Nikki Racklin

Bookwriter & Lyricist

Mini

Stage-musical adaptation of Michael Cooper’s autobiography 'Mini & Me', about the child arsonist who was the focus of a seminal 1975 BBC documentary. Music and lyrics by Ben Glasstone. With a vibrant, glam-rock-fuelled score, the show pits the effervescent Mini against a chorus of social workers, psychiatrists and prison wardens as he battles the farcical cruelty of Britain’s institutions, finding himself – and the mercurial pleasures that life brings – along the way.

Lyricist

Bette and Joan and Baby Jane

Stage-musical adaptation of Tracy-Ann Oberman’s radio play. Music by James Cleeve. Book by Tracy-Ann Oberman. The year is 1961. In the twilight of their careers, Hollywood grandes dames Bette Davis and Joan Crawford grapple with their deep-seated rivalry on the set of 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?', a ‘Hag Horror’ movie that no one thinks will ever get made. Set to a dark musical score that oozes liquor-soaked regret and sass, 'Bette and Joan and Baby Jane' tells the story of the making of a cult classic and the thorny relationship between two fading icons.

Bookwriter & Lyricist

Half Broken Things

Stage musical, adapted from the award-winning novel by Morag Joss, with music by Elizabeth Charlesworth. When a lonely house sitter, posing as 'lady of the manor', takes in a petty thief and a pregnant runaway, they form a makeshift family, spiralling into a dysfunctional fantasy existence that they’ll go to any length to protect.

Bookwriter & Lyricist

Deptford Wives

Stage musical, based on the award-winning radio play by Jennie Buckman. Music by Anthony Kosky, directed by Tania Azevedo with E15 Acting School students, followed by a concert at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. In 1772, Mary Lacy attempts to publish her autobiography ‘The History of the Female Shipwright’, describing her life in the Royal Navy disguised as a man.

Bookwriter & Lyricist

Why The Whales Came

Stage musical adapted from the children's novel by Michael Morpurgo, commissioned by British Youth Music Theatre for production at Theatre Royal Plymouth, Taunton Brewhouse and The Mack Theatre, Mountview. Music by Bella Barlow, directed by Simon Kane. In the shadow of WW1, the insular residents of Bryher are terrified of the solitary ‘Birdman’. It takes the innocence of youth to blow apart the fear and superstition that threaten to destroy the community.

Creator/Lyricist

Shadow Puppets

Song cycle exploring the toxicity of celebrity, from the point of view of those near-invisible people who live in the orbit of real-life famous (or infamous) people (dead or alive). Using her dark, twisted lyrics, Nikki has collaborated with a wealth of different composers to create a richly varied tapestry of songs.

Librettist

Love Me To Death: Ruth Ellis, The Opera

New opera composed by Tom Randle, focussing on the events that led to Ruth Ellis's controversial hanging at Holloway Prison in 1955, starring soprano Gillian Keith. Showcased at the Barbican Pit Theatre and performed at the Tête à Tête Opera Festival at The Place.

Librettist

Sugarbird

Short opera commissioned by National Opera Studio for the 12:42 Festival, performed by South African bass singer Msimelelo Mbali. Music by Tom Randle.

Bookwriter & Lyricist

Wings Of The Dove

A film-noir style musical charting a corrupted love affair, inspired by the Henry James’s novel and transposed to 1950s Soho. Music by James Burn. Showcased at the Criterion Theatre. A strapped-for-cash nightclub hostess lends out her sweetheart to her dying friend in a bid to secure her own financial future.

Librettist

Cromwell

Oratorio about Oliver Cromwell, commissioned by St Ives Choral Society. Music by Tom Randle for baritone solo, mixed choir, children's chorus and small orchestra.

Bookwriter & Lyricist

First Ladies

Stage musical, commissioned by British Youth Music Theatre, staged at the Barbican Theatre, Plymouth, with music by Elizabeth Charlesworth, directed by Gerard Jones. The First Ladies of history come together to greet the first female President of one of the world’s most powerful countries.

Creator/Writer

Cuckoo

Multi-award winning drama web series, commissioned by RTÉ. A wayward teenager sees a digitally ‘aged’ photograph in the newspaper of a baby who was snatched 14 years earlier, and thinks she recognises herself.

Writer/Actor

Missed Call

Official Selection, London Short Film Festival. Shortlisted at TriForce Short Film Festival and screened at BAFTA Piccadilly. Short film, directed by Mat Laroche (Chips Films). Two mobile-phone obsessed friends have lost the knack of communicating face-to-face.

Writer

Pierced

Single TV drama/Stage play, longlisted for the Kenneth Branagh Drama Award. A would-be novelist's fragile mental state is pushed to breaking point by the unexpected visit of her childhood friend.

Writer

Justine Cuts

Play. Increasingly disturbed by the noise from her upstairs neighbour, a socially awkward trainee hairdresser begins to lose her grip on reality. Performed at the White Bear Theatre as part of the Only Human micro-festival.

Writer

Hooked

TV comedy-drama, longlisted at the BBC Writersroom drama window. In a bid to turn his life around, a down-on-his-luck driving instructor, back living with his ultra-critical mother, becomes a male escort.

Writer

On The Sofa With Martina

One-act stage play, performed at Theatr Clwyd and shortlisted at the Blue Elephant Theatre Play Competition. A chat-show host is forced to confront demons from her past when a washed-up ‘70s pop star, once the object of her teenage desire, is booked to appear on her show.

Writer

Jackdaw

TV drama about a multi-generational family, set against a backdrop of Northern Soul.

Writer/Director

Queenie & Charity

Episode 4 of ‘The Christmas Party’ web series, produced by Lost City Writers. In the run-up to their firm’s Christmas party, two work colleagues meet head-on in the ladies toilets, both wearing the same top and both after the same man.

Writer/Producer

Cherry

Short film, produced by Blue Bar Films. A man uses a speed-dating event to exact revenge on the girl who bullied him at school.

Author

Madonna and Me: Misadventures of a would-be pop star

Humorous 1980s-set autobiography. While Madonna’s career is going stellar, an insecure young English singer tries to make her mark on the music business, accompanied by her devoted yet hapless manager.