Kevin Elyot (18 July 1951 – 7 June 2014) was a British playwright, screenwriter and actor. His most notable works include the play '' My Night with Reg'' (1994) and the film '' Clapham Junction'' (2007). His stage work has been performed by leading theatre companies including the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

, National Theatre, Bush Theatre,

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 ...

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 ...

and in the West End. He finished his final play, ''Twilight Song'', not long before he died in 2014, which received a posthumous premiere at London's Park Theatre in 2017.

Early life

Kevin Elyot was born in the Birmingham suburb of

Handsworth, West Midlands Handsworth () is an inner-city area of Birmingham in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historically in Staffordshire, Handsworth lies just outside Birmingham City Centre and near the town of Smethwick. In 2021 the ...

, England, on 18 July 1951. As a child he was a member of the Anglo-Catholic church of St Peter's choir, and studied the piano. He studied 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 ...

, where he acted the part of Desdemona, and sang in the third performance of Britten's " War Requiem". He also sang in the Birmingham Cathedral choir as a treble. As children he and his sister were regularly taken to the theatre. He cited a trip to

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

when he was around 10 years old, to see a

production of ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' starring

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage and television. His accolades included an Academy Aw ...

and

Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdo ...

, as the "start of my love affair with the place", and afterwards he would take himself on the bus to Stratford to go to the theatre. He went to the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

and graduated with a Theatre Studies degree in 1973.

Career

Elyot began his theatre career as an actor, working regularly at London's Bush Theatre from 1976, with the pioneering company Gay Sweatshop, and at the

King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. The original venue was the oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2024, the pub theatre, and the King's Head Theatre now operates from a purpose-b ...

. Following encouragement from the Bush Theatre's artistic team, he submitted his first play to them, then titled ''Cosy''. The play opened on 3 November 1982 under the title ''Coming Clean'', in a production directed by

David Hayman David Hayman (born 9 February 1948) is a Scottish film, television and stage actor and director from Glasgow. His acting credits include '' Sid and Nancy'' (1986), '' Hope and Glory'' (1987), '' Rob Roy'' (1995), '' The Jackal'' (1997), '' Tri ...

. The play tackled sexual relationships in a period when AIDS was still a rumour in Britain. It won the Samuel Beckett Award. On the back of the success of his debut work he was taken on briefly by agent

Peggy Ramsay Margaret Francesca Ramsay (27 May 1908 - 4 September 1991) was an Australian-born British Talent agent, theatrical agent.Christopher Stevens ''Born Brilliant: The Life Of Kenneth Williams'', London: John Murray, 2010, p.409 Early life Peggy ...

. After a deflating comment from Ramsay about the manuscript for his second play, ''A Quick One'', which remained unstaged, he wrote the radio play ''According to Plan'', which was broadcast on Radio 4 in 1987. His first adaptation, of

Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for ''The Woman in White (novel), The Woman in White'' (1860), a mystery novel and early sensation novel, and for ''The Moonsto ...

's detective novel ''The Moonstone'', premiered at the Worcester Swan in 1990. In 1992, Elyot created a new translation for the

of Alexander Ostrovsky's ''Artists and Admirers''. The production was directed by Phyllida Lloyd with a cast that included Linda Bassett and opened at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

's The Pit on 13 October 1992. Elyot's breakthrough play, '' My Night with Reg'', was commissioned by the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...

in 1991. Hampstead passed on the play in 1993, at which point his agent submitted it to

Stephen Daldry Stephen David Daldry Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway theatre, Broadway and an Olivie ...

, who had just been appointed as the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

's Artistic Director. Daldry was swift to schedule the play for a spring opening in 1994, and suggested Roger Michell should direct. It was a smash hit at the Royal Court's Theatre Upstairs, with a cast including

David Bamber David James Bamber (born 19 September 1954) is an English actor. His credits include '' Privates on Parade'' (1983), '' Juliet Bravo'' (1983), '' Crown Court'' (1984), '' Call Me Mister'' (1986), '' The Buddha of Suburbia'' (1993), '' Pride an ...

and John Sessions. From there it quickly transferred to the West End, first to the Criterion Theatre, and then to the even larger

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt in ...

where the cast included

Hugh Bonneville Hugh Richard Bonniwell Williams (born 10 November 1963), known professionally as Hugh Bonneville, is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey'' from ...

. The play and the production won many awards including the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and the Evening Standard Theatre Awards Best Comedy. It went on to premiere in New York in June 1997 in a production by The New Group starring

Maxwell Caulfield Maxwell Caulfield (born Maxwell P.J. Newby; 23 November 1959) is a British actor. He has appeared in ''Grease 2'' (1982), ''Electric Dreams (film), Electric Dreams'' (1984), ''The Boys Next Door (1985 film), The Boys Next Door'' (1985), ''The S ...

, where it was positively reviewed by Ben Brantley in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Elyot also wrote the screenplay for the

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of ''My Night with Reg'', which was again directed by Michell and featured the entire original Royal Court cast, and which premiered on 14 March 1997. Elyot's television adaptation of ''The Moonstone'' was broadcast later that same year, with a cast featuring Greg Wise, Keeley Hawes and Antony Sher. Elyot's next two plays were both directed by

Ian Rickson Ian David Rickson (born 1963) is a British theatre director. He was the artistic director at the Royal Court Theatre in London from 1998 to 2006.

. ''The Day I Stood Still'' premiered in the

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, ...

's Cottesloe on 22 January 1998, with a cast led by

Adrian Scarborough Adrian Philip Scarborough is an English actor. He has appeared in films including '' The Madness of King George'' (1994), '' Gosford Park'' (2001), '' Vera Drake'' (2004), '' The History Boys'' (2006), '' The King's Speech'' (2010), '' Les Misé ...

. The play is a comedy drama about the heartbreak of unrequited love and the power of memories, and was nominated for Best Play at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. ''Mouth to Mouth'' saw Elyot return to the Royal Court but now on the main stage Downstairs, and opened on 1 February 2001, starring Lindsay Duncan. A more sombre drama about a man haunted by feelings of guilt and shame over an incident in his past, the play transferred with Duncan to the West End's

Albery Theatre Albery is a name. It may refer to: Given name * Albery Allson Whitman (1851−1901), African American poet, minister and orator Surname * A. S. Albery, British politician * Bronson Albery (1881−1971), English theatre director and impresario * Do ...

on 17 May 2001. ''Mouth to Mouth'' was nominated for both the Laurence Olivier Award and Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play, 2004's ''Forty Winks'' again premiered at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, as an examination on love and growing up. It was directed by Katie Mitchell with a cast that included Dominic Rowan and

Carey Mulligan Carey Hannah Mulligan (born 28 May 1985) is a British actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. She w ...

. Elyot was continuing to build a successful career as a screenwriter, which by now included episodes of ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', or simply ''Poirot'' (), is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2020. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie's famous crime fiction series, wh ...

'' and ''

Agatha Christie's Marple ''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (or simply ''Marple'') is a British ITV television programme loosely based on books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first t ...

''. His last stage play was a new version of Christie's ''

And Then There Were None ''And Then There Were None'' is a mystery fiction, mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, who described it as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 N ...

'' in 2005, which opened directly in the West End at the

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 994 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and ...

. It was favourably received, with ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' calling it "a gripping, gory corker. The show achieves a perfect balance between thrills and chills and a knowing, tongue-in-cheek humour." Further screen success followed. Eylot adapted Patrick Hamilton's trilogy '' Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky'' into a three-part miniseries for the BBC, starring Zoë Tapper, Bryan Dick and

Sally Hawkins Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress of stage and screen. She began her career on stage and then moved into film, for which she has received several accolades including a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominatio ...

. '' Clapham Junction'', for Channel 4, weaves together five stories of contemporary gay life during one hot summer's night, from a civil partnership ceremony to a heated dinner party, and from school and work to bars and clubs. The cast included Samantha Bond,

Rupert Graves Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in '' A Room with a View'', '' Maurice'', '' The Madness of King George'' and '' The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he sta ...

, Rachel Blake, Luke Treadaway, Richard Lintern and Paul Nicholls. Elyot's final television film was an adaptation of

Christopher Isherwood Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include '' Goodbye to Berlin'' (1939), a semi-autobiographical ...

's autobiography, '' Christopher and His Kind'', which tells the story of Isherwood's years living in hedonistic Weimar Berlin in the early 1930s. It was directed by Geoffrey Sax and starred

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Prince Philip in Netflix's historical series ''The Crown ( ...

as Isherwood, along with

Toby Jones Toby Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. He is known for his extensive character actor roles on stage and screen. From 1989 ...

, Lindsay Duncan,

Imogen Poots Imogen Gay Poots (born 3 June 1989) is an English actress. She played Tammy in the post-apocalyptic horror film ''28 Weeks Later'' (2007), Linda Keith in the Jimi Hendrix biopic ''Jimi: All Is by My Side'' (2013), Debbie Raymond in the Paul Ray ...

and Douglas Booth. It was first broadcast in the UK on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

on 19 March 2011, and was also broadcast internationally. Elyot died while preparations were under way for the Donmar Warehouse's 2014 revival of ''My Night with Reg'', and shortly after completing ''Twilight Song'', his first original stage play since 2004's ''Forty Winks''. ''Twilight Song'' traces one family's hidden liaisons over half a century from the 1960s to the present day, and received a posthumous premiere at London's Park Theatre in summer 2017 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act 1967. The production was directed by Anthony Banks, and starred

Adam Garcia Adam Garcia is an Australian actor who is best known for lead roles in musicals such as '' Saturday Night Fever'' and '' Kiss Me, Kate''. He is also a trained tap dancer and singer. Garcia has been nominated twice at the Laurence Olivier Award ...

(who had previously starred in Elyot's television drama ''Riot at the Rite''), Bryony Hannah, Paul Higgins, Philip Bretherton and Hugh Ross.

Personal life

He was openly gay and some of the plays he created were based on growing up as a young gay man, such as ''The Day I Stood Still'' (in which he addresses growing up and dealing with his own homosexuality in the UK in the 1960s).The Independent: Kevin Elyot: Playwright whose tender, witty piece 'My Night with Reg' captured the fears and anxieties of the age of Aids
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Works

Plays

*'' Coming Clean'', Bush Theatre, 1982 *''The Moonstone'' (

), Worcester Swan, 1990 *''Artists and Admirers'' (a new translation from Alexander Ostrovsky), RSC at the Barbican, 1992 *'' My Night with Reg'',

and West End, 1994 *''The Day I Stood Still'', National Theatre, 1998 *''Mouth to Mouth'',

and West End, 2001 *''Forty Winks'',

, 2004 *''And Then There Were None'' (

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

), West End, 2005 *''Twilight Song'', Park Theatre, 2017

Television

* '' The Woman in White'', BBC, 1982 *''Killing Time'', BBC, 1990 *'' My Night with Reg'', premiere at London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, 14 March 1997 *''The Moonstone'', BBC/Carlton, 1997 *'' No Night Is Too Long'', BBC, 2002 *'' Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky'', BBC, 2005 *''Riot at the Rite'', BBC, 2005 *'' Clapham Junction'', Channel 4, 2007 *'' Christopher and His Kind'', BBC, 2011 *''

'' (3 episodes), ITV, 2003–2013 *''

'' (6 episodes), ITV, 2004–2013

Awards and nominations

, - , 1983 , Kevin Elyot for ''Coming Clean'' , Samuel Beckett Award , , - , 1990 , ''Killing Time'' , Writers’ Guild Award for Best TV Play or Film , , - , 1994 , ''My Night with Reg'' , Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Comedy , , - , 1994 , Kevin Elyot for ''My Night with Reg'' , Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright , , - , 1994 , ''My Night with Reg'' , Writers’ Guild Awards for Best Play , , - , 1995 , ''My Night with Reg'' , Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy , , - , 1998 , ''The Day I Stood Still'' , Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play , , - , 2001 , ''Mouth to Mouth'' , Laurence Olivier Award for Best Play , , - , 2001 , ''Mouth to Mouth'' , Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play , , - , 2006 , Simon Curtis, Kevin Elyot and Kate Harwood for ''Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky'' , Banff Television Festival Rockie Award for Best Mini Series , , - , 2012 , Geoffrey Sax (director), Célia Duval (producer) and Kevin Elyot (writer) for ''Christopher and His Kind'' , Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Single Drama ,

Sources

Interview
Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elyot, Kevin 1951 births 2014 deaths 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British screenwriters 20th-century British male writers Alumni of the University of Bristol British gay actors British gay writers British male dramatists and playwrights British male screenwriters British LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights British LGBTQ screenwriters Gay dramatists and playwrights Gay screenwriters People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham People from Handsworth, West Midlands