Michael Wall (22 November 1946 – 11 June 1991) was a British

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 ...

. He wrote over forty plays, the most well-known of which are '' Amongst Barbarians'' and '' Women Laughing''. Born in

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

, England, he read English at the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

, graduating in 1976. He wrote several stage plays, but the majority of his work was done for

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

. Several of his works were produced by the

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 ...

. ''Amongst Barbarians'', for which he won the 1989 Mobil Competition's prize for playwriting, was first produced at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, England. It then moved to 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 London, and was later made into a British made-for-television movie. He won the Sony and

Giles Cooper Award The Giles Cooper Awards were honours given to plays written for BBC Radio. Sponsored by the BBC and Methuen Drama, the awards were specifically focused on the script of the best radio drama produced in the past year. Five or six winners were cho ...

s in 1985 for '' Hiroshima – The Movie'', which he wrote for BBC radio. ''Women Laughing'', written in 1989, was produced on stage at 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 ...

in 1992, just after the author's death. '' Headcrash'' was produced for the BBC in 1986. However, due to concerns about its violent content, it was not broadcast until 1993, two years after the author's death.

Bibliography (incomplete)

* ''Japanese Style'' (1982) * ''Goodnight Mr. Zero'' (1982) * ''A Marriage of Convenience'' (1983) * ''Sound Explosion'' (1984) * ''Blue Days'' (1985) * '' Hiroshima – The Movie'' (1985) * '' Headcrash'' (1986) * ''The Wide-Brimmed Hat'' (1987) * ''Act of Mercy'' (1988) * ''The Last of the Lovers'' (1989) * '' Women Laughing'' (1989) * '' Amongst Barbarians'' (1989)

Awards (incomplete)

* Mobil Playwriting Competition award for ''Amongst Barbarians'' * The Sony Award for ''Hiroshima – The Movie'' *

for ''Hiroshima – The Movie''

Selected press quotes

* "'I'm gonna shoot roller-skaters, you coming?’ must be one of the best lines of offhand dialogue ever. It encapsulates the grimly humorous, nihilistic ambience of Michael Wall's futuristic Headcrash..." ''The Independent'', 27 July 1993 * "Michael Wall's death has come too suddenly and too soon. Following his success with AMONGST BARBARIANS…it seemed that he would finally be able to realise his potential as a major playwright for the stage." ''The Independent'', 14 June 1991 * "Amongst Barbarians…typified his challenge to the indifference and cruelty associated with Britain's colonial legacy. While he was horrified by the ignorance and arrogance of the smugglers' families, he understood the alienation that had formed their attitudes." ''The Guardian'', 17 June 1991 * Of ''Amongst Barbarians'', "...an impressively mature work, worthy winner of the second Mobil Playwriting Competition...scorchingly well acted production...A gripping evening." ''The Times'' 1989

References

Sources

* ''The Independent'' 27 July 1993 * ''The Independent'' 14 June 1991 * ''The Guardian'' 17 June 1991 * ''Financial Times'' 1996

External links

Michael Wall's Radio Plays

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wall, Michael 1946 births 1991 deaths Alumni of the University of York People from Hereford Writers from Herefordshire 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers