Richard Stirling is an English writer and actor, who has appeared on film, television and the

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...

and

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 ...

stage. He studied at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

(RADA). He has written arts features for newspapers and magazines. His 2009 play ''

Seven Other Children ''Seven Other Children'' is a 2009 play by Richard Stirling. The play premiered at the New End Theatre, Hampstead, London in May 2009.Playwright counters anti-Israel play, Jerusalem Post, 10 May. 2009, jonny paul, jerusalem post correspondent, ...

'' was written as a response to

Caryl Churchill Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes.

's controversial play '' Seven Jewish Children''. He adapted the diaries of

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as costume designer and set designer for stage and screen. His accolades ...

for performance, and played the title role. Following performances at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

in 2022, to favourable reviews, ''Cecil Beaton's Diaries'' was selected to be part of the 2023 Brits Off Broadway season, playing at

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

's 59E59 Theaters in May, before touring the UK.

Works

Books

* ''Julie Andrews: An Intimate Biography'' (

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

Top Ten best seller, UK Piatkus/Little Brown 2007; US St Martin's Press 2008; reprinted UK Little Brown 2013)

Plays

* ''

'' * ''Over My Shoulder: The Jessie Matthews Story'' (starring

Anne Rogers Anne Rogers (born 29 July 1933) is an English actress, dancer, and singer. Career Anne Rogers was born in Liverpool and began her stage career at the age of 15. She was in the original London production of '' The Boy Friend'', playing the femal ...

) * ''Gay's the Word'' (revised version of the

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

/ Alan Melville musical, starring Sophie-Louise Dann) * ''A Princess Undone'' (starring

Stephanie Beacham Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English actress. In a career spanning six decades, she has a wide number of credits to her name on film, television, stage and radio in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Beacham beg ...

and subsequently

Felicity Dean Felicity Jane Dean (born 24 January 1959) is a British actress, who is critically acclaimed for her extensive work in film and on stage, including works with, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Al Pacino, HBO, Sir Jonathan Miller and Joseph Losey. ...

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...

) * '' Extraordinary Women'' (musical adaptation of the

Compton Mackenzie Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (17 January 1883 – 30 November 1972) was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong Scottish nationalist. He was one of t ...

novel, with score by

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

winner

Sarah Travis Sarah Travis is a British orchestrator and musical supervisor for theatre and film. She received the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations for the 2005 revival of Stephen Sondheim's ''Sweeney T ...

) * ''Cecil Beaton's Diaries''

Selected roles

Film and television

* ''

Eternal Return Eternal return (or eternal recurrence) is a philosophical concept which states that time repeats itself in an infinite loop, and that exactly the same events will continue to occur in exactly the same way, over and over again, for eternity. I ...

'' (Mervin Muffley) (2024) * ''

The Man Who Fell to Earth ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' is a 1976 British science fantasy drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and adapted by Paul Mayersberg. Based on Walter Tevis's 1963 novel of the same name, the film follows an extraterrestrial named Thomas Jerom ...

'' (Bird Man) (2022) * ''

Bridgerton ''Bridgerton'' is an American alternative history regency romance television series created by Chris Van Dusen for Netflix. Based on the book series Bridgerton (novel series), of the same name by Julia Quinn, it is Shondaland's first scripted ...

'' (2022) * ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'' (2020) * '' The Princess Switch: Switched Again'' (2020) * ''Scoop'' (Tinsley's Fan) (2006) * ''Great Expectations'' (1999) * ''Our Mutual Friend'' (Reverend) (1998) * ''Mrs Dalloway'' (1997) * ''The Choir'' (Lewis) (1995) * ''The Secret Agent'' (Stevie) (1992) * ''

Jeeves and Wooster ''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a British Aca ...

'' (Boko Fittleworth) (1990) * ''War Requiem'' (Third Soldier; choreographer) (1989) * ''

Little Dorrit ''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published in Serial (literature), serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea pris ...

'' (John Chivery) (1987)

References

External links

* English dramatists and playwrights Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English male dramatists and playwrights Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art {{UK-playwright-stub