Michael Wall was a British 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 over forty plays, the most well-known of which are Amongst Barbarians

Amongst Barbarians

Amongst Barbarians is* a play by British playwright Michael Wall first performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester prior to a transfer to the Hampstead Theatre in London ; and...

and Women Laughing

Women Laughing

Women Laughing is a stage play written by Michael Wall in 1989. It was first produced for the stage in 1992, just after the author’s death.The original version of the play, which was for radio, contained only one act...

.

Born in Hereford

Hereford

Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...

, England, he read English

English literature

English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....

 at the University of York

University of York

The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...

, graduating in 1976. He wrote several stage plays, but the majority of his work was done for radio. Several of his works were produced by 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...

.

Amongst Barbarians, for which he won the 1989 Mobil Competition's prize for playwriting, was first produced at the Royal Exchange

Royal Exchange, Manchester

The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed Victorian building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann’s Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street...

 Theatre in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, England. It then moved to the Hampstead Theatre

Hampstead Theatre

Hampstead 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...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, and was later made into a British made-for-television movie.

He won the Sony and Giles Cooper Awards in 1985 for Hiroshima – The Movie

Hiroshima – The Movie

Hiroshima: The Movie is a radio play written by Michael Wall in 1985. It was produced by BBC Radio in that year, and later rebroadcast in 2003...

, which he wrote for BBC radio.

Women Laughing, written in 1989, was produced on stage 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...

 in 1992, just after the author's death.

Headcrash was produced for the BBC in 1986. However, due to concerns about its violent content, it not broadcast until 1993, two years after the author's death.

Awards (incomplete)

• Mobil Playwriting Competition award for Amongst Barbarians
• The Sony Award for Hiroshima – The Movie
• Giles Cooper Award for Hiroshima – The Movie

Selected press quotes

• “’I'm gonna shoot roller-skaters, you coming?’ must be one of the best lines of offhand dialogue ever. It encapsulates the grimly humorous, nihilistic ambience of Michael Wall's futuristic Headcrash…” The Independent, 27 July 1993
• “Michael Wall's death has come too suddenly and too soon. Following his success with AMONGST BARBARIANS…it seemed that he would finally be able to realise his potential as a major playwright for the stage.” The Independent, 14 June 1991
• “Amongst Barbarians…typified his challenge to the indifference and cruelty associated with Britain's colonial legacy. While he was horrified by the ignorance and arrogance of the smugglers' families, he understood the alienation that had formed their attitudes.” The Guardian, 17 June 1991
• Of Amongst Barbarians, “...an impressively mature work, worthy winner of the second Mobil Playwriting Competition...scorchingly well acted production...A gripping evening.” The Times 1989

External links

• The Independent 27 July 1993
• The Independent 14 June 1991
• The Guardian 17 June 1991
• Financial Times 1996
• Amongst Barbarians World Premier
• Michael Wall's Radio Plays
• http://www.dominickeating.com/1991/Interviews/1991_DK%20_interviews.htm