Oliver Robert Michael Emanuel (4 April 1980 – 19 December 2023) was a British playwright and radio dramatist.

Early life and education

Oliver Robert Michael Emanuel was born in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

on 4 April 1980; his mother was a drama teacher and his father was a solicitor. He attended St Gregory's Catholic Comprehensive School in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

, studied English and Theatre Studies at

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, and received an MA from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

Career

Emanuel was Writer-on-Attachment at the

West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds Playhouse is a theatre in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1990 in the Quarry Hill area of the city as the West Yorkshire Playhouse, successor to the original Leeds Playhouse, and was rebranded in June 2018 ...

in 2006 and Writer-in-Residence for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

in 2010. He lived in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

from 2006. He was Reader of Playwriting at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, an Associate Playwright at Playwrights' Studio Scotland, and Writer-in-Residence at

Gladstone's Library Gladstone's Library, known until 2010 as St Deiniol's Library (), is a residential library in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales, UK. Gladstone's Library is Britain's only Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Ministerial Library and serves a ...

. In addition to his radio and stage plays below, Emanuel wrote two plays for Polmont Young Offenders Institute, ''Ship of Shadows'' (October 2009) and ''John'' (7 May 2010), and scripted the short film ''This Way Up''.

Personal life and death

In April 2023, Emanuel was diagnosed with brain cancer, and died from the disease on 19 December 2023, at the age of 43. Emanuel had two children with Victoria Beesley; he and Beesley married in late 2023, shortly before his death.

Works

Radio plays

Theatre

Short stories

*''Nude''

Other work

* ''Desperate Run''

Awards

*''Daniel and Mary'' received a ''Bronze

Sony Radio Academy Award The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...

'' for ''Best Drama'' in 2010. *''Dragon'' won Best Show For Children and Young People at the UK Theatre Awards in 2014.UK Theatre Awards 2014 winners announced, The Stage, 19 October 2014
*His version of ''Titus'' won the People's Choice Victor Award in 2015. *''A History of Paper'' was shortlisted for the

Tinniswood Award The Tinniswood Award is a British annual award for original radio drama. It is named in memory of Peter Tinniswood, who died in 2003, and was established by the Society of Authors and the Writers' Guild of Great Britain; it is sponsored by the Au ...

2017. *''When The Pips Stop'' won the Tinniswood Award in 2019. *''The Truth About Hawaii'' won the

BBC Audio Drama Award The BBC Audio Drama Awards is an awards ceremony created by BBC Radio to recognise excellence in the radio industry, in particular in audio dramas. The inaugural awards were presented in 2012 and the ceremony hosted at the BBC Radio Theatre, Broa ...

for Best Original Series or Serial in 2019.

References

External links

Oliver Emanuel
*
Oliver Emanuel at United Agents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emanuel, Oliver 1980 births 2023 deaths 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights Alumni of the University of East Anglia Alumni of the University of Leeds British radio writers British male dramatists and playwrights Writers from Kent Deaths from brain cancer in the United Kingdom