David Edgar (playwright)
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David Edgar (born 26 February 1948) is a British playwright and writer who has had more than sixty of his plays published and performed on stage, radio and television around the world, making him one of the most prolific dramatists of the post-1960s generation in Great Britain.Dictionary of Literary Biography
excerpt at Bookrags.com He was resident playwright at the
Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...
in 1974–5 and has been a board member there since 1985. Awarded a Fellow in Creative Writing at
Leeds Polytechnic Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...
, he was made a Bicentennial Arts Fellow (US) (1978–79). Edgar has enjoyed a long-term association with 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 ...
since 1976,doollee.com
– the playwrights database beginning with his play ''Destiny''; he was the company's literary consultant from 1984 to 1988, and became an honorary associate artist of the company in 1989. His plays have been directed by former artistic directors of both of the largest British subsidised companies,
Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...
for the RSC and Peter Hall for the National Theatre. His works have been performed in Ireland, throughout western and eastern Europe, the U.S., and as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan. He is also the author of ''The Second Time as Farce: Reflections on the Drama of Mean Times'' (1988)The title is a quotation from Karl Marx.
It comes from the opening sentences of ''The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte'' (1852), which read: "Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce." and editor of ''The State of Play'' (2000), a book by playwrights on the art of writing plays. He had his first operatic libretto, ''The Bridge'', performed as part of the
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
Festival in 1998. He is a former president of the
Writers Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The un ...
, and 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, elec ...
. He founded the
University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
's MA in Playwriting Studies programme in 1989 and was its director until 1999. He was appointed Professor of Playwriting Studies in 1995. ''How Plays Work'' (Nick Hern Books, 2010), an influential study of dramatic structure illustrated by examples of both classic and contemporary plays, grew out of the Playwriting course he taught at Birmingham.


Early life

Edgar was born in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
, England, into the fourth generation of a theatrical family. His maternal grandmother was the character actress Isabel Thornton who had made films in the 1930s, including ''Laugh with Me'' (1938);Isabel Thonrnton at IMDb
Edgar's Grandmother's film his maternal aunt Nancy Burman ran the
Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...
throughout the 1960s and '70s, and his mother
Joan Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *: Joan of Arc, a French military heroine *Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...
(née Burman) was an actress and
BBC Overseas Service #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
radio announcer during
World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. His father,
Barrie Edgar Anthony Barrie Edgar (26 April 1919 – 28 December 2012) was an English television producer. Edgar began working for the BBC when its television service resumed after the Second World War, remaining with the corporation until his retirement ...
(1919–2012), was an actor and stage manager at the Birmingham Rep before joining the BBC in 1946, soon working as a television producer, whose credits included ''
Come Dancing ''Come Dancing'' is a British ballroom dancing competition show that ran on and off on the BBC from 1949 to 1998. Unlike its follow-up show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'', contestants were not celebrities. The show was created by Eric Morley, the ...
'' and ''
Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK. The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...
''.O'Mahony, John
"Enter, stage left"
''The Guardian'', 20 March 2004. Barrie Edgar's father, and David Edgar's grandfather, was the early broadcaster
Percy Edgar Frederick Percy Edgar OBE (3 March 1884 – 21 April 1972) was an English broadcaster. Edgar was the dominant figure in English regional broadcasting from its birth until World War II. In 1922 he was the founding General Manager and opening ann ...
who had been the founding manager of
5IT 5IT was a British Broadcasting Company (later BBC) radio station which broadcast from Birmingham, England, between 1922 and 1927. Birmingham was the first British city outside London to have a radio service from the newly formed British Broa ...
– the first BBC radio station to open outside London – and the first regional Director of the BBC Midland Region. Being brought up in what he later recalled as a "more or less upper-middle-class family" with both parents, three grandparents, and "various other slightly more distant relatives" all involved in the theatre or broadcasting, Edgar remembers having seen most of the
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
canon by the age of fifteen, either in his native Birmingham or in nearby
Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...
, plus the complete
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fiction ...
and many more of "the sort of plays one would never go to now." His father converted a garden shed into a twelve-seat theatre for him in their garden and the young Edgar began to write plays for "the theatre in the shed" from the age of five with the intention of giving himself the starring role.British Theatre Guide
– Sheila Connor interviews. By the age of nine he had written his first full-scale work, ''The Life and Times of William Shakespeare''. "At this stage", Edgar recalled, "the idea of being a playwright who would write large parts for other people had not entered my consciousness." He really wanted to be an actor, "I wrote the 'Life and Times' for the sole purpose of playing Shakespeare's lead actor Richard Burbage." But after some tactful advice from his mother regarding his acting ability he decided that acting was not for him and turned his hand to writing more seriously. At
Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...
in Northamptonshire, Edgar became immersed in theatre and was the first pupil in over 300 years of school history to be permitted to direct a play. Undeterred by his actors all being male, he chose
Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...
's ''
Mother Courage Mother Courage (German ''Mutter Courage'') is a character from a Grimmelshausen novel ''Lebensbeschreibung der Ertzbetrügerin und Landstörtzerin Courasche'' (''The Runagate Courage'') dating from around 1670. The character had played a cameo r ...
'', a play calling for six female roles and, forgetting his mother's advice, cast himself in the lead role as the woman who hopes to profit from war by running a canteen for soldiers, but loses all three of her children to the war from which she had hoped to profit. After leaving school in 1966, Edgar taught for one term at a preparatory school and then went to
Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
to read drama with a view to becoming a playwright. In addition to chairing the Socialist Society at Manchester University, Edgar edited the student newspaper, and found himself unable to heed his mother's advice. In 1967, the National Student Drama Festival was held in Bradford and was won by
Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...
's production of
Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that span ...
's ''
The Homecoming ''The Homecoming'' is a two-act play written in 1964 by Harold Pinter and first published in 1965. Its premières in London (1965) and New York (1967) were both directed by Sir Peter Hall. The original Broadway production won the 1967 Tony A ...
'' (1965). Peter Farrago, director of the winning play put together a cast from talent at the Festival to perform
Mike Alfreds Michael Alfreds (born 5 June 1934) is an English theatre director, adapter, translator and teacher. He has worked all over the world and won awards for his productions. Biography Michael Alfreds was born in London in 1934. He spent his Nationa ...
' ''Mandrake, The Musical'' at the next Edinburgh Festival. That cast included
Ian Charleson Ian Charleson (11 August 1949 – 6 January 1990) was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Oscar-winning 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''. ...
and David Rintoul, both of Edinburgh University,
Tim Pigott-Smith Timothy Peter Pigott-Smith, (13 May 1946 – 7 April 2017) was an English film and television actor and author. He was best known for his leading role as Ronald Merrick in the television drama series '' The Jewel in the Crown'', for which he wo ...
from
Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...
and David Edgar played the Apothecary.''Sunday Times''
1 August 2007, Edgar at Edinburgh Festival. On graduating in 1969, he became a journalist with the '' Telegraph & Argus'' in Bradford before becoming a full-time writer in 1972. He maintains his journalism with regular contributions to newspapers and journals such as ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' and ''
The London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review ...
''.


Early theatre pieces

Initially, Edgar's career as a journalist developed alongside his attempts to write plays. In 1970, soon after moving to Bradford to take up his role with the ''Argus'', he met Chris Parr, a Fellow in Theatre at Bradford University, who was able to commission aspiring playwrights and produce their works with the Bradford University Theatre Group, the company consisting of university students. While writing for his newspaper to expose a minor scandal in local politics in northern England, Edgar wrote a play for Parr dealing with the anti-apartheid campaign directed against a tour of South African rugby players. Before the play was accepted, however, the tour was called off. On the strength of this, Parr commissioned Edgar to write a play for two student actresses to perform at the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh F ...
. The result was ''Two Kinds of Angel'', a one-act play that received its Bradford premiere in July 1970, was revived at the Basement Theatre in London and led to more commissions from Parr for the Bradford Theatre Group. ''Two Kinds of Angel'' is set in a flat where the squabbles of the two main characters are inter cut with flashbacks to the lives of their respective ''alter egos''. Rosa is a student revolutionary who re-enacts episodes from the life of
Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg (; ; pl, Róża Luksemburg or ; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary socialism, revolutionary socialist, Marxism, Marxist philosopher and anti-war movement, anti-war activist. Succ ...
, while her flatmate Norma is a blond actress re-enacting the life of
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
. Edgar later described it as a "highly melodramatic piece" that relied on a series of "fairly obvious effects culled from watching the wrong sorts of plays at an impressionable age." "It wasn't very good", Edgar admits.''New Statesman''
Helen Chappell, 12 September 2005. He re-used the character of Rosa Luxemburg in his first full-length work, ''Bloody Rosa'', produced by students of Manchester University at the Edinburgh Festival in August 1971. The play is set ostensibly in a university lecture theatre with a professor telling the story of Luxembourg's political journey, culminating with her violent death at the hand of the fascists in 1919. Edgar added the dramatic twist that events were being regularly interrupted by the students to question the professor's version of events. Further material followed in quick succession and by the end of 1971 Edgar had seen eight of his plays performed, including ''A Truer Shade of Blue'' (1970),
Complete list a one-act play in which two businessmen visit a
Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was deve ...
strip club where they encounter a stripper/waitress whose story changes their perception of such entertainment; ''Still Life: Man in Bed'' (1971), produced at the Pool Theatre, Edinburgh, and again at the Little Theatre, London in 1972 is a one-act re-working of the theme of
Ivan Goncharov Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov (, also ; rus, Ива́н Алекса́ндрович Гончаро́в, r=Iván Aleksándrovich Goncharóv, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪdʑ ɡənʲtɕɪˈrof; – ) was a Russian novelist best known for his ...
's novel '' Oblomov'' (1859), in which the hero remains in bed for 79 days unable to cope with the decimalisation of currency; ''Acid'' (1971) produced by Parr's Bradford University Theatre Group, then again at the Edinburgh Festival in 1971, is a one-act play that has a copycat of the
Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...
massacre take place after a 1970 pop festival on the Isle of Wight; ''Tedderella'' (1971), produced at the Pool Theatre, Edinburgh, then again at the
Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. The Bush Theatre strives to create a s ...
in London in 1973, is a one-act pantomime transposing political events in the life of British Prime Minister
Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...
into a pantomime reminiscent of ''
Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
''. The ugly sisters,
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
and
Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lab ...
, won't let "Tedderella" (Heath) go to the
Common Market The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
Ball when the 1970 general election intervenes. During this period Edgar continued to work as a full-time journalist, and even found time to do some acting with Parr's group, in parts such as the title role in ''Toad of Toad Hall'' and Flashman in Richard Crane's adaptation of ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' (1971). Edgar's acting also ran to playing God in
Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter. While little-known in the United States, he is celebrated in his home country and often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Chu ...
's ''Scott of the Antarctic'' (1971), a mock "cabaret on ice" in which Scott is confronted by the Devil on a motorbike with
Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporati ...
trying to stop his expedition to the
South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...
.Scott of the Antarctic
at the Playwrights Database This was staged as part of a series of events produced by Parr for which Edgar's main contribution was ''The End'', presented as a Cold War Game in the great hall at Bradford University in March 1972. On the stage, scenes in a nuclear
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
were being played out while in the hall itself
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...
marchers and various political figures including John F. Kennedy,
Hugh Gaitskell Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until his death in 1963. An economics lecturer and wartime civil servant ...
and
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, a ...
, are spending the night in a school hall during their march to
Aldermaston Aldermaston is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the Kennet Valley and bounds Hampshire to the south. It is approximately from Newbury, Basingstok ...
. Meanwhile, computer monitors permitted the audience to contribute to the action and the ending varied each evening according to the decisions made by the spectators. During the early 1970s, Bradford had what ''The Guardian'' called a "burgeoning fringe scene" which included theatre companies with names like the John Bull Puncture Repair Kit and The Welfare State. Edgar was co-founder of such a group that took the name The General Will Theatre Company which specialised in a "crude and cartoonish" style of political commentary presented with generous dollops of music hall and burlesque for comedic effect. General Will took several of Edgar's works on tour including ''The National Interest'' (1971), a series of sketches showing how the mythical concept of 'The National Interest' can be used to justify sacrifices by the many on behalf of the self-interested few; ''The Rupert Show'' (1971) a one-act play set in a church during a service conducted by among others a vicar who also plays
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...
,
Lord Longford Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, 1st Baron Pakenham, Baron Pakenham of Cowley, (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to his family as Frank Longford and styled Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and ...
and Judge Argyle, the judge in the ''Oz'' obscenity trial, which the title mocks, and ''State of Emergency'' (1972), which toured with General Will and also appeared at the Edinburgh Festival and at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, all in 1972, was a one-act documentary with songs about industrial resistance to the Conservative government. General Will came to a halt when the only gay member of the company took exception to the heterosexual slant of the material and went on strike in mid-performance. They did, however, lead to Edgar's first foreign premiere. Shortly after the
Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...
shootings in 1972, Edgar collaborated with six friends (Tony Bicat, Brian Clark,
Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter. While little-known in the United States, he is celebrated in his home country and often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Chu ...
, Francis Fuchs, David Hare and Snoo Wilson) who pretended to be on a walking holiday and booked an isolated country cottage for a week where they sat down and wrote a play together. They took what later came to be termed the "firing squad" approach to playwriting. In a firing squad one member of the party has a blank round, and since no member knows who this is none of them need assume responsibility for the killing. Edgar and his friends tried to write in a style as similar to the others as possible so none of them need take responsibility for his contribution to the play. The result was ''England's Ireland'' (1972), an episodic look at the history of the British in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
with different episodes shown from different perspectives. This received its world premiere in 1972 at the hands of the Shoot Theatre Company at the Mickery Theatre,
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, and later the same year transferred to the Round House Theatre in London.The Writers Guild
-Interviews David Edgar, 21 June 2007. By now, Edgar was receiving commissions from repertory theatres and small touring groups resulting in ''Excuses Excuses'' (1972) for the Belgrade Theatre Studio,
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
and later revived by OpenSpace Theatre, London in 1973 and then revived as ''Fired'' (1975) by Second City Theatre Company was a debate on the motives for arson committed in protest at redundancies at a local factory; ''Rent or Caught in the Act'' (1972), at the Unity Theatre, London was about housing conditions for the working classes (and this was also produced at a community centre in Battersea at the request of the Wandsworth Community Workshop led by the Tenants Union, as part of the campaign in 1971–72 against the Housing Finance Bill, eventually enacted as the Housing Finance Act 1972); ''Road to Hanoi'' (1972) produced on tour by Paradise Foundry Theatre Company, London, was a ten-minute play written with Howard, Wandor and Snoo Wilson about
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...
's 1971 visit to
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...
to attempt to buy back American POWs; In 1972, Edgar decided to put the journalism to one side and took to being a playwright full-time.


Gaining a reputation

Lunchtime theatre is an avant-garde phenomenon that seems to exist on the fringe of the fringe and whose popularity waxes and wanes but never disappears. One series in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
was scheduled for a dozen plays, but proved so popular they eventually had over a hundred.British Theatre Record
Lunchtime Theatre In London in the 1970s it had something of a renaissance at the
Orange Tree Theatre The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style. Th ...
, at the
Croydon Warehouse Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensive ...
where it proved so popular they didn't bother putting on evening performances for a while, and at a gays-only lunchtime theatre club called Ambience (from which developed London's Gay Sweatshop). The Soho Polytechnic was another lunchtime theatre venue where Edgar put on a number of necessarily short plays written for office workers on their lunchbreak but which proved remarkably popular with television producers. ''Backshot'' (1973), written for the Soho Polytechnic was a one-act play in which two small-time crooks are cheated of their loot whilst trying to rob broken vending machines in a motorway cafeteria. This was televised as ''Sanctuary'' by Scottish Television in 1973. ''Baby Love'' (1973) was written for Leeds Playhouse Theatre where it premiered in March 1973 then transferred to the Soho Polytechnic Lunchtime Theatre. It was a one-act play in which Eileen, after the still birth of her illegitimate baby, steals a baby at random and is sentenced to nine months in prison, where Valium is found to be the answer. This was televised by the BBC as part of their ''Play for Today'' series in November 1974, with Patti Love as Eileen.Baby Love on TV
at IMDb In the wake of the 1973
sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
at the
Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...
motorcycle factory at Meriden that lasted until 1976, the play, ''Events Following The Closure of a Motorcycle Factory'' was written and went on tour after debut at Birmingham Rep. Whilst working as a journalist in Bradford, Edgar came across a group led by an ex-conservative councillor that called itself the Yorkshire Campaign to Stop Immigration. This group apparently, "addressed many real needs and some real fears" by holding meetings at which they showed films upside down with no sound. This group later merged with the National Front which, in 1973, won 16% of the vote at the
West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area ...
by-election, at which point Edgar decided it was time to write a play about them. ''Destiny'' (1976) was the result. Edgar had wanted it to be produced in a big repertory theatre in a multi-racial city but it was instead picked up by Ron Daniels at the Royal Shakespeare Company who produced it at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, which Edgar described as, "a tin hut in rural Warwickshire". From there it transferred to the RSC's London home, The Aldwych Theatre, opening in May 1977 at the height of the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations and just after the National Front won almost 120,000 votes in London's local elections.Edgar, David
"My fight with the Front"
''The Guardian'', 14 September 2005. That summer, Britain was in the throes of the Queen's Silver Jubilee and West End theatre audience figures suffered as a consequence, with only two shows managing to hold their own during Jubilee week, both of which were at the Aldwych. One of them was about a mad king provoking a Civil War by dividing his kingdom between his daughters, and the other was Edgar's lightly veiled suggestion that Britain was exposed to a fascist takeover. The play was picketed by a group of neo-fascists waving union flags that echoed the patriotic bunting on the front of the theatre, and small scuffles broke out between these pickets and the emerging theatre audience. The play itself was an attempt to answer the question: How can a movement espousing the ideology that the UK had defied during the war gain purchase in postwar Britain? ''Destiny'' starts in India, on the day of independence, introducing four main characters whose lives intersect thirty years later in a small town in the English West Midlands. A British Colonel is a dying Conservative MP; a Major who is hoping to succeed him; a Sergeant who is a candidate for a far-right party and an Indian who works in a local foundry. During the election campaign a strike breaks out at the foundry and the "cosy English ritual" of a local by-election is transformed into a multi-cultural battleground which results in the fascists turning for protection and support to the forces they oppose. Edgar's comparison of British fascists with German Nazis was condemned as "dishonest" by Peter Jenkins in ''The Guardian'', but the play won the
John Whiting Award Between 1965 and 2010, the John Whiting Award (from 2007 renamed the Peter Wolff Trust Supports the John Whiting Award) was awarded annually to a British or Commonwealth playwright who, in the opinion of a consortium of UK theatres, showed a new ...
, presented by the Arts Council for new dramatic writing and was televised by the BBC as part of the ''Play for Today'' series in January 1978 with Frederick Treves as the Colonel,
Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was an English actor. He is most known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom '' Yes Minister'' and the Cabi ...
as the Major,
Colin Jeavons Colin Abel Jeavons (born 20 October 1929) is a retired British television actor. Career Jeavons' earliest television role was as Jules Neraud in an episode of the 1956 anthology series of teleplays ''Nom-de-Plume''. Broadcast live, it is unkno ...
as the Sergeant, and
Saeed Jaffrey Saeed Jaffrey (8 January 1929 – 15 November 2015) was a British-Indian actor. His career covered film, radio, stage and television roles over six decades and more than 150 British, American, and Indian movies. During the 1980s and 1990s he wa ...
as Gurjeet Singh Khera.Destiny on TV
at IMDb


''Nickleby'' and after

After his greatest success in 1980 with ''
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...
'' for 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 ...
, an adaptation of
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
's novel ''
Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...
'', he resumed writing original plays which deal more overtly with political subjects. After the abandonment of the left by a number of public figures during the 1970s, ''Maydays'' (1983) deals with people's drift rightwards as they age. The play returned to The Other Place at 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 ...
in September 2018. Edgar wrote a trilogy of plays on the theme of negotiation set in Eastern Europe: '' The Shape of the Table'' (1990), written shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union; the second part, ''
Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers ...
'', set during the early 1990s, concerning the discovery of a
mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...
in a small church; and '' The Prisoner's Dilemma'' (2001), which premiered shortly before
11 September Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...
. His other recent plays include ''
Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, h ...
'' (2000) and '' Playing with Fire'' (2005), both of which premiered 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 ...
, in London. ''Albert Speer'', based on Gitta Sereny's biography of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
's chief architect, munitions minister, and friend
Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, h ...
, and other historical biographies and documents, focuses on Speer's imprisonment, release, and personal struggle to overcome his denial of
The Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europ ...
. '' Playing with Fire'', a play about the politics of
New Labour New Labour was a period in the history of the British Labour Party from the mid to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The name dates from a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen ...
,
multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
, and ethnic tensions in the north of England, has been produced both on stage and in an adaptation for radio. ''Testing the Echo'' was concerned with a diverse set of characters preparing to become British citizens. In 2003 Edgar was commissioned by the
Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary pla ...
, in
Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population was 21,360 at the 2020 ...
, and the
Berkeley Repertory Theatre Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It runs seven productions each season from its two stages in Downtown Berkeley. History The company was founded in 1968, as the East Bay's first resident p ...
, in
Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
, to write ''Continental Divide'', a two-play epic about
American politics The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a b ...
, which was produced at both theatres to mixed reviews. In 2011 he produced '' Written on the Heart'' for the Royal Shakespeare Company, on the translation of the
King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of ...
. He also participated in the Bush Theatre's 2011 project ''Sixty Six'' with a piece he wrote based on a chapter of the
King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of ...
.


Personal life

Edgar married the social activist Eve Brook in 1979; she died of lung cancer aged 53 in 1998.Edgar, David
"'She woke just after two, flurried and fought a little, and then died'"
''The Guardian'', 23 February 1999. Retrieved 18 April 2009. In 1999, he met fellow dramatist Stephanie Dale. In 2007 they wrote together '' A Time to Keep'', a play for large cast based on a story by Dale.


Political views

In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, Edgar signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialis ...
's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."


Selected playography

*''Two Kinds of Angel'' (1970) *''A Truer Shade of Blue'' (1970) *''Bloody Rosa'' (1971) *''Still Life: Man in Bed'' (1971) *''Acid'' (1971) *''Tedderella'' (1971) *''The National Interest'' (1971) *''The Rupert Show'' (1971) *''Conversation in Paradise'' (1971) *''The End'' (1972) *''Death Story'' (1972) *''State of Emergency'' (1972) *''England’s Ireland'' (1972) *''Excuses, Excuses aka. Fired'' (1972) *''Rent or Caught in the Act'' (1972) *''Road to Hanoi'' (1972) *''Not with a Bang But A Whimper'' (1972) *''Backshot'' (1973) *''Baby Love'' (1973) *''The Eagle Has Landed'' (1973) *''A Fart For Europe'' (1973) *''Gangsters'' (1973) *''The Case of the Workers' Plane'' (1973) *''Liberated Zone'' (1973) *''Operation Iskra'' (1973) *''Man Only Dines'' (1974) *''The Show'' (1974) *''Dick Deterred'' (1974) *''The Dunkirk Spirit'' (1974) *''I Know What I Meant'' (1974) V*''Ball Boys'' (1975) *''Blood Sports'' (1975) *''O Fair Jerusalem'' (1975) *''The National Theatre'' (1975) *''Summer Sports'' (1975) *''Events Following the Closure of a Motorcycle Factory'' (1976) *''Saigon Rose'' (1976) *''The Perils of Bardfrod'' (1976) *''Ten Years On'' (1976) *''Destiny'' (1976) *''Wreckers'' (1977) *''Our Own People'' (1977) *''Ecclesiastes'' (1977)
adio Adio may refer to: Business *Adio (company), the former skateboard footwear and apparel company Music Songs * "Adio" (song), a song by Montenegrin recording artist Knez that represented Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 *"Adio", a 19 ...
*''The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs'' (1978) *''Mary Barnes'' (1979) *''Teendreams'' (1979) *''
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...
'' (1980) *''Maydays'' (1983) *''Entertaining Strangers'' (1985) *''That Summer'' (1987) *''Midas Connection'' (1989) *''Heartlanders'' (1989) *''Vote for Them'' (1989) V*'' The Shape of the Table'' (1990) *''The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1991) *''Buying a Landslide'' (1992) *''A Movie Starring Me'' (1991)
adio Adio may refer to: Business *Adio (company), the former skateboard footwear and apparel company Music Songs * "Adio" (song), a song by Montenegrin recording artist Knez that represented Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 *"Adio", a 19 ...
*''
Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers ...
'' (1994) *''Citizen Locke'' (1994) V*''Talking to Mars'' (1996)
adio Adio may refer to: Business *Adio (company), the former skateboard footwear and apparel company Music Songs * "Adio" (song), a song by Montenegrin recording artist Knez that represented Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 *"Adio", a 19 ...
*''Dirty Tickets'' (1998) *''
Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, h ...
'' (2000) *''The Secret Parts'' (2000)
adio Adio may refer to: Business *Adio (company), the former skateboard footwear and apparel company Music Songs * "Adio" (song), a song by Montenegrin recording artist Knez that represented Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 *"Adio", a 19 ...
*'' The Prisoner's Dilemma'' (2001) *''Continental Divide'' (2003) *''Daughters of the Revolution'' (2003) *''Mothers Against'' (2003) *'' Playing with Fire'' (2005) *''Something Wrong About the Mouth'' (2007)
adio Adio may refer to: Business *Adio (company), the former skateboard footwear and apparel company Music Songs * "Adio" (song), a song by Montenegrin recording artist Knez that represented Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 *"Adio", a 19 ...
*''Testing the Echo'' (2008) *'' A Time to Keep'' (2009) *''Black Tulips'' (2009) *''Arthur and George'' (2010) *'' Written on the Heart'' (2011) *''If Only'' (2013) *''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas ...
'' (2017) *''Trying It On'' (2018) lso performer


References


External links

* *View a segment on David Edgar and "Continental Divide" a
KQED's Spark
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgar, David 1948 births Living people Alumni of the University of Manchester Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature 20th-century British writers People educated at Oundle School Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands Academics of the University of Birmingham English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights