Nicôle Lecky is a British actress, singer and writer. She is best known for her 2018 play Superhoe and its 2022 TV-series adaption Mood.
Lecky (born 1990 [1] [2]) grew up in Stratford, East London. [3] She is English-Jamaican and has siblings. [4] [5] Her father was an electrician and former DJ, and her mother a mental-health nurse. Lecky studied for a time at King's College London, but graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. At age 18, she was signed by a theatrical agent. [6] [7] [8] Her mother died when Lecky was 19. [9]
Lecky has written for the soap opera EastEnders: E20, and her acting roles include the TV-series Casualty, Fresh Meat, Sense8 and Death in Paradise. She directed The Moor Girl, a short film. [1] [10] [11]
Her 2018 play Superhoe was a collaboration between the Talawa Theatre Company and the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Jade Lewis. Lecky wrote and performed the monodrama, [1] [12] and collaborated with British rapper The Last Skeptik on the play's music. [4] [13] Superhoe follows the life of twenty-four year-old Sasha, and Lecky plays several characters. [14] She was inspired by a website that posted personal information on Instagram women involved in sex work. [6] Playwright Levi David Addai, who mentored Lecky around 2019, said in 2020 that she is "one of the most talented young writers, actresses, singer-songwriters in the country right now." [10]
Superhoe received positive reviews. The Evening Standard's reviewer said "[Lecky is] a revelation — singing and rapping eloquently as she delivers a knotty, occasionally grim story with charismatic fluency." [1] The Daily Telegraph's reviewer said "It stands squarely in the tradition of Royal Court writing while being its own fresh thing." [4] WhatsOnStage.com's reviewer said "She knows how to keep the audience on her side with just a backward glance, and her comic timing is superb." [14] The Guardian's reviewer said "Lecky engagingly performs her own writing ... Though rarely surprising, it's a simple story strongly told". [13] Stylist's reviewer said "...be sure to remember Nicôle Lecky. She’s a star slash genius." [15]
The BBC decided to adapt Superhoe as a TV-series, and the six part musical drama Mood premiered in 2022 on BBC Three. Lecky played the main character Sasha Clayton, was a series executive producer and writer, and was also involved in creating the music. The characters are those she performed in the play. [6] [7] [16] As part of her script-writing, she interviewed women involved in sex work online. [7] [17] As of 2024, Mood has a 100% score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on five reviews. [18] Shortly after the premiere of Mood, Lecky was signed by the United Talent Agency (UTA). [19]
She has written a second drama for the BBC, which as of 2023 is untitled. [20] [21] She is part of the cast of the comedy drama Sweetpea, planned to be released in 2024. [22] [23]
Lecky was nominated for a Best Writer Stage Debut Award in 2019 for Superhoe. [24] She won the Women in Film and TV Awards' The Netflix New Talent Award in 2022. [25]
Mood won two BAFTA awards, Best Mini-Series and Best Original Music: Fiction. Lecky was also nominated in a third category, Best Emerging Talent: Fiction. Accepting the mini-series award, she said "For me to be here, a working class, mixed, Black woman stood here I'm just really proud of that and I hope it really does inspire the next generation of storytellers." [26] [9] For Mood, she also received a Royal Television Society Craft & Design Award, Music - Original Score, and was nominated for a Royal Television Society Programme Breakthrough Award. [27] [28]
As of 2022, she lives in London. [3]
Nicôle Lecky is a British actress, singer and writer. She is best known for her 2018 play Superhoe and its 2022 TV-series adaption Mood.
Lecky (born 1990 [1] [2]) grew up in Stratford, East London. [3] She is English-Jamaican and has siblings. [4] [5] Her father was an electrician and former DJ, and her mother a mental-health nurse. Lecky studied for a time at King's College London, but graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. At age 18, she was signed by a theatrical agent. [6] [7] [8] Her mother died when Lecky was 19. [9]
Lecky has written for the soap opera EastEnders: E20, and her acting roles include the TV-series Casualty, Fresh Meat, Sense8 and Death in Paradise. She directed The Moor Girl, a short film. [1] [10] [11]
Her 2018 play Superhoe was a collaboration between the Talawa Theatre Company and the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Jade Lewis. Lecky wrote and performed the monodrama, [1] [12] and collaborated with British rapper The Last Skeptik on the play's music. [4] [13] Superhoe follows the life of twenty-four year-old Sasha, and Lecky plays several characters. [14] She was inspired by a website that posted personal information on Instagram women involved in sex work. [6] Playwright Levi David Addai, who mentored Lecky around 2019, said in 2020 that she is "one of the most talented young writers, actresses, singer-songwriters in the country right now." [10]
Superhoe received positive reviews. The Evening Standard's reviewer said "[Lecky is] a revelation — singing and rapping eloquently as she delivers a knotty, occasionally grim story with charismatic fluency." [1] The Daily Telegraph's reviewer said "It stands squarely in the tradition of Royal Court writing while being its own fresh thing." [4] WhatsOnStage.com's reviewer said "She knows how to keep the audience on her side with just a backward glance, and her comic timing is superb." [14] The Guardian's reviewer said "Lecky engagingly performs her own writing ... Though rarely surprising, it's a simple story strongly told". [13] Stylist's reviewer said "...be sure to remember Nicôle Lecky. She’s a star slash genius." [15]
The BBC decided to adapt Superhoe as a TV-series, and the six part musical drama Mood premiered in 2022 on BBC Three. Lecky played the main character Sasha Clayton, was a series executive producer and writer, and was also involved in creating the music. The characters are those she performed in the play. [6] [7] [16] As part of her script-writing, she interviewed women involved in sex work online. [7] [17] As of 2024, Mood has a 100% score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on five reviews. [18] Shortly after the premiere of Mood, Lecky was signed by the United Talent Agency (UTA). [19]
She has written a second drama for the BBC, which as of 2023 is untitled. [20] [21] She is part of the cast of the comedy drama Sweetpea, planned to be released in 2024. [22] [23]
Lecky was nominated for a Best Writer Stage Debut Award in 2019 for Superhoe. [24] She won the Women in Film and TV Awards' The Netflix New Talent Award in 2022. [25]
Mood won two BAFTA awards, Best Mini-Series and Best Original Music: Fiction. Lecky was also nominated in a third category, Best Emerging Talent: Fiction. Accepting the mini-series award, she said "For me to be here, a working class, mixed, Black woman stood here I'm just really proud of that and I hope it really does inspire the next generation of storytellers." [26] [9] For Mood, she also received a Royal Television Society Craft & Design Award, Music - Original Score, and was nominated for a Royal Television Society Programme Breakthrough Award. [27] [28]
As of 2022, she lives in London. [3]