Sophia Leonie is a London-born writer and performer whose work spans screenwriting, journalism and now theatre.
Her debut play Millennium Girls, currently running at Brixton House, is a bold and tender exploration of girlhood, identity and consent, set against the vibrant backdrop of 90s London.
With humour, heart and sharp cultural insight, Leonie brings the stories of a generation of young women to the stage stories rarely told, but deeply familiar. Here, she shares what inspired the play and how it feels to finally bring it to life.
Please introduce yourself
I’m Sophia Leonie, a writer and performer from London. I’m of mixed heritage -Zimbabwean and English, and my star sign is Libra.
Describe your life currently, in one word or a sentence.
A juggle.
Why are we here?
My debut play, Millennium Girls, which I have written and starring in, is currently on at Brixton House theatre. Millennium Girls is a play about girlhood; growing up in the 90s, working out who you are – and constructing your identity whilst being in the goldfish bowl of the male gaze. It’s about how things have changed for girls growing up today – and crucially, how much things haven’t.
How long has this story been in you? And what pushed you to bring it to life now?
I wrote this play back in 2020 during lockdown. It was really cathartic and poured out of me. Over the years that followed, I did two rounds of R&D and worked with some amazing creatives and dramaturgs to refine it – including my producer Zoe Gibbons, who was with me from the start and who worked extremely hard fundraising the money and working with Brixton House to put it on. It may have taken some time to get to where we are, but this really is the perfect time for me in my life to do this. I believe everything happens for a reason.
With a background in teaching and journalism, and having previously written for screen was writing this a breeze?
Not a breeze. But it was loosely based on experiences that me and friends of mine went through growing up in the 90s so in that sense it was easy to write and the first draft was written pretty quickly. When I first wrote it I wasn’t a mother, so I talked to women who were, and who had teenage children about how they would tackle difficult topics.
When you were writing Millennium Girls did you always see yourself as Jessica, or were there moments when you considered playing Chanel, or not being in it at all?
I always knew that I would play Jessica. There have been times over the last couple of years, when I have been away from acting, on maternity leave, immersed in motherhood where I wondered if I could ever do anything I used to do again. But I knew that if there was anything I was going to act in again, it would be this.
Alongside playing Jessica, you take on a few other characters. What were your anchors for distinguishing them??
We worked with an incredible movement director Gaby Nimo, who helped us refine the distinct body language and movement quality of the other characters. It was important for me that it was girls on stage playing all parts. That they embodied the males in their lives; this is how they see them, and how they impact their life from the female perspective.
Your cast is so strong and work together beautifully. How did you go about finding Unique Spencer, Nkhanise Phiri and Tamara Camacho, and what made each of them feel so right for the roles?
I held auditions. Unique was with us from the R&D in 2022. As soon as I saw her, I just knew she was amazing – she brings such comedy and truth, and really lights up the stage. Nkhanise gave us a gorgeous, youthful nuanced Jasmine that really brings the part alive, and when I met Tamara and she started her audition I just saw ‘Chanel’ instantly – she is perfect for the role and again such a truthful, nuanced, yet very comedic actor.
The perspective of the mixed race experience added a rarely explored dynamic, even though the scenarios felt so familiar. Why was it important for you to bring this to light, and how closely does it reflect your own experiences?
I rarely saw mixed-race people like myself represented on stage or on screen growing up and when they were, they were either stereotypes or tropes like one dimensional ‘girlfriends’, or in the rare case the narrative was centered on their experience, the perspective was about wanting to be white. I couldn’t identify with that and wanted to
show another version of us. So this is about growing up mixed-race in London, at a very specific time, and hopefully, that speaks to a group of people who have never seen themselves represented. I know everyone won’t identify or relate, and that’s okay. But for those that do, I wanted to do this for us.
You also explore consent in a very sensitively handled way, showing how situations that seem fun or innocent can shift quite quickly. How did you work with director Jade Lewis and Production Drama Therapist Wabriya King to shape those scenes and ensure they were both truthful and safe to perform?
Consent wasn’t something that was ever talked about growing up, not in the way it is now. I wanted to show how that impacted girls of that generation. It was a distinct choice to use humour, bluntness and subtle gestures to show the horrors of what actually went on, because for these women it was sadly just part of growing up and life went on. That is the awful thing I am trying to show. Both Wabriya and Jade made sure that it was all handled sensitively, and we all had access to drama therapy during the rehearsals and run.
Is there a scene or section that best captures what the project meant to you?
The final scene and the final line. I get choked up every night before I say it. It is the reason I wrote the play.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU …
If not this, then what? I’d be back teaching. I’m passionate about education and teach media GCSE and English.
What’s made you sad, mad, and glad this week? Sad, what’s happening in Gaza. Mad, I’ve been following the Diddy trial and some of the misogynist responses I come across online are shocking. Glad, my son really makes me smile every day.
What are you watching? I’ve just started The Last of Us, season 2.
What are you reading? My next book for my book group is The Nursery by Szilvia Molner, it’s about the realities of early motherhood.
The last film you watched? The Substance. I hate horrors but this was so good.
The last play you saw? I haven’t seen anything for a while. I think it was Shifters.
The last live music event you attended? Usher at the O2.
What’s currently on your music playlist? Old school. I listen to garage every morning to get in the headspace for the play.
Where’s your happy place? Home with my partner and my toddler.
Celebrate someone? Nadine Mills absolutely killed it in Supacell and I am so proud of her and excited for season 2.
Celebrate yourself? Creating work for girls of my generation, representing a group of people who are rarely represented.
What’s next? Rest.
Where can we find you? (Social handles) Insta: @mssophialeonie I don’t really use any other social media anymore.
Where can we see or hear your work? Millennium Girls at Brixton House until 31st May