David Pownall

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

(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 port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on 19 May 1938. He graduated from

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

in 1960. Pownall worked as a personnel officer with the

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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 Fo ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

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

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

to take up a post as the personnel manager at

Anglo American PLC Anglo American plc is a British Multinational corporation, 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 ...

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, Lancaster, from 1972–75, and had several plays produced by them. His plays incorporated reflections on the locality, and meditations on the plays of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 natio ...

. Pownall helped found the Paines Plough Theatre, originally based in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, 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 Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

. 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

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under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. Pownall wrote plays for radio, as well as material for performance by children and college students. The Sutton Elms website 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 ''Decli ...

. Then came historical fantasies such as ''White Cutter'' (1988), ''The Catalogue of Men'' (1999) and ''The Ruling Passion'' (2008). He died on 22 November 2022, at the age of 84.His wife Alex survives him; They have a son, Max. Pownall also had two sons from previous marriages, Gareth and Tom.

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 800 Fellows, elect ...

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, 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 Awards 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, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply 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, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

, 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 (; also known as Methuen Books) 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 acade ...

, 1982) *''Black Star'' (1987, pub. in ''Plays Two'', London: Oberon Books) *''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 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, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

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 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 the second published novel (but third to be written) by English author Jane Austen, written when she was age 20-21, and later published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabe ...

'' (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