David Pownall

FRSL 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 ...

(19 May 1938 – 21 November 2022) was a British playwright and prolific radio dramatist performed internationally, and novelist translated into several languages.

Life and career

David Pownall was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

on 19 May 1938. He graduated from

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...

in 1960. Pownall worked as a personnel officer with the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fore ...

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, from 1960-63. In 1963, Pownall moved to

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

to take up a post as the personnel manager at

Anglo American PLC Anglo American plc is a British listed multinational mining company with headquarters in London, England. It is the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper ...

and lived and worked there until 1969; he had several early plays produced there. Returning to England to write full-time, he became the resident writer of the Century Theatre touring group, from 1970-72. He was resident writer of the

Duke's Playhouse The Dukes is a theatre in Lancaster, England. It is the county's only producing theatre venue, and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. As well as producing two theatre productions each year, it also hosts a varied prog ...

, Lancaster, from 1972–75, and had several plays produced by them. His plays reflected the local environment, as well as meditations on the plays of

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 ...

. Pownall helped found the

Paines Plough Paines Plough is a touring theatre company founded in 1974 by writer David Pownall and director John Adams. The company specialises exclusively in commissioning and producing new plays and helping playwrights develop their craft. Over the past f ...

Theatre, first based in

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 ...

, where he was resident writer from 1975-80. In 1977, his play ''Richard III, Part Two'', first produced by Paines Plough, was taken to the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. Being deeply interested in music, he wrote several plays related to the challenges of composers, both in terms of personal creativity, and, in ''Master Class'' (1983), working within the oppressive political environment of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

. Pownall wrote plays for radio, as well as material for performance by children and college students. The Sutton Elms web site lists with dates 75 plays broadcast by BBC radio between 1972 and 2018. As a novelist, Pownall's early work, such as ''The Raining Tree War'' (1974) and its sequel ''African Horse'' (1975) were comic novels in the mode of

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

. Then came historical fantasies such as ''White Cutter'' (1988), ''The Catalogue of Men'' (1999) and ''The Ruling Passion'' (2008). Pownall's wife was a photographer; the couple had a son. He died on 21 November 2022, at the age of 84.

Legacy and honours

* Honorary Doctorate of Letters from

;"David Pownall"
, Official Website and * 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 1976, for the linked novels ''The Raining Tree War'' and ''African Horse'' * Edinburgh Festival Fringe Awards for ''Music to Murder By'' (1976) and ''Richard III Part Two'' (1977). * 1981 John Whiting Award for ''Beef'' (1981), radio play. * ''New York Theatre Yearbook'': Best Foreign Play on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, and the London Stage Director’s Award for ''Livingstone and Sechele'' (1985). * 1980s – Los Angeles Drama Desk Award and the Plays and Players nominations for Best Play: ''Master Class'' *

Giles Cooper Award The Giles Cooper Awards were honours given to plays written for BBC Radio. Sponsored by the BBC and Methuen Drama, the awards were specifically focused on the script of the best radio drama produced in the past year. Five or six winners were chos ...

s for two radio plays, plus a Sony Gold and two Sony Silver Awards.

Selected works

Date is year produced: *''All the World Should Be Taxed'' (1971) *''As We Lie'' (1969, Zambia) *''An Audience Called Edouard'' (1978, pub. London:

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel ...

, 1979) *''Babbage'' (2013) *''Barricade'' (1978) *''Beauty and the Beast'' (1973) *''Beef'' (1981, one-act radio play); in ''Best Radio Plays of 1981'', London:

Methuen Publishing Methuen Publishing Ltd is an English publishing house. It was founded in 1889 by Sir Algernon Methuen (1856–1924) and began publishing in London in 1892. Initially Methuen mainly published non-fiction academic works, eventually diversifying t ...

, 1982) *''Black Star'' (1987, pub. in ''Plays Two'', London:

Oberon Books Oberon Books is a London-based independent publisher of drama texts and books on theatre. The company publishes around 100 titles per year, many of them plays by new writers. In addition, the list contains a range of titles on theatre studies, act ...

) *''Buck Ruxton'' (1975; pub. in ''The Lancaster Plays'', London: Oberon Books, 2006) *''Crates on Barrels'' (1974, pub. in ''Plays for One Person'', London: Oberon Books, 1997) *''Death of a Faun'' (1991) *''Dreams and Censorship'' (2010,

BBC7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...

radio play) *''Dinner Dance'' (1991) *''The Dream of Chief Crazy Horse'' (1973, play for children; pub. London: Faber and Faber, 1975) *''The Edge'' (1987) *''Elgar’s Rondo'' (1993, pub. in ''The Composer Plays'', London: Oberon Books, 1993) *''Elgar’s Third'' (1994,

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The sta ...

radio play; pub. in ''The Composer Plays'', London: Oberon, 1993) * ''Facade'' (radio play, 2002) *''Flos'' (1982) Radio Play published in ''Radio Plays: Oberon'' (Modern Playwrights) by David Pownall (Paperback – 21 May 1998)The Official David Pownall Home Page
Radio list. *''Gaunt'' (1973, pub. in ''The Lancaster Plays'', London: Oberon Books, 2006) *''Getting the Picture'' 1998, London: Oberon Books, 1998) *''The Hot Hello'' (1981) *''How Does the Cukoo Learn to Fly?'' (1970) *''How to Grow a Guerrilla'' (1971) *''The Human Cartoon Show'' (1974) *''Innocent Screams'' (2009, London: Oberon Books, 2009) *''King John's Jewel'' (1987) *''Ladybird, Ladybird'' (1986) *''The Last of the Wizards'' (1970) *''Later'' (1979, pub. in ''Plays for One Person'', London: Oberon Books, 1997) *''Lile Jimmy Williamson'' (1975, pub. in ''The Lancaster Plays'', London: Oberon Books, 2006) *''Lions and Lambs'' (1973) *'' Livingstone and Sechele'' (1978) *'' Master Class'' (1983 - Re: Shostakovich,

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

and

; London: Faber and Faber, 1983) *''Motocar'' (1977; London: Faber and Faber, 1979) *''Music to Murder By'' (1976; London: Faber and Faber, 1978) *''My Father's House'' (1991, pub. in ''Plays Two'', London: Oberon Books) *''Nijinsky: Death of a Faun'' (1991, London: Oberon Books, 1997) *''Ploughboy Monday'' (1985), radio play *''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'' (1983) *''The Pro'' (1975) *''Q'' (1965, Zambia) *''Richard III, Part Two'' (1977,

; London, Faber and Faber, 1979) *''Rousseau's Tale'' (1990, ''Plays for One Person'', London: Oberon Books, 1997) *''Seconds at the Fight for Madrid'' (1978) *''A Tale of Two Town Halls'' (1976, pub. in ''The Lancaster Plays'', London: Oberon Books, 2006) *''The Viewing'' (1987, pub. in ''Plays Two'', London: Oberon Books)

References

Bibliography

* ''Contemporary Dramatists'', pp. 439–440. St. James Press, 1988. * ''Contemporary Literary Criticism'', Volume 10, pp. 418–420. Gale, 1979. * ''Dictionary of Literary Biography'', Volume 14, Part 2, pp. 592–597. Gale, 1983.

External links

*
David Pownall's radio plays
Diversity website {{DEFAULTSORT:Pownall, David 1938 births 2022 deaths Alumni of Keele University English dramatists and playwrights Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Novelists from Liverpool English male dramatists and playwrights