James David Rudkin (born 29 June 1936) is an English playwright.

Early life

Rudkin was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Coming from a family of strict evangelical Christians, he was educated at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

and read Mods and Greats at

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. In 1974, it was also one of the first men's colleges to admit women. It has 528 un ...

. Beginning to write during

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

, Rudkin taught Latin, Greek and music at North Bromsgrove High School in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

until 1964,Biographical information on cover of ''The Triumph of Death'', Methuen 1981 and ''The Saxon Shore'', Methuen 1986 while also directing amateur theatre productions.

Career

Following the success of his first play ''

Afore Night Come ''Afore Night Come'' is a 1962 British Play (theatre), play written by David Rudkin, first staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The subject matter of the play meant that any production in a public theatre would probably have been vetoed by the ...

'' (1962), Rudkin translated works by

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

, Roger Vitrac, the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

of Schoenberg's '' Moses and Aaron'', and wrote the book to the

Western Theatre Ballet Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the five leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet. Founded in 1969, ...

's ''Sun into Darkness'' ( Sadlers Wells 1963) John Russell Taylor ''Anger & After'', Methuen University Paperback, 1969 reprint, p.309 and the libretto for Gordon Crosse's

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

, ''The Grace of Todd''. Rudkin's major works for the stage include '' Ashes'' (1974), '' The Sons of Light'' (written in 1965 though not staged until 1975), ''The Triumph of Death'' (1981) and ''The Saxon Shore'' (1986). His associations with the RSC also led him to translate the '' Hippolytus'' of

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

for the company in 1978, having translated the author's ''

Hecuba Hecuba (; also Hecabe; , ) was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War. Description Hecuba was described by the chronicler John Malalas, Malalas in his account of the ''Chronography'' as "dark, good eyes ...

'' for radio three years previously. He has written for television, including ''The Stone Dance'' (1963), ''Children Playing'' (1967), ''House of Character'' (1968) (staged by the Birmingham Rep as ''No Title'' in 1974), ''Blodwen, Home from Rachel's Marriage'' (1969), ''Bypass'' (1972), ''Atrocity'' (1973), the Alan Clarke-directed '' Penda's Fen'' (1974), and '' Artemis 81'' (1981); for radio, including ''No Accounting for Taste'' (1960), ''Gear Change'' (1967), '' Cries from Casement as His Bones are Brought to Dublin'' (1973) (also staged by the RSC); and for cinema, including

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

's ''

Fahrenheit 451 ''Fahrenheit 451'' is a 1953 Dystopian fiction, dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. It presents a future American society where books have been outlawed and "firemen" Book burning, burn any that are found. The novel follows in the ...

'' (1966). He has also written a volume in the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

's "Film Classics" series, a 2005 study of

Carl Theodor Dreyer Carl Theodor Dreyer (; 3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers in history, his movies are noted for emotional austerity ...

's ''

Vampyr ''Vampyr'' () is a 1932 Gothic horror film directed by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. It was written by Dreyer and Christen Jul based on elements from Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 collection of supernatural stories '' In a Glass Darkly''. The ...

''.

Works

Stage plays

* ''

'',

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 opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

at the Arts Theatre, directed by Clifford Williams (1962) * ''Burglars'', a short children's play originally written for radio, Oval House Theatre (1968) * ''The Filth Hunt'',

one-act play A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writi ...

, InterAction at the Almost Free Theatre (1972) * '' Ashes'', Stadsteater Hamburg (1973),

Open Space Theatre The Open Space Theatre was created by Charles Marowitz and Thelma Holt in 1968. It began in a basement on Tottenham Court Road in London, then transferred to an art deco post office on the Euston Road in 1976. Thelma attracted a team of volunte ...

(1974), staged

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in 1977 and winner of an

Obie award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...

* '' The Sons of Light'', Tyneside Theatre Company (1976); revised for the RSC at The Other Place (1977) * ''Sovereignty Under Elizabeth'', one-act play, InterAction at the Almost Free Theatre (1977) * ''Hansel and Gretel'', RSC, The Other Place (1980) * ''The Triumph of Death'', Birmingham Rep (1981) * ''Space Invaders'', one-act play, RSC Youth Festival, Stratford (1983) * ''Will's Way'',

monologue In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts ...

spoken by

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 ...

, RSC Youth Festival, Stratford (1984) * ''The Saxon Shore'',

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West E ...

(1986) * ''John Piper in the House of Death'', after

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

's '' A Journal of the Plague Year'', Central School of Speech and Drama (1991) * ''Symphonie Pathétique'' (commissioned for the centenary of the death of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

) (1992), unperformed * ''Trade'' (1997), unperformed * ''Red Sun'', AJTC touring production (2003) * ''

The Master and Margarita ''The Master and Margarita'' () is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940. A censored version, with several chapters cut by editors, was published posthumously in ''Moscow (magazine), Moscow'' magazine in ...

'' dramatised from

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( ; rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright. His novel ''The M ...

for the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (2004) * ''Merlin Unchained'',

Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

, directed by David Ian Rabey (2009)

Television plays

* ''The Stone Dance'', ATV, starring Michael Bryant,

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

, Michael Hordern and Rachel Thomas, directed by Peter Wood (1963) * ''Children Playing'', ATV, directed by Peter Wood (1967) * ''House of Character'',

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Wednesday Play (1967) * ''Blodwen, Home from Rachel's Marriage'', BBC Wednesday Play (1969) * ''Bypass'', BBC, starring Bob Peck (1972) * ''Atrocity'', BBC (1973) * '' Penda's Fen'', BBC

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

directed by Alan Clarke (1974) * '' Churchill's People'', BBC (1975), two episodes; ** ''Pritân'' ** ''The Coming of the Cross'' * ''

A Ghost Story for Christmas ''A Ghost Story for Christmas'' is a Anthology series, strand of annual British short television films originally broadcast on BBC One between 1971 and 1978, and revived sporadically by the BBC since 2005. With one exception, the original instal ...

'', BBC, one episode; ** '' The Ash Tree'', adaptation of the

M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English medievalist scholar and author who served as provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936) as well as Vice-Chancellor of the Univers ...

story, (1975) * '' Leap in the Dark'', BBC, one episode; ** ''The Living Grave'' (1980) * '' Artemis 81'', BBC, starring

Hywel Bennett Hywel Thomas Bennett (8 April 1944 – 24 July 2017) was a Welsh film and television actor. He had a lead role in '' The Family Way'' (1966) and played the titular "thinking man's layabout" James Shelley in the television sitcom '' Shelley'' ( ...

Roland Curram Roland Kingsford Bernard Curram (6 June 1932 – 1 June 2025) was an English actor and author. Career Curram was educated at Brighton College and has had a long film, television and theatre career. His appearances include Julie Christie's trave ...

, Dan O'Herlihy, Ian Redford, Dinah Stabb, and Sting (1981) * ''Across the Water'', BBC, starring

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Liam Neeson, several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, BAFT ...

(1983) * ''White Lady'', BBC, directed by the author (1986) * '' Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'', adaptation for Thames TV (1991)

Radio plays

* '' Cries from Casement as His Bones are Brought to Dublin'' (1973) * ''The Lovesong of Alfred J. Hitchcock'' (1993) Won a

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. Membership of the society is open to "anyon ...

award and a Sony Radio Award for Richard Griffiths * ''The Haunting of

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

'' (1994) * ''The Giant's Cause'' (2004) About Finn MacCoul * ''Macedonia'' (2015) About

Film

* '' Mademoiselle'',

script doctor A script doctor is a writer or playwright hired by a film, television, or theatre production company to rewrite an existing script or improve specific aspects of it, including structure, characterization, dialogue, pacing, themes, and other elemen ...

ing (1966) * ''

'', translation and additional scriptwriting (1966) * ''

Testimony Testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. Law In the law, testimon ...

'', based on the memoirs of Shostakovich as dictated in the book

(1987) * '' December Bride'', based on the 1951 novel by Sam Hanna Bell (1990) * ''The Woodlanders'', adapted from

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

(1997) Won Best Film at the Shanghai International Film Festival

Translations

* ''

The Persians ''The Persians'' (, ''Persai'', Latinised as ''Persae'') is an ancient Greek tragedy written during the Classical period of Ancient Greece by the Greek tragedian Aeschylus. It is the second and only surviving part of a now otherwise lost trilog ...

'' by

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 ...

, with Donald Wolfit as Ghost of Darius (1965) * ''

'' by

, BBC Radio 3, directed by John Tydeman (1975) * '' Hippolytus'' by Euripides,

, directed by Ron Daniels with Natasha Parry as

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * Phaedra (Cabanel), ''Phaedra'' (Cabanel), an 1880 painting by Alexandre Cabanel *House of Phaedra ...

, Michael Pennington as Hippolytus, and

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

(1978); directed for Radio 3 by John Tydeman (1984) with Siân Phillips as Phaedra * ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

'' by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

, RSC (1983) * '' Deathwatch'' by

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; ; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Th ...

, RSC at The Pit (1987) * '' The Maids'' by Jean Genet, RSC at The Pit, (1987); revived at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

in 1997, directed by John Crowley, with Josette Simon,

Niamh Cusack Niamh Cusack ( ; born 20 October 1959) is an Irish actress. Born into a family with deep roots in the performing arts, she has performed extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and other prominent theatre ens ...

, and Kerry Fox * '' Rosmersholm'' by Henrik Ibsen, Radio 3, directed by John Tydeman with Lindsay Duncan as Rebecca West and Charles Kay as Professor Kroll (1990) * '' When We Dead Waken'' by Henrik Ibsen,

, directed by Jonathan Kent with

Claire Bloom Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is known for leading roles on stage and screen and has received two BAFTA Awards and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award an ...

as Irena (1990)

Opera libretti

* '' Moses and Aaron'', translation of

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

's libretto,

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

, directed by Peter Hall, conducted by

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt, and London, and as a long-servi ...

(1964) * ''The Grace of Todd'', one-act

by Gordon Crosse,

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk and is centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festi ...

(1969) * ''Broken Strings'', one-act opera by Param Vir, originally produced by Pierre Audi at

De Nederlandse Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

(1992) * ''Inquest of Love'', script doctoring work for Jonathan Harvey's opera,

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

(1993) * ''Black Feather Rising'', music theatre piece by Param Vir, Toneelschuur and tour of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

(2008)Param Vir's website
Retrieved on 7 October 2009

Notes

External links

Official Site

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudkin, David 1936 births Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford English dramatists and playwrights English translators French–English translators Greek–English translators Living people Norwegian–English translators People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham English opera librettists English male dramatists and playwrights English people of Northern Ireland descent English male non-fiction writers 20th-century British Army personnel Royal Corps of Signals soldiers

Early life

Career

Works

Stage plays

Television plays

Radio plays

Film

Translations

Opera libretti

Notes

Further reading

External links