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{{Short description|Welsh playwright and screenwriter}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox writer
|name = Abi Morgan
|honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}}
|image =
|caption =
|birth_name = Abigail Louise Morgan
|birth_date = {{birth year and age|1968}}
|birth_place = [[Cardiff]], [[Wales]]<ref name=WalesOnline/>
|occupation = Screenwriter
|nationality = British
|period = 1998–present
|genre = Drama
| notableworks = ''[[Sex Traffic]]'', ''[[Brick Lane (2007 film)|Brick Lane]]'', ''[[The Hour (drama2011 TV series)|The Hour]]'', ''[[The Iron Lady (film)|The Iron Lady]]'', ''[[Shame (2011 film)|Shame]]'', ''[[Suffragette (film)|Suffragette]]''
|spouse = Jacob Krichefski
|children = 2
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}}
 
'''AbiAbigail Louise Morgan''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE}} (born 1968) is a BritishWelsh playwright and screenwriter known for her works for television, such as ''[[Sex Traffic]]'' and ''[[The Hour (drama2011 TV series)|The Hour]]'', and the films ''[[Brick Lane (2007 film)|Brick Lane]]'', ''[[The Iron Lady (film)|The Iron Lady]]'', ''[[Shame (2011 film)|Shame]]'' and ''[[Suffragette (film)|Suffragette]]''.
 
==Early life and education ==
Abigail Louise Morgan was born in [[Cardiff]], Wales, in 1968.<ref name=WalesOnline"bmd">{{Cite web |url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=fstgeGHAIToS5zW5O6ewWw&scan=1|title=Index entry|access-date=25 February 2020|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS|archive-date=14 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714064403/https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=fstgeGHAIToS5zW5O6ewWw&scan=1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=WalesOnline>{{cite news|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/writer-abi-morgan-last-laugh-6079338|title=Writer Abi Morgan has last laugh at the Emmys|authorwork=|publisher=''Wales Online''|date=23 September 2013|accessdateaccess-date=23 September 2013|archive-date=25 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925085135/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/writer-abi-morgan-last-laugh-6079338|url-status=live}}</ref> She is the daughter of actress Pat England and theatre director Gareth Morgan, who was director of the [[Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne|Gulbenkian Theatre]] in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] (now the Northern Stage). Her parents divorced when she was a teenager and her childhood was spent moving around the country while her mother acted in [[repertory theatre]]; she told ''[[The Scotsman]]'' in 2010 that she had attended seven separate schools during her childhood.<ref>Aidan Smith, [http://living.scotsman.com/features/Interview-Abi-Morgan-screenwriter.6267530.jp Interview: Abi Morgan, screenwriter], ''The Scotsman'', 4 May 2010.</ref> Her sister is the fundraiser at London's Unicorn Theatre.<ref name{{Webarchive|url=stage>Maggie Brown, [https://wwwweb.thestagearchive.coorg/web/20100507100341/http://living.ukscotsman.com/features/2011/abiInterview-morganAbi-comethMorgan-the-hour/screenwriter.6267530.jp Abi|date=7 Morgan:May Cometh2010 the hour]}}, ''The StageScotsman'', 154 JulyMay 20112010.</ref>
 
After initial ambitions to become an actress herself, she decided to become a writer while reading drama and literature at [[Exeter University]].<ref name=telegraph>Nigel Farndale, [httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8623286/Abi-Morgan-interview.html Abi Morgan interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327025010/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8623286/Abi-Morgan-interview.html |date=27 March 2018 }}, ''Daily Telegraph'', 12 July 2011.</ref> She then took a postgraduate writing course at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]].<ref name=stage/>
 
==Writing career==
 
===Theatre===
Having not dared to show any of her writing "to anyone for five years", her first professional stage credit was in 1998 with ''Skinned'' at the [[University of Southampton#Highfield Campus|Nuffield Theatre]], Southampton. She has written plays for the [[Royal Exchange, Manchester|Royal Exchange Studio Theatre]] Manchester, the [[Royal Lyceum Theatre]], the [[Traverse Theatre]], Edinburgh, the [[National Theatre of Scotland]] and the [[Royal Court Theatre|Royal Court]], London.<ref>[http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsM/morgan-abi.html List of theatrical works] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820165520/http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsM/morgan-abi.html |date=20 August 2010 }}, Doollee.com</ref>

Her 2001 play ''Tender'' forcommissioned by Birmingham Rep Theatre and co-produced with the [[Hampstead Theatre]] gained her a nomination as "most promising playwright" at the 2002 [[Laurence Olivier Theatre Award]]s.{{cn|date=June 2024}}
 
===Television===
Morgan gained her first television writing credit in 1998 on the continuing ITV drama series ''[[Peak Practice]]'', following that with a television play ''My Fragile Heart'' (2000) and a BBC2 drama ''Murder'' in 2002, starring [[Julie Walters]].<ref name=stage/>
 
She was commissioned to write the single drama ''[[Sex Traffic]]'' for Channel 4 in 2004, about a teenage girl trafficked from the Balkans to Britain. This drama, directed by [[David Yates]], won the [[British Academy Television Awards 2005|2005 BAFTA]] award for Best Drama Serial. She has since written a number of single dramas for television including ''[[Tsunami: The Aftermath]]'' (2006), ''[[White Girl (2008 film)|White Girl]]'', part of ''[[White (BBC series)|White]]'' (2008) and ''Royal Wedding'' (2010), which follows the [[Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer|1981 Royal Wedding]] through the perspective of events held in a small Welsh mining village. Her television work also includes writing ''[[Birdsong (TV series)|Birdsong]]'', a two-part television adaptation of [[Sebastian Faulks]]'s novel of the same title.{{cn|date=June 2024}}
 
Morgan's first continuing drama series was ''[[The Hour (drama2011 TV series)|The Hour]]'' (2011), set in a BBC newsroom during the 1956 [[Suez Crisis]]. It was commissioned for a second series,<ref name=telegraph/> but cancelled after the second series was transmitted, its ratings having been one quarter lower than the first.<ref name=WalesOnline /> In 2013, she won the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special]] for ''The Hour'',<ref name=WalesOnline /> having also been nominated in 2012.<ref>[http{{Cite web |url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominations/2012/Outstandingaward-search?search_api_views_fulltext=Abi+Morgan&submit=Search&field_celebrity_details_field_display_name=&field_show_details_field_nominee_show_nr_title=&field_nominations_year_op=%20Writing3E%20for3D&field_nominations_year%20a5Bvalue%20Miniseries,5D=1949-01-01&field_nominations_year_1_op=%20Movie3C%20or3D&field_nominations_year_1%20a5Bvalue%20Dramatic%20Special5D=2022-01-01 Emmys.com]|title=Awards Search |website=Television Academy|access-date=14 July 2022 }}</ref>▼
====''The Hour''====
 
▲Morgan's first continuing drama series was ''[[The Hour (drama series)|The Hour]]'' (2011), set in a BBC newsroom during the 1956 [[Suez Crisis]]. It was commissioned for a second series,<ref name=telegraph/> but cancelled after the second series was transmitted, its ratings having been one quarter lower than the first.<ref name=WalesOnline /> In 2013, she won the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special]] for ''The Hour'',<ref name=WalesOnline /> having also been nominated in 2012.<ref>[http://www.emmys.com/nominations/2012/Outstanding%20Writing%20for%20a%20Miniseries,%20Movie%20or%20a%20Dramatic%20Special Emmys.com]</ref>
Morgan wrote the legal drama [[The Split (TV series)|''The Split'']], about the private and professional lives of divorce lawyers, first shown on BBC1 in April 2018.{{cn|date=June 2024}}
 
She wrote the script for the 2024 Netflix miniseries ''[[Eric (miniseries) |Eric]]'', starring [[Benedict Cumberbatch]].<ref>{{Cite web|website=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/benedict-cumberbatch-netflix-limited-series-childrens-show-puppeteer-1235477913|date=4 January 2023|title=Benedict Cumberbatch in Talks to Star in Netflix Limited Series 'Eric' From Abi Morgan, Sister (Exclusive)|first=Joe|last=Otterson}}</ref>
 
===Film===
Morgan has also written for cinema:. [[Brick Lane (2007 film)|herHer 2007 adaptation]] of [[Monica Ali]]'s novel ''[[Brick Lane (novel)|Brick Lane]]'' was critically acclaimed, but created controversy – some [[Brick Lane]] Bengalis labelled the film "defamatory" and a planned royal film performance was cancelled.<ref name=stage/> Her next film was ''[[The Iron Lady (film)|The Iron Lady]]'', which starred [[Meryl Streep]] as [[Margaret Thatcher]], closely followed by a smaller-budget production, ''[[Shame (2011 film)|Shame]]'', co-written with [[Steve McQueen (artistdirector)|Steve McQueen]].<ref name=telegraph/>

Her work on ''The Iron Lady'' earned her a [[BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay]] nomination,<ref>{{cite news|title=Bafta Film Awards 2012: Nominations|url=httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16590913 |accessdateaccess-date=17 January 2012 |date=27 March 2012|work=BBC News|archive-date=18 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118043250/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16590913|url-status=live}}</ref> while her work on ''Shame'' earned her a [[BAFTA Award for Best British Film|BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film]] nomination. She has said that she always puts one line from her last film in her next film.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://guru.bafta.org/abi-morgan-meets-bola-agbaje-guru-encounters
| title = Abi Morgan meets Bola Agbaje {{!}} Guru Encounters
| date = 7 October 2015
| website = BAFTA Guru
| access-date = 13 October 2015
|archive-date = 10 November 2015
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151110221549/http://guru.bafta.org/abi-morgan-meets-bola-agbaje-guru-encounters
|url-status = live
}}</ref>
 
Her next film, [[The Invisible Woman (2013 film)|''The Invisible Woman'']], was an adaptation of the book of the same name by [[Claire Tomalin]], about the secret love affair between [[Charles Dickens]] and [[Ellen Ternan|Nelly Ternan]], which lasted for thirteen years until his death in 1870. The film was released to critical acclaim in 2013, but its production was reportedly strained after clashes between lead actress [[Kristin Scott Thomas]] and Morgan on set, the source of which was never disclosed.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-02-07|title=What's going on between Abi Morgan and Kristin Scott Thomas? |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/what-s-going-on-between-abi-morgan-and-kristin-scott-thomas-9114984.html|access-date=2021-04-13|website=www.standard.co.uk|language=en|archive-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413175717/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/what-s-going-on-between-abi-morgan-and-kristin-scott-thomas-9114984.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
A staunch opponent of [[Brexit]], Morgan was one of nine leading playwrights to contribute to a series of online dramas in 2017 responding to the causes and consequences of the EU referendum result. Entitled ''Brexit Shorts'', Morgan's monologue, ''The End'', starred Penelope Wilton as a woman on the brink as she faces the consequences of the end of her 43-year-old marriage.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-06-19|title=Leading playwrights create Brexit dramas for The Guardian|url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/jun/19/leading-playwrights-create-brexit-shorts-david-hare-abi-morgan|access-date=2021-04-13|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413234554/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/jun/19/leading-playwrights-create-brexit-shorts-david-hare-abi-morgan|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
===Non fiction ===
In May 2022, Morgan released a memoir entitled ''This Is Not a Pity Memoir'', in which she discusses her husband's battle with [[encephalitis]] and [[Capgras delusion]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-05-01|title=Screenwriter Abi Morgan: 'I am absolutely the same, but profoundly changed' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/may/01/abi-morgan-interview-split-this-is-not-a-pity-memoir|access-date=2022-08-19|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=1 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501100601/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/may/01/abi-morgan-interview-split-this-is-not-a-pity-memoir|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
==Personal life==
In 2015 Morgan was living in the north London neighbourhood of [[Stroud Green]] in [[Haringey]]<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bloomfield|first=Ruth|date=2015-05-13|title=A Victorian Home in London's Stroud Green Gets a Modern Basement|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-victorian-home-in-londons-stroud-green-gets-a-modern-basement-1431531587|access-date=2021-04-17|issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417202229/https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-victorian-home-in-londons-stroud-green-gets-a-modern-basement-1431531587|url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref> with her husband, actor Jacob Krichefski.<ref name=lewis>{{cite web|last1=Lewis|first1=Helen|title=Abi Morgan on Suffragette: "These were voiceless women. We gave them a voice" |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/film/2015/10/abi-morgan-these-were-voiceless-women-we-gave-them-voice|website=New Statesman|date=15 October 2015| access-date=16 February 2017|archive-date=17 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217142745/http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/film/2015/10/abi-morgan-these-were-voiceless-women-we-gave-them-voice|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- citations pre-date this info - needs to be cited - - - Krichefski has [[multiple sclerosis]] and developed [[anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis]] in 2018 after participating in a clinical trial; after six months in a medically-induced coma he had [[Capgras delusion]] and could not recognise Morgan. She wrote a memoir, ''This Is Not a Pity Memoir'', describing these experiences.-->
Morgan is lives in [[North London]] with her husband, actor Jacob Krichefski, and their two children.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lewis|first1=Helen|title=Abi Morgan on Suffragette: “These were voiceless women. We gave them a voice”|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/film/2015/10/abi-morgan-these-were-voiceless-women-we-gave-them-voice|website=New Statesman}}</ref>
 
In January 2020, Morgan said that she was recovering from breast cancer.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ravindran|first=Manori|title=Writer Abi Morgan Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis |url=https://variety.com/2020/film/global/abi-morgan-breast-cancer-diagnosis-the-iron-lady-shame-the-split-1203481868/|website=Variety|date=27 January 2020|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=28 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128153725/https://variety.com/2020/film/global/abi-morgan-breast-cancer-diagnosis-the-iron-lady-shame-the-split-1203481868/|url-status=live}}</ref> She had [[chemotherapy]] and a [[mastectomy]].<ref name="cripps">{{cite news |last1=Cripps |first1=Charlotte |title=Abi Morgan interview: 'The Split is filled with a lot of the pain I've been through' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/abi-morgan-the-split-iron-lady-b2078275.html?r=82963 |access-date=28 December 2022 |work=The Independent |date=16 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
 
In 2011 her sister was the fundraiser at London's Unicorn Theatre.<ref name=stage>Maggie Brown, [https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/2011/abi-morgan-cometh-the-hour/ Abi Morgan: Cometh the hour] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111061600/https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/2011/abi-morgan-cometh-the-hour/ |date=11 November 2016 }}, ''The Stage'', 15 July 2011.</ref>
 
==Recognition ==
Morgan was appointed [[OBE]] in the [[2018 Birthday Honours]], "For services to Theatre and Screenwriting".<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=62310 |date=9 June 2018 |page=B13 |supp=y }}</ref>
 
==Selected works==
Line 56 ⟶ 82:
*''Sleeping Around'' (1998) – co-written with Mark Ravenhill, Stephen Greenhorn and Hilary Fannin
*''Fast Food'' (1999)
*''[[Splendour (play)|Splendour]]'' (2000)
*''Tiny Dynamite'' (2001)
*''Tender'' (2001)
Line 65 ⟶ 91:
*''Lovesong'' (2011)
*''27'' (2011)
*''[[The Mistress Contract]]'' (2014)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/the-mistress-contract|title=The Mistress Contract at The Royal Court Theatre|author=|publisher=''The Royal Court Theatre''|access-date=13 September 2013|accessdatearchive-date=1315 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915024809/http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/the-mistress-contract|url-status=live}}</ref>
*''The End'' (2017)
 
===Film screenplays===
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*''[[Suffragette (film)|Suffragette]]'' (2015)
 
===TV screenplaysTelevision===
*''[[My Fragile Heart]]'' (2000)
*''[[Murder (2002 TV series)|Murder]]'' (2002)
*''[[Sex Traffic]]'' (2004)
*''[[Tsunami: The Aftermath]]'' (2006)
*''[[White Girl (2008 film)|White Girl]]'', part of ''[[White (BBCTV series)|White]]'' (2008) – with Hettie Macdonald, won the TV Spielfilm Award at the [[Cologne Conference]]
*''Royal Wedding'' (2010)
*''[[The Hour (drama2011 TV series)|The Hour]]'' (2011)
*''[[Birdsong (TV seriesserial)|Birdsong]]'' (2012)
*''[[River (TV series)|River]]'' (2015)
*''[[The Split (TV series)|The Split]]'' (2018, 2020, 2022)
*''[[Eric (TV series)|Eric]]'' (2024)
*''The Split Up'' (TBA) – with [[Ursula Rani Sarma]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2024/the-split-up|title=BBC commissions The Split Up, a spin-off from Abi Morgan's hit series The Split|website=bbc.co.uk/mediacentre|accessdate=25 February 2024}}</ref>
 
===Books===
* {{Cite book |first=Abi|last=Morgan|year=2022 |title=This is Not a Pity Memoir |location=London |publisher=John Murray Press |isbn=978-1-5293-8833-6 |oclc=1313596963 }}
 
==References==
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==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0604448}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100820165520/http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsM/morgan-abi.html Theatre credits]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/apr/09/abi-morgan-taliban-play The Guardian]
 
{{AuthorityAbi controlMorgan}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Abi Morgan
|list =
{{Black Reel Award for Outstanding Screenplay, Adapted or Original}}
{{EmmyAward DramaMiniseriesWriting 2001–2025}}
}}
 
{{Authority control}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Abi}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:British dramatists and playwrights]]▼
[[Category:British screenwriters]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Exeter]]
▲[[Category:British dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:British women dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:British women screenwriters]]
[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:Television show creators]]
[[Category:Writers from Cardiff]]
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