He was raised in a military family and spent his childhood in Davenport and Bramhall, both in Greater Manchester.
He attended Manchester Grammar School, then studied Russian at the University of Cambridge.
He then began studying at the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts, but did not finish.
[1][2] Mullarkey's first full play was Cannibals, which premiered at the Royal Exchange, Manchester, in 2013.
[9] He also translated Chekov's The Cherry Orchard into English for Michael Boyd's Bristol Old Vic run.