Benedict Lombe

Benedict Lombe is a writer of Congolese-British heritage. She is based in London and was born in Kinshasa.

She is the writer of two acclaimed plays, Lava and Shifters, both of which received their premieres at the Bush Theatre. Lava, a one-woman play starring Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo and directed by Anthony Simpson-Pike, opened at the Bush in 2021. It went on to win the 2022 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize - the oldest and largest prize honouring women+ playwrights writing for English-speaking theatre. Lombe thus became one of the first playwrights to win the prize for a debut play. Lava also won prizes at the Black British Theatre Awards and the 2022 Offies, and it was nominated for the Alfred Fagon Award for Best New Play of the Year.

Lombe's next play Shifters, a two-hander romance starring Tosin Cole and Heather Agyepong, directed by Lynette Linton, opened in 2024 to widespread acclaim from UK theatre press. Shifters is opening at the Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End from 12th August – 12th October 2024.

Among Lombe's writing influences are Lynn Nottage, debbie tucker green and Paula Vogel.