Michael Hastings (playwright)
Encyclopedia
Michael Gerald Hastings was a British
playwright, screen-writer, and occasional novelist and poet.
He is probably best known for his 1984 play about the poet T.S. Eliot and his wife Vivienne Haigh-Wood, Tom & Viv
, which became a motion picture released in 1994.
Hastings was born in London. His early plays (Don't Destroy Me (1956), Yes And After (1957)) reflected the influence of the Angry Young Men
movement and his brief involvement with the circle surrounding Colin Wilson
.
He later enjoyed mainstream West End success with Gloo Joo (1978), a farce about a West Indian threatened with deportation from the United Kingdom
, which won the Evening Standard Comedy of the Year Award in 1979. He has written numerous stage plays, television screen plays, and in addition to Tom & Viv, scripts for two motion pictures, The American
and The Nightcomers
(based on Henry James
' short story "The Turn of the Screw" and starring Marlon Brando
). He has also written two libretti
for Michael Nyman
, Man and Boy: Dada
(2003, assisted by Victoria Hardie) and Love Counts
(2005).
He published his first novel, The Game in 1957, followed by The Frauds. Tussy Is Me appeared in 1971. A poetry collection, Love Me, Lambeth, and Other Poems appeared in 1961.
Hastings died aged 73 on 19 November 2011.
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, screen-writer, and occasional novelist and poet.
He is probably best known for his 1984 play about the poet T.S. Eliot and his wife Vivienne Haigh-Wood, Tom & Viv
Tom & Viv
Tom & Viv is a 1984 play by British playwright, Michael Hastings, which tells the story of the relationship between the American poet, T. S. Eliot, and his first wife, Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot...
, which became a motion picture released in 1994.
Hastings was born in London. His early plays (Don't Destroy Me (1956), Yes And After (1957)) reflected the influence of the Angry Young Men
Angry young men
The "angry young men" were a group of mostly working and middle class British playwrights and novelists who became prominent in the 1950s. The group's leading members included John Osborne and Kingsley Amis.The phrase was originally coined by the Royal Court Theatre's press officer to promote John...
movement and his brief involvement with the circle surrounding Colin Wilson
Colin Wilson
Colin Henry Wilson is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism.- Early biography:Born and...
.
He later enjoyed mainstream West End success with Gloo Joo (1978), a farce about a West Indian threatened with deportation from the United Kingdom
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...
, which won the Evening Standard Comedy of the Year Award in 1979. He has written numerous stage plays, television screen plays, and in addition to Tom & Viv, scripts for two motion pictures, The American
The American
The American is a 217 ft bronze statue of a Native American to be built at Holmes Peak near Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, by sculptor Shan Gray....
and The Nightcomers
The Nightcomers
The Nightcomers is a 1971 British horror film directed by Michael Winner and starring Marlon Brando, Stephanie Beacham, Thora Hird, Harry Andrews and Anna Palk. It is a prequel to The Turn of the Screw.- Plot :...
(based on Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
' short story "The Turn of the Screw" and starring Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
). He has also written two libretti
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
for Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
, Man and Boy: Dada
Man and Boy: Dada
Man and Boy: Dada is a 2003 opera by Michael Nyman on a libretto by Michael Hastings. It tells the story of a friendship between aging dada artist Kurt Schwitters and a twelve-year-old boy. These two characters and the boy's mother make up the cast of the opera.It was first performed at the...
(2003, assisted by Victoria Hardie) and Love Counts
Love Counts
Love Counts is a 2005 opera in two acts by Michael Nyman on a libretto by Michael Hastings.-Performance history:The opera premiered March 12, 2005 at the Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, directed by Robert Tannenbaum...
(2005).
He published his first novel, The Game in 1957, followed by The Frauds. Tussy Is Me appeared in 1971. A poetry collection, Love Me, Lambeth, and Other Poems appeared in 1961.
Hastings died aged 73 on 19 November 2011.