Sophia Chetin-Leuner
Writer
Film, TV & Theatre
Film, TV & Theatre
Awards include Dalio Foundation Scholarship, Tisch NYU (2017-18); Austin Film Festival Second Round, Arif (2017); Best of the Vaults, Save + Quit, published by Nick Hern Books (2017); HighTide Academy Winner , Ash (September 2016); Best Play at The London Student Drama Festival, Save + Quit (March, 2015).
Sophia was on the Bush Theatre's Emerging Writers’ Group in 2019. In 2019 her play LEAVING EDEN was chosen from hundreds of applications by Scene Gym for their R&D week.
In 2020 Sophia made it to the final 4% of the BBC Writers Room for Drama and her spec TV pilot PHARMACY FIRST was Shortlisted for the C21 Drama Script competition. Her play THIS MIGHT NOT BE IT was longlisted for Soho Theatre's Verity Bargate Award. Sophia also had two plays Shortlisted for the inaugural Paines Plough Women's Prize for Playwriting: THIS MIGHT NOT BE IT and LEAVING EDEN.
Sophia's new work, PORN PLAY, was on the Verity Bargate Award shortlist 2022.
In 2023 Sophia was chosen to join the BBC's Drama Room a writer development group. Writers were selected from a nationwide open call and Sophia was one of just thirteen chosen.
in 2024 Sophia was selected for the BBC's Writers Pilot cohort 2024/2025, a year long scheme partnering writers with production companies for the opportunity to write the first episode of a potential BBC-commissioned original drama series or serial. Sophia is writing her pilot for Greenacre Films.
In Development
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
RESTORATION | Mam Tor/ BBC | New series in development |
ONLY GIRL | Two Brothers | Original pilot in development |
THE TUTOR | Mam Tor | New TV project in development |
GENDER STUDIES | Lucky Doll | Original pilot in development |
PORN PLAY | *Verity Bargate Shortlist 2022 | |
FIX | TV spec pilot |
Theatre
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
THIS MIGHT NOT BE IT 2024 | Bush Theatre Studio | *Longlisted for Soho Theatre's Verity Bargate Award 2020 |
CLICK & COLLECT 2020 | M6 Theatre Company | Short play commission as part of their series: Love in the Time of Corona Stories |
LEAVING EDEN 2019 | Scene Gym / Park Theatre | Rehearsed reading July 2019 |
SAVE + QUIT 2016 - 2018 | UK & Ireland Tour | The New Theatre, Dublin |
ASH 2016 | Park Theatre / HighTide Festival |
THIS MIGHT NOT BE IT - Bush Theatre Studio, Feb 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ Dave Fargnoli, The Stage
“Startlingly vivid”
“Compelling NHS-set drama of self-doubt and the struggle to keep hope alive”
★ ★ ★ ★ Clive Davis, The Times
“The beauty of this piece is that it speaks in a universal language”
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Stuart Midwinter, Curtain Call
"If you only get chance to see one show this year, choose this one. Easily one of the best pieces of theatre I’ve seen for a long time. I encourage everyone to watch, you will not be disappointed."
★ ★ ★ ★ Olivia Rook, London Theatre
"Chetin-Leuner’s vision of the NHS is perceptive and devastatingly accurate, and her characters are so well drawn that they convey all the nuances of real people"
★ ★ ★ ★ Louisa Clarke, West End Best Friend
"It is clear Sophia Chetin-Leuner knows how to command an audience, showing a complete absence of the word ‘throwaway’ anywhere in her vocabulary and a pleasing affection for moments of silence holding a range of meaning, from tension to sadness to humour."
"Jay is a perfect vehicle for the beautiful metaphors and writing of wonderful precision, insight and perspective that Sophia Chetin-Leuner achieves."
★ ★ ★ ★ The Reviews Hub
"This Might Not Be It is a mirror to our times"