Nicholas de Jongh is a British writer, theatre critic and playwright. He served as the senior drama critic of the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' from 1991 to 2009. Prior to that, he had worked for ''

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 ...

'' for almost 20 years. In 2008, de Jongh successfully made the transition from critic to playwright when his play '' Plague Over England'' was staged at the Finborough Theatre in Earl's Court. Set in 1950s England, the play takes a look back at the arrest of the actor John Gielgud for homosexual soliciting at the height of his fame. The play was an instant hit and sold out for its run at the Finborough. In 2009, the play transferred to the West End. Following the success of his first play, he resigned from his post at the ''Evening Standard'' to pursue a full-time writing career. He has also written two books: ''Not in Front of the Audience'' (1992), a study of the depiction of homosexuality in English drama, and ''Politics, Pruderies and Perversions'' (2000), a history of British theatrical censorship.

Education

De Jongh was a student at University College, London. While a student there, he was part of the team that made the semi-finals in the 1966–7 series of '' University Challenge''.

References

Living people British dramatists and playwrights British theatre critics British male dramatists and playwrights English people of Jewish descent Contestants on University Challenge 1944 births {{UK-playwright-stub