Karla Marie Sweet is a British-American actor, writer and dramaturg who works across both stage and screen. A former Production Trainee, she gained extensive experience in TV and radio across the BBC, working on Radio 1, 1Xtra, BBC Asian Network, 6Music, Radio 4, Comic Relief and Casualty. Karla then got her start as a professional writer when her six-part mystery thriller was optioned by ITV Studios and she was invited to co-develop a series for Lime Pictures.
Karla has been part of several writersrooms including Netflix/BBC show Get Even, season 2 of Paramount+ show Sexy Beast and a 1990s set show about pirate radio, helmed by Ashley Walters. She has also written seven episodes of long running drama Hollyoaks. Her special unconscious bias episode of the show was lauded by both viewers and critics alike, the news media hailing it the show’s “best ever episode.” The episode went on to be the show’s submission for Best Continuing Drama at the Royal Television Society Awards in 2022 – a category Hollyoaks subsequently won.
Previous theatre credits include: Cheetham Hill (written for the Royal Exchange whilst Playwright-On-Attachment), This Little Relic (BBC Radio 4 and the Belgrade Theatre) and, most recently, Othello (adapted for the Watermill Theatre), a re-versioning The Guardian and WhatsOnStage awarded four stars each, calling it a “dramatically taut” and “remarkable” adaptation that “moves with the pace of a thriller.”
Karla’s debut full-length play Leaving opened at The Bunker Theatre in December 2019, and is set to be transferred to the Pleasance Islington for a full run. Karla starred in and co-produced the show alongside her emerging company Dead Good Theatre. She founded the company upon graduating from the one year Acting course at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. While at Central, she performed in the school’s production of Alice Birch’s Astronauts and played the lead in Vault Festival’s sell-out show The Thing That Came to Dinner.
Since then, Karla has enjoyed more theatre work. Recent screen acting credits include Black Dog (dir, George Jaques) and season 2 of Hulu show No Man’s Land dir. Rotem Shamir).
Karla is currently part of the literary team at Box of Tricks Theatre Company, presenting and producing their podcast and working as a dramaturg. She is also writing a novel and is under commission with the National.
As an actor, she is represented by Lucy Middleweek at Middleweek Newton and her literary agent is Ben Dunn at DunnFogg. For theatre, film and TV writing enquires, please contact Jonathan Kinnersley at The Agency. For voice over work, reach out to Voice Squad and for US work, contact her managers Anna Weinstein (acting) and Stevee Jo Eads (literary) at Avalon USA.
