John Arden
Encyclopedia
John Arden is an award-winning English
playwright
from Barnsley
(which at the time was in the West Riding of Yorkshire
). His works tend to expose social issues of personal concern. He is a member of the Royal Society of Literature
.
He was educated at Sedbergh School
, King's College, Cambridge
and Edinburgh College of Art
, where he studied architecture. He first gained critical attention for the radio play, The Life of Man in 1956 shortly after finishing his studies.
His 1959 play, Serjeant Musgrave's Dance
, dealing with the protestors of war and its realities, is considered Arden's best work. Arden is reputed to be one of the great playwrights of the post-Look Back in Anger
era. His work bears the heavy influence of Bertolt Brecht
and the Epic Theatre. Other plays include Live Like Pigs, The Workhouse Donkey and Armstrong's Last Goodnight, the last of which was performed at the National Theatre
, starring Albert Finney
. His 1978 radio play Pearl
was considered one of the best plays for that medium in a Guardian survey.
He has also written a number of novels, including Silence Among the Weapons, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize
, and Books of Bale, about the protestant apologist John Bale
.
He is notable for a number of highly public fallings-out with the theatre establishment - with his wife and co-writer Margaretta D'Arcy
, he picketed the RSC
premiere of his Arthurian play The Island of the Mighty; and they have written several plays highly critical of British presence in Ireland
, where he now lives, and the Military-Industrial Complex
.
He has a long history of being associated with radical left-wing politics in the UK and Ireland. In 1961 he was a founder member of the anti-nuclear Committee of 100 and he also chaired the pacifist weekly, Peace News. In Ireland, he was for a while a member of Sinn Féin
. He is also a well-known supporter of civil liberties and is critical of government anti-terror legislation, as was demonstrated in his 2007 radio play The Scam.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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...
from Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
(which at the time was in the West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
). His works tend to expose social issues of personal concern. He is a member of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
.
He was educated at Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School is a boarding school in Sedbergh, Cumbria, for boys and girls aged 13 to 18. Nestled in the Howgill Fells, it is known for sporting sides, such as its Rugby Union 1st XV.-Background:...
, King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
and Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
, where he studied architecture. He first gained critical attention for the radio play, The Life of Man in 1956 shortly after finishing his studies.
His 1959 play, Serjeant Musgrave's Dance
Serjeant Musgrave's Dance
Serjeant Musgrave's Dance, An Un-historical Parable is a play by English playwright John Arden, written in 1959 and premiered at the Royal Court Theatre on October 22 of that year. In Arden's introductory note to the text, he describes it as "a realistic, but not a naturalistic" play...
, dealing with the protestors of war and its realities, is considered Arden's best work. Arden is reputed to be one of the great playwrights of the post-Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger is a John Osborne play—made into films in 1959, 1980, and 1989 -- about a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man , his upper-middle-class, impassive wife , and her haughty best friend . Cliff, an amiable Welsh lodger, attempts to keep the peace...
era. His work bears the heavy influence of Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
and the Epic Theatre. Other plays include Live Like Pigs, The Workhouse Donkey and Armstrong's Last Goodnight, the last of which was performed 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...
, starring Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
. His 1978 radio play Pearl
Pearl (radio play)
Pearl is a 1978 radio play by award-winning English playwright John Arden. Set in England in the 1640s, the play concerns a young Irish political operative named Pearl, who, with playwright Tom Backhouse, attempts to sway the political climate in favor of the British Parliament, as part of a plan...
was considered one of the best plays for that medium in a Guardian survey.
He has also written a number of novels, including Silence Among the Weapons, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
, and Books of Bale, about the protestant apologist John Bale
John Bale
John Bale was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English , and developed and published a very extensive list of the works of British authors down to his own time, just as the monastic libraries were being...
.
He is notable for a number of highly public fallings-out with the theatre establishment - with his wife and co-writer Margaretta D'Arcy
Margaretta D'Arcy
Margaretta Ruth D'Arcy , an Irish actress, writer, playwright, and peace-activist. Margaretta is a member of Aosdána since its inauguration and is known for addressing Irish nationalism, civil liberties, and women's rights in her work....
, he picketed the RSC
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...
premiere of his Arthurian play The Island of the Mighty; and they have written several plays highly critical of British presence in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, where he now lives, and the Military-Industrial Complex
Military-industrial complex
Military–industrial complex , or Military–industrial-congressional complex is a concept commonly used to refer to policy and monetary relationships between legislators, national armed forces, and the industrial sector that supports them...
.
He has a long history of being associated with radical left-wing politics in the UK and Ireland. In 1961 he was a founder member of the anti-nuclear Committee of 100 and he also chaired the pacifist weekly, Peace News. In Ireland, he was for a while a member of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
. He is also a well-known supporter of civil liberties and is critical of government anti-terror legislation, as was demonstrated in his 2007 radio play The Scam.
Awards
- Evening Standard Award, 1960
- John Whiting AwardJohn Whiting AwardThe 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...
, 1973 - V. S. Pritchett Award, 2003
- Booker Prize shortlist, 1982
- Giles Cooper Award, 1982
Plays
Plays written in collaboration with Margaretta D'Arcy include:- The Business of Good Government
- The Happy Have
- Ars Longa Vita Brevis
- The Royal Pardon
- The Hero Rises Up
- The Ballygombeen Bequest
- The Non-Stop Connolly Show
- Keep the People Moving (BBC Radio);
- Portrait of a Rebel (RTÉ Television);
- The Manchester Enthusiasts (BBC 1984 and RTÉ 1984 under the title The RalahineRalahineThe Ralahine Commune was a co-operative society founded in 1831 on the estate of John Vandeleur at Ralahine, Newmarket on Fergus County Clare. In an attempt to keep his tenants away from secret societies like the “Ribbonmen”, he brought a socialist named Edward Thomas Craig from England to advise...
Experiment); - Whose is the Kingdom? (9 part radio play, BBC 1987).