Charles Gerald Wood (6 August 1932 – 1 February 2020) was a

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

scriptwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

for radio, television, and film. He lived in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. His work has been staged at the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

as well as at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

and in the theatres of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. He was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...

in 1984. Wood served in the

17th/21st Lancers The 17th/21st Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in England by the amalgamation of the 17th Lancers and the 21st Lancers in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it amalgamated with the 16th/5th The Quee ...

and military themes are found in many of his works.

Biography

Though he was born in the British Crown dependency of

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

—his parents were actors in a repertory company playing in Guernsey at the time—he left the island with his parents when he was still only an infant. His parents worked as actors in repertory and fit-ups (travelling theatrical groups) mainly in the north of England and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and had no fixed place of abode. His education was, until the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, sporadic. The family settled in Chesterfield,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, in 1939. The first house they rented was 1 Cromwell Road and the second was 20 Abercrombie Street. He attended St Mary's Catholic Primary School from which he was awarded a Special Place at Chesterfield Grammar School. At the war's end, the family relocated to

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it ha ...

in Worcestershire where Charles Wood obtained a place at King Charles I Grammar School. He was by now old enough to work in the theatre managed by his father Jack Wood. This was The Playhouse, later demolished. He worked as a stagehand and electrician and assistant to scenic artists in his spare time at weekends and every night. He also played small parts in the repertory company produced by his father. His mother Mae Harris was a leading actress in the company. In 1948, Wood gained entrance to

Birmingham School of Art The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Faculty of Arts, Design a ...

to study theatrical design and lithography. Wood joined the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in 1950, and served five years with the

and seven years on reserve. He was discharged with the rank of corporal, reduced to trooper on entering the Regular Army Reserve. He married Valerie Newman, an actress, in 1954. She was working in repertory in a theatre at

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, the Theatre Royal, once the second oldest working theatre in the country. On leaving the Army, Wood worked as an electronic wireman at

BAC BAC or Bac may refer to: Places * Bac, Rožaje, Bac, a village in Montenegro * Baile Átha Cliath, Irish language name for Dublin city. * Bîc River, aka ''Bâc River'', a Moldovan river * Baç Bridge, bridge in Turkey * Barnes County Municipal A ...

Filton Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city. Filton Church ...

near Bristol. Later he worked as a scenic artist, layout artist, stage manager in England and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. He returned to Bristol with a job in the advertising department at the ''

Bristol Evening Post The ''Bristol Post'' is a city/regional five-day-a-week (formerly appearing six days per week) newspaper covering news in the city of Bristol, including stories from the whole of Greater Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It was ...

'' (at the same time

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...

was a journalist at the newspaper) until 1963 when he became a full-time writer.

Writings

Wood wrote his first play, ''Prisoner and Escort'', in 1959. It was a play for television which was first performed on radio, then on the stage and later on television. ''Cockade'' won the ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Award for Most Promising New Writer in 1963. Wood's work is known for its concern with British military life. In his preface to Wood's ''Plays One'', director

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Mar ...

commented: "There is no contemporary writer who has chronicled the experience of modern war with so much authority, knowledge, compassion, wit and despair, and there is no contemporary writer who has received so little of his deserved public acclaim." Critics applauded his earliest plays such as ''Cockade'' (1963) for the details of military life, and his use of military argot and vernacular. He explored many aspects of contemporary military life. ''Drill Pig'' (1964) was a black comedy about a young man who joins the army to escape his civilian life and his wife and her parents. ''Don't Make Me Laugh'' exposed military and civilian attitudes through the home life of a sergeant, his wife and their lodger. ''Death Or Glory Boy'' (1974) was a semi-autobiographical TV series about a grammar school boy joining the army. His work also covered warfare during many different periods of British military history. Wood's plays have been described as "pro-soldier and anti-war". He was concerned with the experiences of fighting soldiers rather than patriotism or heroism. ''Dingo'' (1967) was a black comedy attacking British myths and cliches about WWII. Wood wrote the script for the film of ''

The Charge Of The Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to se ...

'' (1968) after

John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter and actor, known for his prose that criticized established social and political norms. The success of his 1956 play '' Look Back in Anger'' tr ...

had been sued for plagiarising Cecil Woodham-Smith's ''The Reason Why''. ''H, Being Monologues at Front of Burning Cities'' (1969) was a historical pageant about Sir

Henry Havelock Major-General Sir Henry Havelock (5 April 1795 – 24 November 1857) was a British general who is particularly associated with India and his recapture of Cawnpore during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (First War of Independence, Sepoy Mutiny). ...

's military campaign during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. ''Jingo'' (1975) was about the fall of Singapore and the symbolic end of British dominance in East Asia. The television film '' Tumbledown'' (1988), directed by Richard Eyre, was the story of Robert Lawrence MC, written after many interviews with Robert Lawrence. (Lawrence later wrote his own version of his story called ''When the Fighting is Over''.) Wood wrote an episode of ''

Kavanagh QC ''Kavanagh QC'' is a British television series made by Central Television for ITV between 1995 and 2001. All five series are available on DVD in both Region 1 and Region 2. Plot The series starred John Thaw as barrister James Kavanagh QC, ...

'' ("Mute of Malice", 1997) about an army chaplain traumatised by his experiences in Bosnia. He adapted numerous novels about war into film and television scripts including ''

How I Won the War ''How I Won the War'' is a 1967 British black comedy film starring Michael Crawford, Jack MacGowran, Roy Kinnear, Lee Montague, and John Lennon in his only non-musical acting role. The film, which was directed and produced by Richard Lester, is b ...

'' (1967) from a novel by Patrick Ryan; ''

The Long Day's Dying ''The Long Day's Dying'' is a 1968 British Techniscope war film directed by Peter Collinson, based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Alan White and starring David Hemmings. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the ...

'' (1968) from a novel by Alan White; '' A Breed of Heroes'' (1994) from a novel by

Alan Judd Alan Judd (born 1946) is a pseudonym used by Alan Edwin Petty. Born in 1946, he is a former soldier and diplomat who now works as a security analyst and writer in the United Kingdom. He writes both books and articles, regularly contributing to a ...

about a young British officer in Belfast; and three episodes of '' Sharpe''. Many of his works have a semi-autobiographical element, employing his personal and professional life as a writer, working in theatre and movies. '' Last Summer By The Seaside'' (1964) was a documentary / ''cinema verite'' commentary about the English at play on the beach written and narrated by Charles Wood about his family on their annual holiday visit to his parents on the Isle of Wight. ''Fill the Stage With Happy Hours'' (1966) was a comedy about a run-down repertory theatre. ''A Bit of a Holiday'' (1969) which starred George Cole as the writer Gordon Maple rewriting a historical screenplay in Rome was inspired by the filming of ''

The Adventures of Gerard ''The Adventures of Gerard'' is a 1970 British-Italian-Swiss adventure comedy film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski and starring Peter McEnery, Claudia Cardinale, Eli Wallach and Jack Hawkins. It was based on the 1896 collection '' The Exploits ...

''. ''Veterans; or, Hair in the Gates of the Hellespont'' drew on the filming of ''The Charge of the Light Brigade'' with

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...

playing a character based on John Gielgud. ''Has "Washington" Legs?'' (1978) was written for America's bicentennial celebrations and was another comedy about film-making. ''A Bit Of An Adventure'' (1974) was about the life of writer Gordon Maple as played by George Cole. Cole played George Maple again in two series of Wood's sitcom ''

Don't Forget to Write! ''Don't Forget to Write!'' is a British television sitcom, broadcast by the BBC from 1977 to 1979. Plot The central character is Gordon Maple ( George Cole) who was formerly a successful playwright, but is now procrastinating, lacking self-confid ...

'' (1977 and 1979) about the frustrations of a writer's life. ''Across from the Garden of Allah'' (1985) was a comedy about an unsuccessful English screenwriter in Hollywood. While Wood remained active in the theatre, a string of television dramas followed in the 1970s. The first of these was also perhaps the strangest: ''The Emergence of Anthony Purdy Esq, Farmer’s Labourer'' was an experimental piece starring Freddie Jones and Judy Matheson, about which little else is known, bar that it was made by Harlech, the ITV company for the South Wales and Western England region, and was ITV’s drama entry at the Monte Carlo TV festival. It was not widely networked, which is perhaps unsurprising in light of the comment by ''The Guardian''’s critic Nancy Banks-Smith that it was “completely incomprehensible to anyone east of Somerset”. Because Wood lived in Bristol as his writing career was starting, many of his early works were written about Bristol and also staged there. At that time other rising playwrights such as Peter Nichols and

lived there. ''Meals On Wheels'' (1965) was an experimental satire about provincial conservatism and repression which was to have been performed at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...

but interference from Bristol Council meant it was rejected. ''Drums Along the Avon'' (1967) was a TV play about racial integration in Bristol which had to be broadcast with a disclaimer that "it is a fantasy and we devoutly hope that no one in Bristol will see it otherwise". Wood had submitted ''Dingo'' to the National Theatre Company, but the Chamberlain's rejection of licence meant it could not be performed there, so Bristol Arts Centre staged the play under club membership conditions to circumvent censorship. Wood had productive relationships with leading individuals in the British film and theatre industry. He worked numerous times with

Richard Lester Richard Lester Liebman (born January 19, 1932) is an American retired film director based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for directing the Beatles' films '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) and '' Help!'' (1965), and the superhero films ' ...

. Their first collaboration was on the film '' The Knack ...and How to Get It'' (1965) when the producer

Oscar Lewenstein Silvion Oscar Lewenstein (18 January 1917 – 23 February 1997)Robert Murph"Lewenstein, (Silvion) Oscar (1917–1997)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. was a British theatre and film producer, who helped create some of the leadin ...

recommended Wood write the adaptation. He worked again with Lester on the screenplay for ''

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles " Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ...

'' (1965) and ''

'' (1967), adapted from the Patrick Ryan novel and featuring some of the material from Wood’s play ''Dingo''. His other screenplays for Richard Lester were '' The Bed Sitting Room'' (1969), from the

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...

play, and ''

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

'' (1969). Inspired by stories by

Yuri Krotkov Yuri Vasilevich Krotkov (Юрий Васильевич Кротков, 11 November 1917 - 26 December 1981) was a Soviet dramatist. Working as a KGB agent, he defected to the West in 1963. Biography Born in Kutaisi, Georgia, Krotkov received his ...

, Wood wrote for Lester a script about the catastrophes suffered by a Russian actor who bears an uncanny resemblance to Stalin, but when financing fell through it was performed as ''Red Star'' by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1984. Wood first worked with the director

when he directed the stage play ''Jingo'' (1975). Richard Eyre directed Wood’s television film '' Tumbledown'' (1988). Wood cowrote with Eyre the scripts for Eyre’s films ''

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

'' (2001) and '' The Other Man'' (2008). Wood wrote the screenplays for three films about composers directed by

Tony Palmer Tony Palmer (born 29 August 1941)IMDb: Tony Palmer
Retrieved 24 September 2011 is a British film direc ...

: ''

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

'' Channel 4 (1983); ''Puccini'' Channel 4 (1984); and ''

England, My England ''England, My England'' is a 1995 British historical film directed by Tony Palmer and starring Michael Ball, Simon Callow, Lucy Speed and Robert Stephens. It depicts the life of the composer Henry Purcell, seen through the eyes of a playwri ...

'' Channel 4 ( 1995), completing John Osborne's screenplay about Purcell after it had been abandoned owing to Osborne's terminal illness. Though Wood's plays are rarely revived, his play ''Jingo'' was produced by Primavera at the

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world pr ...

in March 2008, directed by

Tom Littler Tom Littler is a British theatre director and the Artistic Director of the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, London. He was the founder of theatre company Primavera Productions, a former Associate Director of Theatre503 formerly Artistic Directo ...

. ''Jingo'', subtitled ''A Farce of War'', is set during the last days of British control of Singapore before the humiliating surrender to the Japanese.

Susannah Harker Susannah Harker (born 26 April 1965) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 1990 for her role as Mattie Storin in '' House of Cards''. She played Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of '' ...

played Gwendoline and Anthony Howell her ex-husband Ian.

Theatre plays

* ''Cockade'' New Arts Theatre, London 1963 (three one-act plays: Prisoner and Escort, John Thomas, and Spare) * ''Tie Up the Ballcock'', Bristol Arts Centre 1964 (one act play) * ''Meals On Wheels'',

1965 (directed by John Osborne) * ''Don't Make Me Laugh'',

1965 (one act play, part of "Home And Colonial") * ''Fill the Stage With Happy Hours '', Nottingham 1966 *'' US'', Royal Shakespeare Company, 1966, contributed speeches to

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Sha ...

's an anti-Vietnam protest play * ''Dingo'', Bristol Arts Centre 1967 * ''H, Being Monologues at Front of Burning Cities'', National Theatre 1969 * ''Welfare Liverpool Everyman'', 1970-1 (three one-act plays: includes Tie Up the Ballcock, Meals on Wheels, Labour) * ''Veterans; or, Hair in the Gates of the Hellespont'', Royal Court Theatre 1972 * ''Jingo'',

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

, 1975 * ''Has "Washington" Legs? '', National Theatre 1978 * ''The Garden'', Sherborne, Dorset 1982 (directed by Ann Jellicoe) * ''Red Star'', Royal Shakespeare Company 1984 * ''Across from the Garden of Allah'', Bath / Guildford / Comedy Theatre 1985-1986

Television scripts

* ''Traitor In A Steel Helmet'' BBC 18 September 1961 * ''Not At All'' BBC 12 October 1962 (Two male layout artists from a London advertising agency head off on holiday to the Isle of Wight in the hope of finding romance) * ''Prisoner and Escort'' ITV 5 April 1964 * ''Drill Pig'' ITV 14 December 1964 * ''Last Summer By The Seaside'' BBC1 29 December 1964 * ''Drums along the Avon'' BBC1 24 May 1967 * ''A Bit of a Holiday'' ITV 1 December 1969 * ''The Emergence of Anthony Purdy Esq, Farmer’s Labourer'' Bristol HTV 1970 * ''A Bit of Family Feeling'' ITV 1 June 1971 * ''A Bit Of Vision'' ITV 6 August 1972 * ''Death Or Glory Boy'' ITV 10–24 March 1974 * ''Mützen Ab!'' BBC2 6 May 1974 (Nazi-hunters' celebrations over the discovery of a South American war criminal receive a jolt when a rival candidate crops up in Munich) * ''A Bit Of An Adventure'' ITV 21 July 1974 * ''Do As I Say'' BBC1 25 January 1977 (black comedy about the rape of a suburban housewife) * ''

'' (series 1 - 6 episodes) BBC2 18/4–23 May 1977 * ''Love-lies-bleeding'' ITV 12 July 1977 (black comedy as a dinner party comes under sniper attacks ) * ''Don't Forget to Write!'' (series 2 - 6 episodes) BBC2 18/1–22 February 1979 * '' Red Monarch'' Channel 4 16 June 1983 (adapted from ''The Red Monarch: Scenes From the Life of Stalin'' by

) * ''

'' Channel 4 6 January 1983 * ''Puccini'' Channel 4 5 December 1984 * ''Dust to Dust'' ITV 7 December 1985 (thriller in which a murderess kills suitors for their money) * ''

My Family and Other Animals ''My Family and Other Animals'' (1956) is an autobiographical book by British naturalist Gerald Durrell. It tells in an exaggerated and sometimes fictionalised way of the years that he lived as a child with his siblings and widowed mother on ...

'' BBC 17 October – 19 December 1987 (10 episodes) (based on the memoir by

Gerald Durrell Gerald Malcolm Durrell, (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter. He founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Zoo on the Channel Island o ...

) * ''

Inspector Morse Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series '' Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), ...

'' (The Settling of the Sun) ITV 15 March 1988 * '' Tumbledown'' BBC1 31 May 1988 (won Prix Italia RAI Prize, Best Single Play BAFTA, Best Single Play RTS, Best Single Play BPG) * '' Sharpe: Sharpe's Company'' ITV 25 May 1994 (adapted from novel by

Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English-American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written ''The Saxon ...

) * '' A Breed of Heroes'' BBC1 4 September 1994 * ''

'' Channel 4 1995 * '' Sharpe: Sharpe's Regiment'' ITV 1 May 1996 (adapted from novel by Bernard Cornwell) * ''Kavanagh Q.C.'' (Mute of Malice) ITV 3 March 1997 * '' Sharpe: Sharpe's Waterloo'' ITV 21 May 1997 (adapted from novel by Bernard Cornwell) * ''

'' (Briefs Trooping Gaily) ITV 31 March 1998 (Kavanagh defends a woman charged with killing her abusive husband) * ''

Monsignor Renard ''Monsignor Renard'' was a four-part ITV television drama set in occupied France during World War II. It starred John Thaw as Monsignor Augustin Renard, a French priest who is drawn into the Resistance movement. The series was later shown in th ...

'' ITV 10 April 2000

Film screenplays

* '' The Knack ...and How to Get It'' 1965 (adapted from the play by

Ann Jellicoe Patricia Ann Jellicoe (15 July 1927 – 31 August 2017) was an English playwright, theatre director and actress. Although her work covered many areas of theatre and film, she is best known for "pushing the envelope" of the stage play, devising ...

) (Grand Prix Cannes, Screenwriters Guild Award) * ''

'' 1965 * ''

'' 1967 (adapted from novel by Patrick Ryan) * ''

'' 1968 * ''

'' 1968 (adapted from novel by Alan White) * '' The Bed Sitting Room'' 1969 (adapted from play by

) * ''

'' 1970 (adapted from

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

’s stories dir.

Jerzy Skolimowski Jerzy Skolimowski (, born 5 May 1938) is a Polish film director, screenwriter, dramatist and actor. A graduate of the prestigious National Film School in Łódź, Skolimowski has directed more than twenty films since his 1960 début ''Oko wyk ...

) * ''

'' 1979 * ''

An Awfully Big Adventure ''An Awfully Big Adventure'' is a 1995 British coming-of-age film directed by Mike Newell. The story concerns a teenage girl who joins a local repertory theatre troupe in Liverpool. During a winter production of ''Peter Pan'', the play quickly ...

'' 1995 (adapted from novel by

Beryl Bainbridge Dame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge (21 November 1932 – 2 July 2010) was an English writer from Liverpool. She was primarily known for her works of psychological fiction, often macabre tales set among the English working class. Bainbridge won the ...

) * ''

'' 2001 * '' The Other Man'' 2008

Radio plays

* ''Prisoner and Escort'' * ''Cowheel Jelly'' 2 November 1962 * ''Next to Being a Knight'' 8 December 1972 (play about a child's imagination) * '' The Fire Raisers'' 16 January 2005 (adapted from the play by

Max Frisch Max Rudolf Frisch (; 15 May 1911 – 4 April 1991) was a Swiss playwright and novelist. Frisch's works focused on problems of identity, individuality, responsibility, morality, and political commitment. The use of irony is a significant featur ...

) * ''The Conspiracy of Sèvres'' 3 November 2006 (play about the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

) (nominated by the WGGB in the best radio play category for 2007.)

Translations

* Wood wrote the English dialogue for the dubbed version of Fellini's ''

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...

'' (1969)''The Second Wave: British Drama for the Seventies'' by John Russell Taylor, 1971, (Routledge Revivals), p. 71 * ''The Can Opener'' ('Le Tourniquet' by Victor Lanoux) London 1974 * ''Man, Beast and Virtue'' ('L'uomo, la bestia, e la virtu' by Luigi Pirandello), National Theatre 1989 * ''The Mountain Giants'' ('Uriasii Muntilor' by Luigi Pirandello), National Theatre, 1993 * ''The Tower, Or Marguerite de Bourgogne'' ('La Tour de Nesle' by Alexandre Dumas pere), Almeida Theatre, 1996 * ''Ms Courage'' ('Landstörtzerin Courasche' by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen), in ''Plays Three'', Charles Wood, Oberon Books, 2005

Selected bibliography

* ''Plays 1: "Veterans" & "Across from the Garden of Allah"'' (Oberon Books, 1997) * ''Plays 2: "H", "Jingo", "Dingo"'' (Oberon Books, 1999) * ''Plays 3: "Fill the Stage with Happy Hours", "Red Star", "Ms.Courage"'' (Oberon Books, 2005) * ''Screenplay: "Tumbledown"'' (Penguin 1987) * ''Screenplay: "Iris"'' (Bloomsbury, 2002)

References

Interviews with Charles Wood

* ‘National Service’ by Keith Harper, ''The Guardian'', 31 March 1964, * 'Charles Wood — An Actor's Writer?' by John Rudlin, ''New Theatre Magazine'', 6 (1965), pg. 2-5. * Gambit, 1970 * "Charles Wood" by Ronald Hayman. ''The Times'', March 8, 1972; pg. 13 * ‘Janet Watt meets Charles Wood, the author of Jingo’ by Janet Watt, ''The Guardian'', 20 August 1975 * ‘A monstrously human fascination’ by John Preston, ''The Times'', 16 June 1983, p. 12 * 'More People in a Bare Room' by Derek Weeks, ''Plays & Players'', December 1984 * 'Bookmark: Charles Wood's Theatre of War' BBC2 30 November 1988

External links

*
Works by Charles Wood
from Doollee.com

from 625.org.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Charles 1932 births 2020 deaths People educated at Chesterfield Grammar School 17th/21st Lancers soldiers English dramatists and playwrights Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature English screenwriters English male screenwriters English male dramatists and playwrights