John Courtenay Trewin (4 December 1908 – 16 February 1990) was a British journalist, writer and drama critic.
Trewin was born in
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
,
Devon, although both his parents were
Cornish. He was educated at
Plymouth College and in 1926 joined the ''
Western Independent
Western may refer to:
Places
* Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
* Western world, countries that ...
'' as a cub reporter. He moved to
London in 1932 and joined the ''
Morning Post'', transferring to ''
The Observer'' in 1937. He served as drama critic on the paper for more than 60 years. His also wrote a drama column for ''
The Listener'' (1951–57), and contributed regular notices to ''
Punch'' (1944–45), ''
John O'London's Weekly'' (1945–54), ''
The Sketch'' (1947–59), the ''
Illustrated London News'' (1947–88), ''
The Lady'' (from 1949) and the ''
Birmingham Post
The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a s ...
''.
[Donald Roy]
"Trewin, John Courtenay"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Accessed 24 January 2016.
Among other productions, his memoir ''A Play Tonight'', published in 1952 by Elek Books, New York, reviewed the June 1951 revival of the
York Mystery Plays, performed for the first time there since 1570 during the York Festival, as part of the
Festival of Britain. ''Paul Scofield'' (1956) was an illustrated study of
the actor's work, as was ''John Neville'' (1961) of
his work.
He was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) in 1981 for services to theatre.
He married
Wendy Monk (1915–2000), also a critic, in 1938. The couple had two sons, Mark Antony Trewin and
Ion Trewin (who eventually became the administrator of the
Man Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
from 2006).
From 2000 to 2015, the John And Wendy Trewin Award For Best Shakespearian Performance was given by
The Critics' Circle in memory of Trewin and his wife. In 2016, after their son Ion died, the award was renamed the Trewin Award For Best Shakespearian Performance and the first recipient was
Dame Judi Dench.
Critics' Circle website.
Footnotes
Sources
*Donald Roy, "Trewin, John Courtenay", ''Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''
External links
Catalogue of the papers of J. C. Trewin held by the Library of the University of Reading
John Courtenay Trewin Collection
at the Harry Ransom Center
1908 births
1990 deaths
Writers from Plymouth, Devon
English male journalists
English people of Cornish descent
British theatre critics
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Plymouth College
Presidents of the Critics' Circle
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