Helen Edmundson
Encyclopedia
Helen Edmundson is a British
playwright
particularly well-known for her adaptations of various literary classics for the stage
.
Edmundson's first play Flying was produced at the National Theatre Studio in 1990. Since then, her work for the theatre has included: The Clearing, first performed at the Bush Theatre
; Mother Teresa is Dead, at the Royal Court Theatre
; and four stage adaptations for Shared Experience Theatre - Anna Karenina
and The Mill on the Floss
, both of which toured nationally and internationally, War and Peace
, which was produced at the National Theatre
in 1996, and Gone to Earth which was seen on tour and at the Lyric Hammersmith
.
Her adaptation of Jamila Gavin
's award-winning children's novel
Coram Boy
premiered at the National in November 2005 and came back for a revival at the same venue a year later. Her most recent work for Shared Experience, Orestes - Blood and Light, toured in the UK in autumn 2006 and played at the Tricycle Theatre
until December 2006. The Clearing received the John Whiting Award
for best new play, as well as a Time Out Award. She also won TMA
and Time Out Awards for The Mill on the Floss, Anna Karenina and most recently, a Time Out Award for Coram Boy. Edmundson has written two short films for television
: One Day for BBC2 and Stella for Channel 4
, and her adaptation of The Voyage Out
was heard on BBC Radio 4
in 2006.
She will also be partaking in the Bush Theatre
's 2011 project Sixty Six where she has written a piece based upon a chapter of the King James Bible
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...
particularly well-known for her adaptations of various literary classics for the stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
.
Edmundson's first play Flying was produced at the National Theatre Studio in 1990. Since then, her work for the theatre has included: The Clearing, first performed at the Bush Theatre
Bush Theatre
The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
; Mother Teresa is Dead, at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The 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...
; and four stage adaptations for Shared Experience Theatre - Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger...
and The Mill on the Floss
The Mill on the Floss
The Mill on the Floss is a novel by George Eliot , first published in three volumes in 1860 by William Blackwood. The first American edition was by Thomas Y...
, both of which toured nationally and internationally, War and Peace
War and Peace
War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
, which was produced at the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in 1996, and Gone to Earth which was seen on tour and at the Lyric Hammersmith
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
.
Her adaptation of Jamila Gavin
Jamila Gavin
Jamila Gavin is a British writer born in Mussoorie, India in the foothills of the Himalayas.Her father was Indian and her mother English...
's award-winning children's novel
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
Coram Boy
Coram Boy (play)
Coram Boy is a play written by Helen Edmundson with music composed by Adrian Sutton, based on the 2000 children's novel of the same name by Jamila Gavin, an epic adventure that concerns the theme of child cruelty...
premiered at the National in November 2005 and came back for a revival at the same venue a year later. Her most recent work for Shared Experience, Orestes - Blood and Light, toured in the UK in autumn 2006 and played at the Tricycle Theatre
Tricycle Theatre
The Tricycle Theatre is located on Kilburn High Road in Kilburn in the London Borough of Brent, England. During the last 30 years, the Tricycle has been presenting plays reflecting the cultural diversity of its community; in particular Black, Irish, Jewish, Asian and South African works, as well as...
until December 2006. The Clearing received the John Whiting Award
John Whiting Award
The John Whiting Award is awarded annually to a British or Commonwealth playwright who, in the opinion of a consortium of UK theatres, shows a new and distinctive development in dramatic writing with particular relevance to contemporary society...
for best new play, as well as a Time Out Award. She also won TMA
TMA Awards
The TMA Awards, established in 1991, are presented annually by the Theatrical Management Association in recognition of creative excellence and outstanding work in United Kingdom theatres...
and Time Out Awards for The Mill on the Floss, Anna Karenina and most recently, a Time Out Award for Coram Boy. Edmundson has written two short films for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
: One Day for BBC2 and Stella for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, and her adaptation of The Voyage Out
The Voyage Out
The Voyage Out is the first novel by Virginia Woolf, published in 1915 by Duckworth; and published in the U.S. in 1920 by Doran.Rachel Vinrace embarks for South America on her father's ship and is launched on a course of self-discovery in a kind of modern mythical voyage. The mismatched jumble of...
was heard on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
in 2006.
She will also be partaking in the Bush Theatre
Bush Theatre
The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
's 2011 project Sixty Six where she has written a piece based upon a chapter of the King James Bible