Lolita Chakrabarti

Chakrabarti was born in Kingston upon Hull, England, to Bengali Hindu parents from India on 1 June 1969. She grew up in Birmingham, where her father worked as an orthopaedic surgeon at Selly Oak Hospital.

Acting

Chakrabarti graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1990. From 1993 to 1996, she presented the BBC children's educational programme Numbertime.

Her screen credits include Vigil, Showtrial, The Wheel of Time, Criminal: UK, Riviera, Delicious, Defending the Guilty, All Is True, Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands, The Casual Vacancy, My Mad Fat Diary, Jekyll and Hyde, Intruders, Bodies, Vera, Outnumbered, Hustle, Born to Kill, Forgiven, Extras Christmas Special, William and Mary, Fortysomething, Holby City, Silent Witness, and as WPC Jamila Blake in the long-running ITV drama The Bill.

Her theatre credits include Fanny and Alexander for The Old Vic (2018), Gertrude in Hamlet starring Tom Hiddleston and directed by Kenneth Branagh for RADA (2017), The Great Game: Afghanistan for the Tricycle Theatre (2009), Last Seen for the Almeida (2009) (which she co-wrote), Free Outgoing for the Royal Court (2008) and John Gabriel Borkman for the Donmar Warehouse (2007).

Writing

Red Velvet (2012)

Red Velvet, Chakrabarti's play about Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor at the centre of controversy in 1833 when he takes over from Edmund Kean in Othello at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, premiered in 2012 at the Tricycle Theatre, London. It returned to The Tricycle in 2014 before transferring to St. Ann's Warehouse in New York. It returned again to the Garrick Theatre in London's West End as part of Kenneth Branagh's season in 2016. Chicago Shakespeare Theater and San Diego's Old Globe Theatre presented Red Velvet in 2017–18. Red Velvet has had more than 25 productions in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

The play won Chakrabarti the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the 2012 Evening Standard Theatre Awards. That same year she was nominated for Best New Play and London Newcomer of the Year at the WhatsOnStage Awards. She won the award for Most Promising Playwright at the Critics' Circle Awards in January 2013 and received the AWA Award for Arts and Culture that same year. Red Velvet was also nominated for an Olivier Award in 2013.

The Greatest Wealth (2018)

In 2018, Chakrabarti curated this event for The Old Vic, London. She commissioned eight monologues, of which she also wrote one in recognition of the 70th birthday of the NHS. The season was relaunched online during the pandemic in 2020, with a new monologue written by Booker prize winning novelist Bernardine Evaristo.

Invisible Cities (2019)

She adapted Italo Calvino's 1972 novel Invisible Cities, in collaboration with 59 Productions, Rambert Dance Company and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Presented at Manchester International Festival and Brisbane Festival in 2019, it was reimagined as a virtual realty film named Stones of Venice for Hong Kong New Vision Festival.

Life of Pi (2019)

Chakrabarti's adaptation of Life of Pi, based on Yann Martel's 2001 novel, premiered at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield in June 2019. Following critical acclaim, the production transferred to the Wyndham's Theatre, West End in November 2021. Life of Pi was nominated for 9 Olivier Award, winning 5 of them. Chakrabarti was awarded the Olivier Award for Best New Play for her work, and numerous other accolades including a WhatsOnStage Award, UK Theatre Award and CAMEO Award. Life of Pi opened at ART in Boston in December 2022 and transferred to The Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway in 2023. It has been nominated for countless awards Stateside winning 3 Tony's.

A Working Diary (2020)

Adrian Lester and Lolita Chakrabarti: A Working Diary was published by Bloomsbury in 2020, charting a year in the working life of Chakrabarti and her husband.

Hymn (2021)

In 2020 during the height of the pandemic Lolita's play Hymn opened at the Almeida Theatre in London. It was live streamed for seven performances in January 2021 and returned for live performances in July and August that year. An original play with music about two men who meet at a funeral and discover they are brothers.

Hamnet (2023)

Chakrabarti adapted Maggie O'Farrell's novel Hamnet for the stage. Hamnet had its world premiere at Stratford-Upon-Avon's Swan Theatre on April 1, 2023. After its sold-out Stratford engagement closing on June 17, 2023, the show transferred to the West End's Garrick Theatre. It opened on September 30, 2023, and will play until February 17, 2024.

as Dramaturg

In 2020 Lolita was dramaturg on Message in a Bottle for Sadler's Wells Theatre and ZooNation. She also dramaturged Sylvia which played at The Old Vic in 2023. Both were created and realised by Kate Prince.

Other Work

The Goddess for Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4, Faith, Hope and Blue Charity for on BBC Radio 4, Last Seen : Joy for Slung Low Theatre Company and the Almeida Theatre.

Producing

Chakrabarti ran Lesata Productions with Rosa Maggiora. In 2011, they produced Of Mary, a short film that won the Best Short Film Award at PAFF, Los Angeles, 2012. Chakrabarti and Maggiora were nominated for the Best Producer Award at the Underwire Film Festival, London, 2011.

Chakrabarti is married to actor Adrian Lester, whom she met while they were both students at RADA. They have two daughters.

She was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to drama.