Shaun Kitchener

Hello!

I’m a playwright and screenwriter currently working with Hollyoaks, which I joined in early 2017. To date I have written around 25 episodes, highlights including the emotionally-charged reveal of gay character Mitchell’s sexuality to his homophobic grandfather; a light-hearted village Dance-Off competition; and the reveal of mysterious character Milo’s real identity.

I love writing warm, funny and ‘relevant’ comedy and drama for LGBTQ+ characters, and both of my professionally produced plays have put them front-and-centre: Positive (Park Theatre, 2015) is about a young man struggling to cope with the stigma and shame that still comes from a HIV+ diagnosis in the 21st century, while All That (King’s Head Theatre, 2018) is about clashing opinions within the community over the subject of monogamy.

I have run a regular new writing night for short plays, Briefs, at the Waterloo East Theatre since 2013, and I was a winner of the BAFTA Rocliffe prize in 2016 (TV Comedy strand). I’ve participated in writers’ groups at the Soho Theatre, Royal Court and London Film School, and also worked as an entertainment journalist – currently writing a fortnightly pop culture column for the Metro newspaper’s website.