Jonathan Paul Harvey (born 13 June 1968) is an English screenwriter, actor,
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just
Readin ...
and author.
Early life
Harvey 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 ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
in 1968 to Maureen and Brian Harvey. He has a brother, Timothy, who is a music teacher in
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
.
Career
A former secondary school English teacher, his first serious attempt as a playwright was in 1987. He entered a competition, with a first prize of £1,000, for young writers at the
Liverpool Playhouse, with his play ''The Cherry Blossom Tree'', a blend of suicide, murder and nuns. He won National Girobank Young Writer of the Year Award for ''The Cherry Blossom Tree''.
Encouraged by this success he wrote ''Mohair'' (1988), ''Wildfire'' (1992) and ''Babies'' (1993), the latter won the '
George Devine Award' for 1993 and
The Evening Standard's 'Most Promising Playwright Award' for 1994. In 1993, Harvey, premiered ''
Beautiful Thing'', a gay-themed play-turned-film for which he won the
John Whiting Award in 1994.
In 1995 his play ''Boom Bang-a-Bang'' premiered at the
Bush Theatre, London, and was originally directed by
Kathy Burke. Harvey cites it as "my most comic play ever, but with some dark bits". Centred on a group of friends gathering to watch the
Eurovision Song Contest, the play was a sell-out. Also in 1995 ''Rupert Street Lonely Hearts Club'' was premiered. ''Guiding Star'' (1998), is a portrayal of a man's struggle to come to terms with the
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal crowd crush at a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the tw ...
, while ''Hushabye Mountain'' (1999) deals with a world that has learned to live with
HIV/AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
. Television and film works include: ''West End Girls'' (Carlton); ''Love Junkie'' (BBC); ''
Beautiful Thing'' (
Channel Four/Island World Productions); the 1999-2001 hit/cult comedy series starring Kathy Burke and
James Dreyfus, ''
Gimme Gimme Gimme'' (Tiger Aspect); ''
Murder Most Horrid'' (
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 ...
); and ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'' (
ITV).
Harvey wrote the book for ''
Closer to Heaven'', a stage musical with songs and music written by
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...
. ''Closer to Heaven'' ran for nine months at the
Arts Theatre in London during 2001 and in Australia in 2005. In 2003, on hearing the singer-actress
Abi Roberts perform, he offered to write a solo show for her. ''Taking Charlie'' was the outcome, staged at the 2004
Edinburgh Festival with Roberts starring, under the direction of
Susan Tully. The piece was darkly comic and focused on the destructive nature of an insecure, 30 year-old addict.
Harvey's first novel ''All She Wants'' was published in 2012 by
Pan Books
Pan Books is a British publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany.
History
Pan Books began as an indepe ...
.
Since 2013, Harvey has co-written the
Radio Four sitcom series ''
What Does the K Stand For?'' based on the experiences of comedian
Stephen K. Amos growing up as a teenager in south London in the 1980s.
The programme's third series commenced in January 2017.
Personal life
Harvey is married to
casting director Paul Hunt.
Works
Plays
*2023: ''Mother Goose''
*2020: ''Our Lady of Blundellsands''
[https://everymanplayhouse.com/event/our-lady-of-blundellsands-2020/]
*2012: ''
Panto!''
*2010: ''Canary'' (2010) (
Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool/
Hampstead Theatre, London)
*2004: ''Taking Charlie'' (2004)
*2001: ''Out in the Open'' (2001)
*1999: ''Hushabye Mountain'' (1999)
*1998: ''Guiding Star'' (1998)
*1995: ''Rupert Street Lonely Hearts Club'' (1995)
*1995: ''Boom Bang-A-Bang'' (
Bush Theatre, 1995); Rupert Street Lonely Hearts Club (English Touring Theatre/Contact Theatre Company,
Donmar Warehouse/
Criterion Theatre, London, 1995).
*1994: ''Babies'' (
Royal National Theatre
The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...
Studio/
Royal Court Theatre, 1994), winner
George Devine Award 1993 and
Evening Standard
The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...
's Most Promising Playwright Award 1994.
*1993: ''
Beautiful Thing'' (
Bush Theatre, London, 1993 and
Donmar Warehouse, London/
Duke of York's Theatre, London, 1994), winner of the
John Whiting Award 1994.
*1992: ''Wildfire'' (
Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 1992).
*1988: ''Mohair'' (Royal Court Young Writers Festival, London/International Festival of Young Playwrights, Sydney, 1988).
*1987: ''The Cherry Blossom Tree'' (
Liverpool Playhouse Studio, 1987) which won him the 1987 National Girobank Young Writer of the Year Award.
Musicals
* 2024: ''Here You Come Again''
* 2019: ''
Musik''
* 2018: ''
Dusty - The Dusty Springfield Musical''
* 2001: ''
Closer to Heaven''
Television and film
*2016: ''
Tracey Ullman's Show'' (
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 ...
) (2016-2018)
*2009: ''
Octavia'' (
ITV)
*2008: ''
Beautiful People'' (
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 ...
) (2008–2009)
*2004: ''Von Trapped''
*2004: ''
Big Brother Panto'' (
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
) (2004-2005)
*2004: ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'' (
ITV) (2004-2024)
*1999: ''
Murder Most Horrid'' (
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 ...
)
*1999: ''
Gimme Gimme Gimme'' (
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 ...
) (1999-2001)
*1996: ''
Beautiful Thing'' (
Channel Four/Island World Productions)
*1993: ''West End Girls'' (
Carlton)
*1992: ''Love Junkie'' (
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 ...
)
Fiction
*2012: ''All She Wants'',
Pan Books
Pan Books is a British publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany.
History
Pan Books began as an indepe ...
,
*2013: ''The Confusion of Karen Carpenter'', Pan Books,
*2014: ''The Girl Who Just Appeared'', Pan Books,
*2015: ''The Secrets We Keep'', Pan Books,
*2016: ''The History of Us'', Pan Books,
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Jonathan
1968 births
English male dramatists and playwrights
Living people
English LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights
Schoolteachers from Merseyside
English screenwriters
English soap opera writers
People educated at Liverpool Blue Coat School
English male television writers