April De Angelis
Encyclopedia
April De Angelis is a British dramatist of part Sicilian descent. She is a graduate of Sussex University
who trained at East 15 Acting School
.
De Angelis began her career in the 1980s as an actress with the Monstrous Regiment theatre company but in 1987 her play Breathless was a prize winner at the 1987 Second Wave Young Women's Writing Festival.
Her plays often feature historical figures. Playhouse Creatures and A Laughing Matter are set in the London theatrical milieu of the 17th and 18th centuries respectively. Wanderlust examines Victorian colonialism and Ironmistress is a verse play exploring Lady Charlotte Guest's factory ownership.
As a librettist, De Angelis contributed to the opera The Silent Twins (2007), composed by Errollyn Wallen
, which is based on the case of June and Jennifer Gibbons
.
De Angelis tends to write to commission and several of her plays have been produced by Max Stafford-Clark
's Out of Joint theatre company
.
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
who trained at East 15 Acting School
East 15 Acting School
East 15 is a British drama school in Debden, Loughton, Essex. At the main campus, Loughton, it occupies an 18th century mansion, Hatfields, and has its own theatre, the Corbett, which is adjacent. The Corbett Theatre is an adaptation of a 15th-century barn...
.
De Angelis began her career in the 1980s as an actress with the Monstrous Regiment theatre company but in 1987 her play Breathless was a prize winner at the 1987 Second Wave Young Women's Writing Festival.
Her plays often feature historical figures. Playhouse Creatures and A Laughing Matter are set in the London theatrical milieu of the 17th and 18th centuries respectively. Wanderlust examines Victorian colonialism and Ironmistress is a verse play exploring Lady Charlotte Guest's factory ownership.
As a librettist, De Angelis contributed to the opera The Silent Twins (2007), composed by Errollyn Wallen
Errollyn Wallen
Errollyn Wallen is a Belize born, British composer. She was the first black woman to have a work performed at The Proms She studied composition at Goldsmith's College and at Kings College, London University...
, which is based on the case of June and Jennifer Gibbons
June and Jennifer Gibbons
June and Jennifer Gibbons , were identical twins who grew up in Wales. They became known as 'The Silent Twins' owing to their choice to communicate only with their immediate family. They began writing works of fiction but turned to crime in a bid for recognition...
.
De Angelis tends to write to commission and several of her plays have been produced by Max Stafford-Clark
Max Stafford-Clark
Maxwell Robert Guthrie Stewart Stafford-Clark is an English Theatre Director.-Life and career:He went to school at Felsted and Riverdale Country School in New York City. He has worked as a theatre director since he left Trinity College, Dublin.His directing career began as associate director of...
's Out of Joint theatre company
Out of Joint theatre company
Out of Joint is a British and international touring theatre company based in London. It specialises in the commissioning and production of new writing, interspersed with occasional revivals and classic productions....
.
Plays
- Breathless (1987)
- Women in Law (1988)
- Wanderlust (1988, Oval House TheatreOval House TheatreOvalhouse formerly called Oval House Theatre is an Off-Westend theatre led by joint Directors of Theatre Rebecca Atkinson-Lord and Rachel Briscoe in the London Borough of Lambeth...
Women's Workshop) - Visitants (1988)
- Ironmistress (1989, Young Vic Theatre)
- Crux (1989, Paines PloughPaines PloughPaines Plough is a London-based British touring theatre company founded in 1974 by writer David Pownall and director John Adams. They named the company after their favourite pub, the Plough, where they would drink pints of Paines....
) - Frankenstein (1989)
- The Life and Times of Fanny Hill (1991, Red Shift Theatre Company)
- Hush (1992, Royal Court TheatreRoyal Court TheatreThe Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
) - Greed (1993)
- Soft Vengeance (1993) (from the book by Albie SachsAlbie SachsAlbie Sachs was a judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was appointed to the court by Nelson Mandela in 1994 and retired in October 2009...
) - Playhouse Creatures (Haymarket Theatre 1993)
- The Positive Hour (1997, Out of Joint theatre companyOut of Joint theatre companyOut of Joint is a British and international touring theatre company based in London. It specialises in the commissioning and production of new writing, interspersed with occasional revivals and classic productions....
/ Hampstead TheatreHampstead TheatreHampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
) - A Warwickshire Testimony (1999, Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
) - A Laughing Matter (2002, Out of Joint theatre companyOut of Joint theatre companyOut of Joint is a British and international touring theatre company based in London. It specialises in the commissioning and production of new writing, interspersed with occasional revivals and classic productions....
) - Headstrong (2004, Royal National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
Shell Connections) - Wild East (2005, Royal Court TheatreRoyal Court TheatreThe Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
) - Catch (with Stella FeehilyStella FeehilyStella Feehily is a London-born Irish playwright and actor. Her plays include "Game" 2003 produced by Fishamble Theatre company-Dublin -published in an anthology of first plays by New Island. ISBN 978-1-84840-020-7...
, Tanika GuptaTanika GuptaTanika Gupta, MBE is a British playwright of Bengali origin. Apart from her work for the theatre, she has also written scripts for television.-Background and education:...
, Chloe MossChloe Moss-Life:Ms. Moss grew up in Liverpool and attended Manchester Metropolitan University, where she studied film. She joined the Royal Court's Young Writers programme and wrote her first professional play, A Day In Dull Armour...
and Laura WadeLaura WadeLaura Wade is a British playwright. Wade grew up in Sheffield, where her father worked for a computer company....
) (2007, Royal Court TheatreRoyal Court TheatreThe Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
) - Wuthering HeightsWuthering HeightsWuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Brontë published in 1847. It was her only novel and written between December 1845 and July 1846. It remained unpublished until July 1847 and was not printed until December after the success of her sister Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre...
(2008) (From the book by Emily BrontëEmily BrontëEmily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
)