Cecil Philip Taylor
Encyclopedia
Cecil Philip Taylor usually credited as C. P. Taylor, was a British
playwright
. He wrote almost 80 plays during his 16 years as a professional playwright, including several for radio and television. He also made a number of documentary programmes for the BBC
. His plays tended to draw on his Jewish background and his Socialist viewpoint, and to be written in dialect
.
and grew up in the Crosshill district of Govanhill
in a politically radical Jewish family with strong ties to the Scottish Labour Party
. He left school at 14 and began his working life as a radio and television repairman.
In 1955, when he was 26, he met his first wife, Irene Diamond, in a drama group. In order for them to afford to marry, he took a job as a record
salesman in Newcastle
, the city where his mother had grown up. He and Irene lived there, in Fenham
, for many years and had two children, Avram and Clare.
In 1967 he married Elizabeth Screen, with whom he also had two children, David and Catheryn. Shortly after their marriage, he and Elizabeth settled at the village of Longhorsley
in Northumberland
, where he lived until his death in 1981. He is buried in St. Helen's Church graveyard in the village. His death from pneumonia
has been attributed to his habit of writing in his garden shed.
. Unperformed until 1969 a production was arranged by the Jewish State Theatre in Warsaw
.
In 1962 Aa Went tae Blaydon Races was the first play by Taylor to be premiered by a professional theatre company. A historical drama about a miners' strike on Tyneside
in 1862, it opened the new Flora Robson
Theatre in Newcastle.
A long relationship with the Traverse Theatre
in Edinburgh
began in 1965, enabling Taylor to leave his day job and concentrate on his work as a dramatist. The first play for the Traverse was Happy Days Are Here Again, followed by Bread and Butter (1966), Lies about Vietnam (1969), The Black and White Minstrels (1972), Next Year in Tel Aviv (1973), Schippel (1974), Gynt (1975), Walter (1975), and Withdrawal Symptoms (1978).
By the late 1970s Taylor became increasingly involved with the Live Theatre Company
in Newcastle, which premiered several of his plays, among them Some Enchanted Evening (1977), Bandits (1977), And a Nightingale Sang
(1978) - a bitter-sweet comedy set on wartime Tyneside - and The Saints Go Marching In (1980 - later known as Bring Me Sunshine, Bring Me Smiles).
In The Peter Pan Man (Scottish Youth Theatre 1978) he transfers J. M. Barrie
’s play to an Elswick
estate.
His most successful play is probably Good (1981), in which the liberal German professor Halder (Alan Howard
) becomes involved with the Third Reich war machine and Auschwitz through moral cowardice and subtle corruption. Halder, however, continues to see himself as a 'good man' even as he is drawn further and further into Hitler
's nightmare. Good was first staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company
at the Donmar Warehouse
in September 1981, with Alan Howard winning both the Evening Standard Award
and the Plays and Players Best Actor awards. The play is frequently revived; in March 1999, also at the Donmar Warehouse, Charles Dance
was in the leading role.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. He wrote almost 80 plays during his 16 years as a professional playwright, including several for radio and television. He also made a number of documentary programmes for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. His plays tended to draw on his Jewish background and his Socialist viewpoint, and to be written in dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
.
Personal life
Taylor was born in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and grew up in the Crosshill district of Govanhill
Govanhill
Govanhill is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde between the Gorbals, Mount Florida and Queen's Park...
in a politically radical Jewish family with strong ties to the Scottish Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
. He left school at 14 and began his working life as a radio and television repairman.
In 1955, when he was 26, he met his first wife, Irene Diamond, in a drama group. In order for them to afford to marry, he took a job as a record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
salesman in Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, the city where his mother had grown up. He and Irene lived there, in Fenham
Fenham
Fenham is an area of the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It lies to the west of the city centre, and is bounded on the north and east by a large area of open land known as the Town Moor. To the south lies Benwell, whilst West Denton lies to the west, Blakelaw and Cowgate to the north, and...
, for many years and had two children, Avram and Clare.
In 1967 he married Elizabeth Screen, with whom he also had two children, David and Catheryn. Shortly after their marriage, he and Elizabeth settled at the village of Longhorsley
Longhorsley
Longhorsley is a village in Northumberland, England about northwest of Morpeth, and about south of Alnwick. The A697 road passes through the village linking it with Morpeth, Wooler and Coldstream in Scotland. There are 6 "Streets" in Longhorsley: Whitegates, Church View, Drummonds Close, West...
in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, where he lived until his death in 1981. He is buried in St. Helen's Church graveyard in the village. His death from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
has been attributed to his habit of writing in his garden shed.
Plays
His first play Mr David (1954) won second prize in a playwriting competition organised by the World Jewish CongressWorld Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations...
. Unperformed until 1969 a production was arranged by the Jewish State Theatre in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
.
In 1962 Aa Went tae Blaydon Races was the first play by Taylor to be premiered by a professional theatre company. A historical drama about a miners' strike on Tyneside
Tyneside
Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...
in 1862, it opened the new Flora Robson
Flora Robson
Dame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
Theatre in Newcastle.
A long relationship with the Traverse Theatre
Traverse Theatre
The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963.The Traverse Theatre commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary playwrights. It also presents a large number of productions from visiting companies from across the UK. These include new plays,...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
began in 1965, enabling Taylor to leave his day job and concentrate on his work as a dramatist. The first play for the Traverse was Happy Days Are Here Again, followed by Bread and Butter (1966), Lies about Vietnam (1969), The Black and White Minstrels (1972), Next Year in Tel Aviv (1973), Schippel (1974), Gynt (1975), Walter (1975), and Withdrawal Symptoms (1978).
By the late 1970s Taylor became increasingly involved with the Live Theatre Company
Live Theatre Company
The Live Theatre Company is a theatre and company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The company aims to attract new audiences for its accessible work as well as its friendly and informal theatre space....
in Newcastle, which premiered several of his plays, among them Some Enchanted Evening (1977), Bandits (1977), And a Nightingale Sang
And a Nightingale Sang
And a Nightingale Sang is a play by British playwright C.P. Taylor and commissioned by Newcastle upon Tyne's Live Theatre Company. The play was made into a TV play in 1989 by Jack Rosenthal for Tyne Tees Television....
(1978) - a bitter-sweet comedy set on wartime Tyneside - and The Saints Go Marching In (1980 - later known as Bring Me Sunshine, Bring Me Smiles).
In The Peter Pan Man (Scottish Youth Theatre 1978) he transfers J. M. Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
’s play to an Elswick
Elswick, Tyne and Wear
Elswick is a ward of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in the western part of the city, bordering the river Tyne. One of the earliest references to the coal mining industry of the north east occurs in 1330, when it was recorded that the Prior of Tynemouth let a colliery, called Heygrove, at...
estate.
His most successful play is probably Good (1981), in which the liberal German professor Halder (Alan Howard
Alan Howard
Alan MacKenzie Howard, CBE, is an English actor known for his roles on stage, television and film.He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1983, and played leading roles at the Royal National Theatre between 1992 and 2000.-Personal life:Howard is the only son of the actor...
) becomes involved with the Third Reich war machine and Auschwitz through moral cowardice and subtle corruption. Halder, however, continues to see himself as a 'good man' even as he is drawn further and further into Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's nightmare. Good was first staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The 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...
at the Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
in September 1981, with Alan Howard winning both the Evening Standard Award
Evening Standard Awards
The Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December...
and the Plays and Players Best Actor awards. The play is frequently revived; in March 1999, also at the Donmar Warehouse, Charles Dance
Charles Dance
Walter Charles Dance, OBE is an English actor, screenwriter and director. Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains. His most famous roles are Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown , Dr Clemens, the doctor of penitentiary Fury 161, who becomes Ellen Ripley's confidante in Alien 3 ,...
was in the leading role.
Film and television versions of his plays
- In 1989 playwright Jack RosenthalJack RosenthalJack Morris Rosenthal CBE was an English playwright, who wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations.-Biography:...
made a posthumous adaption for television of And a Nightingale SangAnd a Nightingale SangAnd a Nightingale Sang is a play by British playwright C.P. Taylor and commissioned by Newcastle upon Tyne's Live Theatre Company. The play was made into a TV play in 1989 by Jack Rosenthal for Tyne Tees Television....
. This Tyne Tees TelevisionTyne Tees TelevisionTyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
production, starring Joan PlowrightJoan PlowrightJoan Ann Plowright, Baroness Olivier, DBE , better known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English actress, whose career has spanned over sixty years. Throughout her career she has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy, and two BAFTA Awards...
, Phyllis LoganPhyllis Logan-Education:Logan was educated at Johnstone High School in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland. After school, she graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with the James Bridie Gold Medal in 1977.-Career:...
, John WoodvineJohn WoodvineJohn Woodvine is an English stage and screen actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles.-Early life:...
, Stephen TompkinsonStephen TompkinsonStephen Tompkinson is a British actor. He is best known for his work in comedy and drama productions such as Drop the Dead Donkey, Ballykissangel, Grafters, In Deep, Wild at Heart and DCI Banks....
and Tom WattTom WattTom Watt is a pro scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to joining the leafs, Tom worked with the Florida Panthers on August 16, 2005, as Pro Scout. He previously worked in Player Development for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He originally joined the Mighty Ducks on January 5, 2001 as Special...
, won a Prix EuropaPrix EuropaPrix Europa is the Europe's largest annual tri-medial festival and competition. Its open juries sample and select the best television-, radio- and online productions of each year...
in 1990. - In 2008 GoodGood (film)Good is a British-German-Hungarian motion picture based on the stage play by C. P. Taylor and starring Viggo Mortensen, Jason Isaacs and Jodie Whittaker...
was released as a feature film, with Viggo MortensenViggo MortensenViggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. is a Danish-American actor, poet, musician, photographer and painter. He made his film debut in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness, and subsequently appeared in many notable films of the 1990s, including The Indian Runner , Carlito's Way , Crimson Tide , Daylight , The...
in the role of Halder and Jason IsaacsJason IsaacsJason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
playing his Jewish friend Glückstein.
Awards
- The World Jewish Congress Playwriting Prize (1954)
- Arts Council Playwright's bursary (1965)
- Scottish Television Theatre Award (1969)
External links
- C.P. Taylor biography in the 1993 New Theatre Quarterly 33 by Susen Friesner, retrieved 2010-09-07
- Article about C.P. Taylor in The Guardian, retrieved 2010-09-07
- List of C.P. Taylor plays, retrieved 2010-09-07
- Review of the 1999 version of Good by CurtainUp