Charles Julian Humphrey Mitchell, FRSL (born 1 May 1935) is an English playwright, screenwriter and occasional novelist. He is best known as the writer of the play and film '' Another Country'', and as a screenwriter for TV, producing many original plays and series episodes, including at least ten for '' Inspector Morse''. Mitchell was born in Epping,

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

, and educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

, where he won the English Verse and Duncan Reading Prizes.Winchester College Register 1992 He did his national service in submarines 1953-55 as a Sub Lt RNVR. He then went to Wadham College, Oxford and received a BA with first class honours in 1958. This was followed by a period as a

Harkness Fellow The Harkness Fellowship (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship) is a program run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. This fellowship was established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships and enable Fellows from several cou ...

in the USA (1959–61). He earned an M.A. in 1962 at

St. Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, econom ...

. Since 1962 he has been a freelance writer. In the late 1960s, Mitchell co-wrote the

teleplay A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more w ...

'' with Ray Davies of The Kinks. It was never produced, though it gave rise to the band's concept album. He recently recalled the aborted project: "''Arthur'' had a most unhappy history. It was originally meant to be a ... sort of rock opera, and we got as far as casting (excellent director and actors) and finding locations and were about to go when the producer went to a production meeting without a proper budget, tried to flannel his way through it, was immediately sussed and the production pulled. I have never been able to forgive the man." Mitchell has written nine produced plays, including '' Another Country'', which won the SWET (now Olivier) Award for best play of the year (1981), and '' After Aida'' (1985), a play-with-music about composer Giuseppe Verdi. Mitchell has screenplay credits for five feature films. The earliest was ''

Arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

'' (1966), which was directed by Stanley Donen. '' Another Country'' (1984) is based on Mitchell's own play, and directed by Marek Kanievska. ''

Vincent & Theo ''Vincent & Theo'' is a 1990 biographical drama film about the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) and his brother Theo (1857–1891), an art dealer. While Vincent van Gogh's artworks are now famous, he was essentially unrecognised in h ...

'' (1990) is a biographical film about the famed painted

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

and his brother Theo, and was directed by Robert Altman. ''

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named '' Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month i ...

'' (1996) was directed and starred

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

, and was adapted from Anton Chekhov's classic play ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the di ...

''. '' Wilde'' (1997) is based on the life of Oscar Wilde, and was directed by Brian Gilbert. In 2007 he wrote the BBC4 drama '' Consenting Adults'' about Sir John Wolfenden and his celebrated 1957 report.

Novels

*''Imaginary Toys'' (1961) *''A Disturbing Influence'' (1962) *''As Far as You Can Go'' (1963) *''The White Father'' (1964) (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award) *''A Circle of Friends'' (1966) *''The Undiscovered Country'' (1968)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Julian 1935 births Living people Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford English dramatists and playwrights English television writers English screenwriters English male screenwriters John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People educated at Winchester College People from Epping Harkness Fellows English male dramatists and playwrights British male television writers