com.au/shows/girls-and-boys/ | access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref> This production received overwhelmingly positive reviews, receiving five stars from reviewers<ref>{{cite web | title=Girls & Boys: When Families Fall Apart ~ Adelaide Festival 2022 Review  | website=[[The Clothesline]] - Digital Arts Magazine|first=Cathy| last=Tune | date=2 March 2022 | url=https://theclothesline.com.au/girls-boys-stcofsa-adelaide-festival-2022-review/ | access-date=3 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Girls & Boys (State Theatre Company South Australia, Adelaide Festival) ★★★★★ | website=[[Limelight (magazine)|Limelight]]| first=Gordon |last= Forester  | date=2 March 2022 | url=https://limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/girls-boys-state-theatre-company-south-australia-adelaide-festival/ | access-date=3 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Adelaide Festival review: Girls & Boys | website=[[InDaily]]| first= Steve |last=Evans| date=1 March 2022 | url=https://indaily.com.au/inreview/adelaide-festival/2022/03/02/adelaide-festival-review-girls-boys/ | access-date=3 March 2022}}</ref> and earning a [[standing ovation]] at least one performance.<ref>{{cite web | title=Girls and Boys |date= March 2022| website=Stage Whispers|first=Lisa |last=Lanzi | url=https://www.stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/girls-and-boys | access-date=3 March 2022}}</ref> In the Netherlands, the play was staged by Theater Oostpool, directed by [[Daria Bukvić]] and starring [[Hadewych Minis]], who won the prestigious Theo d'Or prize for her solo performance.<ref>{{cite web | title=Winnaars VSCD Toneelprijzen 2021 & 2022 bekend |website=VSCD.nl |date=11 September 2022 | url=https://vscd.nl/nieuws/winnaars-vscd-toneelprijzen-2021-2022-bekend |access-date=9 February 2023 |language=nl}}</ref>

===International success and other work===
His work has been produced in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, Australia, Japan, the United States, France, Belgium, Denmark, Romania and Canada.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

Other work includes translations of Péter Kárpáti's ''Fourth Gate'' ([[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre Studio]]) and ''The Colony'', a radio play which won Best European Radio Drama at the [[Prix Europa]], 2004.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

==Works==

===Film===
* ''[[Matilda the Musical (film)|Matilda the Musical]]'' (2022) - Writer (based on the 2010 stage musical)
* ''[[Black Sea (film)|Black Sea]]'' (2014) - Writer

===Theatre===
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
'''''Original works'''''
*''Girls & Boys'' (2018): premiered at the [[Royal Court Theatre]] 
*''[[The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas]]'' (2013): premiered at the [[Royal Court Theatre]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/the-ritual-slaughter-of-gorge-mastromas|title=The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas at The Royal Court Theatre|publisher=The Royal Court Theatre|access-date=10 September 2013}}</ref>
*''Things That Make No Sense'' (2011): performed as part of ''Theatre Uncut: A Response to the Countrywide Spending Cuts'', premiered at [[Southwark Playhouse]]
*''True Love'', ''Sums'' and ''Christmas'' (2010): monologues performed as part of ''[[The Children's Monologues]]'' one-off event at the [[Old Vic Theatre]] 
*''The Gods Weep'' (2010): premiered at the [[Hampstead Theatre]]
*''[[Orphans (Dennis Kelly play)|Orphans]]'' (2009): premiered at the [[Traverse Theatre]] transferred to the [[Soho Theatre]]
*''Our Teacher's a Troll'' (2009): premiered at Mull Theatre by the [[National Theatre of Scotland]].
*''D.N.A.'' (2008): part of [[National Theatre Connections]]
*''Pupation'' (2007): written as a 10-minute play and completed by Natasha Bell, Georgia Lester, Indiana Seresin and Joey Sims, premiered at [[Hampstead Theatre]] (Unpublished)
*''Murder at Gobbler's Wood'' (2007): written with [[Enda Walsh]] and [[Robin French]], premiered at the [[Latitude Festival]] at [[Henham Park]] (Unpublished)
*''[[Taking Care of Baby]]'' (2007): premiered at the [[Birmingham Rep|Birmingham Repertory Theatre]]
*''[[Love and Money (play)|Love and Money]]'' (2006): premiered at the [[Royal Exchange Theatre]]
*''[[After the End (play)|After the End]]'' (2005): premiered at the [[Bush Theatre]]
*''[[Osama the Hero]]'' (2005): premiered at the Hampstead Theatre
*''Blackout'' (2004): premiered at the [[Soho Theatre]] (Unpublished)
*''[[Debris (play)|Debris]]'' (2003): premiered at [[Theatre503]]
*''Brendan's Visit'' (1997) premiered at the [[Etcetera Theatre]] (Unpublished)

{{Col-2}}
'''''Adaptations and translations'''''
*''[[Pinocchio (2017 musical)|Pinocchio]]'' (2017)'':'' music from the [[Pinocchio (1940 film)|1940 Disney film]], premiered at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]]. 
*''[[From Morning to Midnight]]'' (2013): a translation, original play by [[Georg Kaiser]], premiered at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]]
*''[[Matilda the Musical]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsK/kelly-dennis.html|title=doollee.com - the playwrights database of modern plays|website=www.doollee.com|access-date=9 August 2009|archive-date=6 July 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060706155542/http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsK/kelly-dennis.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> (2010): music by [[Tim Minchin]], premiered at the [[The Courtyard Theatre|Courtyard Theatre]]
*''[[The Prince of Homburg (play)|The Prince of Homburg]]'' (2010): a translation, original by [[Heinrich von Kleist]], premiered at the [[Donmar Warehouse]]
*''[[Rose Bernd]]'' (2005): a translation, original play by [[Gerhart Hauptmann]], premiered at the [[Arcola Theatre]]
*''The Fourth Gate'' (2004): a translation, original play by Péter Kárpáti, premiered at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]]
{{Col-end}}

===Radio===
*''12 Shares'' (2005)
*''The Colony'' (2004)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/the-colony|title=BBC - The Wire - The Colony - Writers Room|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

===Television===
*''[[Spooks (TV series)|Spooks]]'' BBC Series 8
*''[[Pulling (TV series)|Pulling]]'' for BBC Three co written with [[Sharon Horgan]]
*''[[Utopia (UK TV series)|Utopia]]'' for Channel 4
*''The Circuit'' for Channel 4 co written with [[Sharon Horgan]]
*''[[The Third Day (TV series)|The Third Day]]'' for HBO and Sky One
*''[[Together (2021 television film)|Together]]'' for BBC Two

===Abandoned, cancelled or unproduced===

====Plays====

* '''''White Pig''''': a play written around 2002 which Kelly says was about a passive boy with food-obsessed parents who had non-real characters wandering into his life.<ref name=Writerly/> Kelly has said that, "I used to have lots of these really odd meetings with theatres where I’d go in and they’d tell me how much they loved the play and then tell me they weren’t going to do it".<ref>[http://www.theatrevoice.com/audio/national-theatre-connections-playwrights-speak-out/ Audio and transcript of part one of 'Nation Theatre Connections Playwrights Roundtable' on the TheatreVOICE website]</ref> The play was eventually performed publicly at [[Jacksons Lane]] by students of [[Mountview_Academy_of_Theatre_Arts|Mountview]] on 30 September 2016.<ref>[https://issuu.com/mountview/docs/autumn-winter-season-16-brochure 'Autumn/Winter Season 16' Mountview brochure]</ref> However, no professional production has been mounted and the script remains unpublished.
* '''''Fifty-Three Million Miles''''': a play Kelly says was written early in his career, set variously on a [[Public housing in the United Kingdom#Council housing estates|council estate]], a [[NASA]] interview room, and a living pod on Mars.<ref name=Identity/><ref name=Writerly/> The play remaineds unproduced and the script unpublished.

====Television====

* '''''Pulling'', series 3''': the television sitcom ''[[Pulling (TV series)|Pulling]]'', which Kelly co-wrote with [[Sharon Horgan]], was unexpectedly not renewed for a third series by [[BBC Three]] despite Kelly and Horgan both wanting to write another series. Instead, the channel opted for a one-hour special to tie up loose ends of the narrative.<ref name=Popular>{{cite news |last1=Armstrong |first1=Stephen |title=Popular but pulled |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/apr/27/favourite-tv-shows-axed |access-date=11 March 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=27 April 2009}}</ref> The sitcom had received good ratings, critical success and a nomination for a [[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA award]].<ref name=Axes>{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Danny |last2=Holmwood |first2=Leigh |title=BBC3 axes Pulling after two series |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/oct/02/bbc.television1 |access-date=11 March 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=2 October 2008}}</ref><ref name=moral>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/may/16/pulling-sharon-horgan-dennis-kelly |location=London |work=The Guardian  | first=Amy | last=Raphael | title=There's no moral centre to Pulling because we don't have one! | date=16 May 2009}}</ref> BBC Three controller [[Danny Cohen (television executive)|Danny Cohen]] denied claims the channel was chasing a younger audience, saying the series was cancelled to make room for new shows.<ref name=Axes/><ref name=Popular/>
* '''''Utopia'', series 3 and 4''': in October 2014, [[Channel 4]] announced that Kelly's conspiracy thriller ''[[Utopia (British TV series)|Utopia]]'' had been cancelled after its second series.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/C4Utopia/status/520240358018785280 |title=C4 Utopia |work=Twitter |date=9 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/utopia/32432/exclusive-c4-s-utopia-won-t-return-for-series-3|title=Exclusive: C4's Utopia won't return for series 3|work=Den of Geek|access-date=2018-01-10|language=en}}</ref> Kelly said, "The people who liked it really liked it, but the ratings were just bad. I don’t know why. I think going out in the summer didn’t help. It’s gutting not being able to finish the story. We did want to do a special. We said to Channel 4, ‘I could finish it off with a two-hour special,’ but they weren’t going for it. I understand, though. It was a risky show to do."<ref name=BlackSea/> The show's cancellation prompted ''[[The Independent]]'' in 2015 to publish a list of "The best prematurely cancelled TV shows", with ''Utopia'' placed first.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rentoul |first1=John |title=The best prematurely cancelled TV shows from Deadwood to Ripper Street |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/top-ten-prematurely-cancelled-tv-shows-9983837.html |access-date=16 March 2021 |work=The Independent |date=18 January 2015}}</ref> In 2017 ''The Guardian'' included ''Utopia'' in a list of "the best shows that had the plug pulled on them".<ref>{{cite web |title=My So-Called Life to Utopia: are these the most foolish TV cancellations ever? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jun/22/my-so-called-life-utopia-are-these-the-most-foolish-tv-cancellations-ever |website=The Guardian |date=22 June 2017 |access-date=16 March 2021}}</ref> Publications such as ''[[NME]]'' and the ''[[i (British newspaper)|i newspaper]]'' website felt that [[Netflix]] should fund a continuation of ''Utopia'' for its streaming service.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bartleet |first1=Larry |title=10 TV shows cancelled before their time that Netflix should resurrect |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/10-tv-shows-cancelled-before-their-time-that-netflix-should-resurrect-13165 |website=NME |date=16 June 2015 |access-date=16 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Butler |first1=Mark |title=Why Utopia deserves a Netflix revival |url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/utopia-netflix-102756 |website=inews |date=13 November 2017 |access-date=16 March 2021}}</ref> In a 2020 interview about the [[Utopia (2020 TV series)|US remake of ''Utopia'']], Kelly said there would be difficulties in making another series but he had not ruled out the possibility.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mellor |first1=Louisa |title=UK Utopia Creator Dennis Kelly: 'There's Always a Possibility of Going Back' |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/uk-utopia-creator-dennis-kelly-theres-always-a-possibility-of-going-back/ |website=Den of Geek |date=17 September 2020 |access-date=12 March 2021}}</ref>
*'''''Consider Phlebas'' adaptation''': In February 2018, [[Amazon Studios]] announced plans to adapt [[Iain Banks]]' ''[[Consider Phlebas]]'' for television, with Kelly as writer.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->  |title=Amazon Studios to Adapt Consider Phlebas, First Novel of the Culture Series, for Television |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180221005519/en/ |website=Business Wire |date=21 February 2018}}</ref> However, development was discontinued in 2020. Kelly said Banks' estate had not yet seen anything he had written for the project but he believed they did not feel ready to proceed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vincent |first1=James |title=Amazon cancels TV adaptation of Iain M. Banks' sci-fi Culture series |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/26/21402585/amazon-cancels-tv-adaptation-culture-series-iain-m-banks-consider-phlebas |website=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media |access-date=21 May 2024 |date=August 26, 2020}}</ref>

====Film====

* '''''World War Z'' sequel''': in 2015 Kelly was reported to have been hired to rewrite a sequel to ''[[World War Z]]''. The film was being developed by [[Paramount Pictures]] with [[Brad Pitt]] to star, and a release slated for June 2017.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Siegel |first1=Tatiana |last2=Kit |first2=Borys |title='World War Z' Sequel Moves Forward After 'Jurassic World 2' Drama (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/world-war-z-sequel-moves-forward-jurassic-world-2-drama-835739 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=24 March 2021 |date=30 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=McNary |first1=Dave |title=Brad Pitt's 'World War Z' Sequel Draws Dennis Kelly for New Draft |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/brad-pitt-world-war-z-sequel-dennis-kelly-to-write-1201630832/ |website=Variety |access-date=24 March 2021 |date=30 October 2015}}</ref> In 2019, Paramount reportedly cancelled the sequel due to budgetary issues, the death of executive [[Brad Grey]] who was a key advocate for the film, and director [[David Fincher]]'s involvement with his ''[[Mindhunter (TV series)|Mindhunter]]'' series.<ref>{{cite web |last=Perez |first=Rodrigo |title=Paramount Pulls The Plug On David Fincher's 'World War Z' Sequel |url=https://theplaylist.net/paramount-david-fincher-world-war-z-exclusive-20190206/ |publisher=[[IndieWire|The Playlist]] |date=February 6, 2019 |access-date=February 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190208205703/https://theplaylist.net/paramount-david-fincher-world-war-z-exclusive-20190206/ |archive-date=February 8, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' reported the cancellation was mainly due to a Chinese government ban on zombie films.<ref>{{cite news |last= Siegel |first= Tatiana |title=Zombie Films at Cannes: What's Up With All the Undead? |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/zombie-films-at-cannes-whats-up-all-undead-1211968 |access-date=22 May 2019 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=18 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520030033/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/zombie-films-at-cannes-whats-up-all-undead-1211968 |archive-date=May 20, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''''The Sandkings''''': in 2021 Kelly was developing a screenplay with [[Gore Verbinski]] based on a [[George R. R. Martin]] short story called "[[Sandkings (novelette)|Sandkings]]". The project was in the works at [[Netflix]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Exclusive: Gore Verbinski to Direct Adaptation of George R.R. Martin's 'Sandkings' for Netflix|url=https://collider.com/sandkings-movie-netflix-gore-verbinski-george-rr-martin/|last=Sneider|first=Jeff|work=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|date=March 2, 2021|access-date=March 8, 2021}}</ref>

==Awards and honours==

'''Awards'''
{| class="wikitable" width="95%"
|-
! width="5%"| Year
! width="20%"| Award Ceremony
! width="35%"| Category
! width="20%"| Nominee
! width="10%"| Result
! width="5%"| Ref
|-
|2023
| [[76th British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]] || [[BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film|Outstanding British Film]] || ''[[Matilda the Musical (film)]]'' || {{nom}} || <ref>[https://www.bafta.org/film/awards/2023-nominations-winners#OUTSTANDING%20BRITISH%20FILM 2023 EE BAFTA Film Awards: The Winners Webpage on the BAFTAs website]</ref>
|-
|2022
| [[2022 British Academy Television Awards|British Academy Television Awards]] || [[British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama|Best Single Drama]] ||''[[Together (2021 TV film)|Together]]'' || {{won}} || <ref>[https://www.bafta.org/television/awards/tv-2022#single-drama---together BAFTA Television 2022: The Winners webpage on the BAFTAs website]</ref>
|-
|2015
| [[BAFTA TV Craft Awards]] || Writer – Drama || rowspan=5 |''[[Utopia (British TV series)|Utopia]]'' || {{nom}} || <ref>[http://awards.bafta.org/award/2015/tvcraft/writer-drama Television Craft | Writer - Drama in 2015 webpage on the BAFTAs website]</ref>
|-
| rowspan=4 |2014 || rowspan=2 | [[Royal Television Society Awards|RTS Programme Awards]] || Drama Series || {{nom}} || <ref>[https://rts.org.uk/award/rts-programme-awards-2014 RTS PROGRAMME AWARDS 2014 on the Royal Television Society website]</ref>
|-
|| Writer – Drama || {{nom}} ||
|-
| [[BAFTA TV Craft Awards]] || Writer – Drama || {{nom}} || <ref>[http://awards.bafta.org/award/2014/tvcraft/writer-drama Television Craft | Writer - Drama in 2014 webpage on the BAFTAs website]</ref>
|-
| [[International Emmy Awards]] || Best Drama Series || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite web|title=International Emmys: UK's 'Utopia' Wins Best Drama; Belgium's 'What If' Takes Comedy (FULL LIST)|url=https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/international-emmy-awards-fete-global-tvs-finest-in-new-york-1201363880/|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=24 November 2014 |access-date=November 30, 2014}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=5 |2013 || [[Tony Award]]s || Best Book of A Musical || rowspan=11 |''[[Matilda the Musical]]'' || {{won}} || <ref name=Tony/>
|-
| rowspan=2 | [[Outer Critics Circle Awards]] || Outstanding Book of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) || {{won}} ||<ref>{{cite web | url=http://broadwayworld.com/article/2012-13-Outer-Critics-Circle-Award-Winners-Announced-PIPPIN-Tops-List-with-7-Followed-by-KINKY-BOOTS-20130513 | title=2012-13 Outer Critics Circle Award Winners Announced - PIPPIN Tops List with 7, Followed by KINKY BOOTS| publisher=broadwayworld.com | date=13 May 2013 | access-date=3 May 2013}}</ref>
|-
|| Outstanding New Broadway Musical || {{nom}} ||
|-
| rowspan=2 | [[Drama Desk Awards]] || [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical|Outstanding Musical]] || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/177397-Nominations-Announced-for-58th-Annual-Drama-Desk-Awards-Giant-and-Hands-on-a-Hardbody-Lead-the-Pack |title=Nominations Announced for 58th Annual Drama Desk Awards |work=Playbill |date=29 April 2013 |access-date=3 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501210904/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/177397-Nominations-Announced-for-58th-Annual-Drama-Desk-Awards-Giant-and-Hands-on-a-Hardbody-Lead-the-Pack |archive-date=1 May 2013 }}</ref>
|-
|| [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical|Outstanding Book of a Musical]] || {{won}} || 
|-
| rowspan=2 | 2012 || [[South Bank Sky Arts Awards]] || Theatre prize || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Matilda wins at South Bank awards |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17907008 |website=BBC News |access-date=18 March 2021 |date=1 May 2012}}</ref>
|-
| [[Laurence Olivier Award|Olivier Awards]] || Best Musical || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Olivier Award Winners Announced - Matilda Dominates! |url=https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatre-news/news/olivier-award-winners-announced-matilda-dominates |website=London Theatre |date=8 June 2016 |access-date=17 March 2021}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=4 | 2011 || [[Evening Standard Awards]] || The [[Ned Sherrin]] Award for Best Musical || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite news |last1=Jury |first1=Louise |last2=Foster |first2=Alistair |title=Sheridan Smith crowned queen of London stage at our Theatre Awards |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/sheridan-smith-crowned-queen-of-london-stage-at-our-theatre-awards-6370152.html |access-date=17 March 2021 |work=The Evening Standard |date=10 April 2012}}</ref>
|-
| [[Critics' Circle Theatre Award]] || Best Musical || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite web |url=http://criticscircle.org.uk/drama/?ID=170 |title=The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2011 |publisher=The Critics' Circle |date=25 January 2011 |access-date=19 January 2012}}</ref>
|-
| [[TMA Awards|TMA UK Theatre Awards]] || Best Musical || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tmauk.org/theatreawardsuk.aspx |title=THEATRE AWARDS UK 2011 |publisher=THEATRE AWARDS UK |access-date=19 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229213735/http://www.tmauk.org/theatreawardsuk.aspx |archive-date=29 December 2011}}</ref>
|-
| [[WhatsOnStage Awards]] || The [[See Tickets|SEE TICKETS]] Best New Musical Award || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Full List: 2012 Whatsonstage.com Award winners |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/full-list-2012-whatsonstagecom-award-winners_5341.html |website=WhatsOnStage |access-date=17 March 2021 |date=19 February 2012}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=5 | 2009 || [[The Scotsman]] || Fringe First Award || rowspan=2 |''[[Orphans (Dennis Kelly play)|Orphans]]'' || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite news |last1=Wiegand |first1=Chris |title=Traverse scores a hat-trick in Edinburgh's Fringe First awards |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/aug/14/traverse-edinburgh-fringe-first-awards |access-date=18 March 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=14 August 2009}}</ref>
|-
| [[The Herald (Glasgow)]] || Herald Angel Award || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Angels fly off with awards |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12762926.angels-fly-off-with-awards/ |access-date=18 March 2021 |work=The Herald |date=15 August 2009}}</ref>
|-
| [[British Comedy Award]] || Best Television Comedy Drama || ''[[Pulling (TV series)|Pulling]]'' || {{won}} || <ref>[https://www.britishcomedyawards.com/past-winners/2009.aspx 2009 Winners on the British Comedy Awards website]</ref>
|-
| [[Theater heute]] || Best Foreign Playwright || ''Taking Care of Baby'' || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[The South Bank Show Award]]s || Comedy Award || ''Pulling'' || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Pulling scoops South Bank Award |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2009/01/21/8148/pulling_rank |website=Chortle |access-date=18 March 2021 |date=21 January 2009}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=4 | 2007 || [[TMA Awards]] || Best New Play ||rowspan=2 | ''Taking Care of Baby'' || {{nom}} ||
|-
| [[John Whiting Award]] ||  || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[Laurence Olivier Awards]] || Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre || ''[[Love and Money (play)|Love and Money]]'' || {{nom}} ||
|-
| [[BAFTA TV Award]] || [[British Academy Television Award for Best Scripted Comedy|Best Situation Comedy]] || ''Pulling'' || {{nom}} || <ref>[https://awards.bafta.org/award/2007/television/situation-comedy 2007 Television Award for Situation Comedy on the BAFTAs website]</ref>
|-
| 2006 || [[Meyer-Whitworth Award]] ||  || ''[[Osama the Hero]]'' || {{won}} || <ref>[https://www.playwrightsstudio.co.uk/about/archive/projects/meyer-whitworth-award.aspx Meyer Whitworth Award winners on the Playwright's Studio Scotland website]</ref>
|-
| rowspan=2 | 2004 || Radio & Music Award || Scripting for Broadcast || rowspan=2 | ''The Colony'' || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[Prix Europa]] || Best European Radio Drama Of The Year || {{won}} || <ref>[https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a5f53c9e5dd5bbc01b296f1/t/5aa804ce9140b783c1dbe2a2/1520960723336/ARCHIVE2004.pdf PRIX EUROPA 2004 - AWARDS PDF]</ref>
|}

'''Honours'''

On 9 November 2015, [[Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts]] awarded both Kelly and ''Matilda'' co-collaborator Tim Minchin an Honorary Doctorate in letters, validated by the [[University of East Anglia]], for their work on ''Matilda the Musical''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex1nRJlJvoc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/Ex1nRJlJvoc |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Writer Dennis Kelly's Hilarious Graduation Advice|last=MountviewLDN|date=13 November 2015|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Snow |first1=Georgia |title=Matilda writers Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly awarded honorary degrees from Mountview |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2015/matilda-writers-tim-minchin-and-dennis-kelly-awarded-honorary-degrees-from-mountview/ |work=The Stage |date=11 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803045927/https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2015/matilda-writers-tim-minchin-and-dennis-kelly-awarded-honorary-degrees-from-mountview/ |archive-date=3 August 2017}}</ref>

In July 2017 Kelly received an 'Honorary Fellowship' from [[Goldsmiths, University of London]].<ref>[https://www.gold.ac.uk/news/goldsmiths-honorands-july/ Goldsmiths honours Hope Powell CBE, Dennis Kelly, Gabriel Prokofiev, and Dorothy Cross on the Goldsmiths website]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|2393111|Dennis Kelly}}
* [http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsK/kelly-dennis.html entry on Doollee]{{subscription required}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060706155542/http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsK/kelly-dennis.html |date=6 July 2006 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110930095739/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/article-23813317-dennis-kelly-i-cant-imagine-a-more-violent-writer-than-shakespeare.do "I can’t imagine a more violent writer than Shakespeare."] ''London Evening Standard'', 9 March 2010

{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Dennis Kelly
| list1 =
{{John Whiting Award}}
{{DramaDesk Book 2001–2025}}
{{TonyAward MusicalBook 2001–2025}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Dennis}}
[[Category:English dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:English television writers]]
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London]]
[[Category:People from Chipping Barnet]]
[[Category:British male screenwriters]]
[[Category:Writers from the London Borough of Barnet]]
[[Category:Drama Desk Award winners]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]
[[Category:British showrunners]]
[[Category:English male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:British male television writers]]
[[Category:International Emmy Award–winning screenwriters]]
[[Category:Television producers from London]]