What are the themes of your play?
Superhoe looks at female empowerment vs exploitation, hidden homeless in young people, social media and loneliness, and mental health in 2019.
Why did you write it and why now?
I became aware of websites outing young women as sex workers and shaming them for their ‘false’ social media accounts that led people to believe they were models/dancers etc. I was also aware of the increase in sex work in 2019 amongst young women and I wanted to unpick the reasons behind this; looking at the combination of social media and sex work that is so prevalent for this generation. Are young women becoming more empowered and/or what are some of the dangers of this? Who is really in control? I was keen to explore a mixed-black working class female narrative that I felt was lacking in theatre and yet I felt the Instagram explore page was full of women I wasn’t seeing anywhere. The kind of black women I knew growing up in East London. That felt important to me.
Which playwrights are you influenced by and why?
I have a deep admiration for debbie tucker green and just think she is the epitome of having such a unique style and voice. I really enjoy Lynn Nottage and think she writes plays that are super contemporary with a solid narrative and asks big questions. I also remember seeing writers such as Bola Agbaje and Rachel De-Lahay’s work at The Royal Court and feeling particularly inspired when I was younger. That felt important to me, so to have my own debut at The Royal Court felt really special.
What do you want to achieve as a playwright?
I’d like to continue exploring the narratives of contemporary voices we don’t often see on stage but meet day to day. I’d properly love to follow up my debut at The Royal Court with something else that speaks to an issue of our time in a really bold and exciting way. I am also writing a musical and want to open that, then we shall see!
https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/reviews/superhoe-royal-court-nicole-lecky_48447.html
https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2019/superhoe-nicole-lecky-review-at-royal-court-london/
http://exeuntmagazine.com/reviews/review-superhoe-royal-court/
https://www.casarotto.co.uk/clients/nicole-lecky