Moira Buffini
Encyclopedia
Moira Buffini is an English dramatist, director and actor.
to Irish parents, and trained as an actor at the Welsh College of Music and Drama. For Jordan, co-written with Anna Reynolds
in 1992, she won a Time Out Award for her performance and Writers' Guild Award for Best Fringe play. Her 1997 play Gabriel was performed at Soho theatre, winning the LWT
Plays on Stage award. Her 1999 play Silence earned Buffini the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
for best English-language play by a woman. Loveplay followed at the RSC
in 2001, then Dinner at the National Theatre
in 2003 which transferred to the West End and was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Comedy.
Buffini wrote Dying For It, a free adaptation of Nikolai Erdman
's classic, The Suicide for the Almeida
in 2007. She followed it with Marianne Dreams a dance play with choreographer Will Tuckett, based on Catherine Storr
's book. Her play for young people, A Vampire Story was performed as part of NT Connections in 2008.
She did a writers’ attachment at the Royal National Theatre
Studio in 1996.
Buffini is said to advocate big, imaginative plays rather than naturalistic soap opera dramas, and is a founder member of the Monsterists, a group of playwrights who promote new writing of large scale work in the British theatre. She has been described by David Grieg as a metaphysical playwright. All her plays have been published by Faber.
Buffini is also a prolific screenwriter. She wrote an adaptation of Jane Eyre
for BBC Films
and Ruby Films which was released in the UK during September 2011. The script appeared on the 2008 Brit List, a film-industry-compiled list of the best unproduced screenplays in British film. It received nine votes, putting it in second place.
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.
Career
Buffini was born in CheshireCheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
to Irish parents, and trained as an actor at the Welsh College of Music and Drama. For Jordan, co-written with Anna Reynolds
Anna Reynolds
Anna Reynolds is a British novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. She is the author of Tightrope and Jordan, which was voted "Best Play of 1992" at the Writers Guild Awards, and co-author of The Winding Sheet, a film that won a Silver Hugo at the Chicago Film Festival...
in 1992, she won a Time Out Award for her performance and Writers' Guild Award for Best Fringe play. Her 1997 play Gabriel was performed at Soho theatre, winning the LWT
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
Plays on Stage award. Her 1999 play Silence earned Buffini the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is for English-language women playwrights. Named for Susan Smith, alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer.-Winners:* 1978-79 Mary O'Malley* 1979-80 Barbara Schneider...
for best English-language play by a woman. Loveplay followed at 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...
in 2001, then Dinner 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 2003 which transferred to the West End and was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Comedy.
Buffini wrote Dying For It, a free adaptation of Nikolai Erdman
Nikolai Erdman
Nikolay Robertovich Erdman was a Soviet dramatist and screenwriter primarily remembered for his work with Vsevolod Meyerhold in the 1920s. His plays, notably The Suicide , form a link in Russian literary history between the satirical drama of Nikolai Gogol and the post-World War II Theatre of the...
's classic, The Suicide for the Almeida
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of...
in 2007. She followed it with Marianne Dreams a dance play with choreographer Will Tuckett, based on Catherine Storr
Catherine Storr
Catherine Storr was an English children's writer, best known for her novel Marianne Dreams and for a series of books about a wolf ineptly pursuing a young girl, beginning with Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf.-Life:She was born in Kensington, London, one of three children of a barrister, Arthur...
's book. Her play for young people, A Vampire Story was performed as part of NT Connections in 2008.
She did a writers’ attachment at the Royal 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...
Studio in 1996.
Buffini is said to advocate big, imaginative plays rather than naturalistic soap opera dramas, and is a founder member of the Monsterists, a group of playwrights who promote new writing of large scale work in the British theatre. She has been described by David Grieg as a metaphysical playwright. All her plays have been published by Faber.
Buffini is also a prolific screenwriter. She wrote an adaptation of Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...
for BBC Films
BBC Films
BBC Films is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including An Education, StreetDance 3D, Fish Tank, Stage Beauty, A Cock and Bull Story, Nativity! and Match Point.It aims to make strong British films with...
and Ruby Films which was released in the UK during September 2011. The script appeared on the 2008 Brit List, a film-industry-compiled list of the best unproduced screenplays in British film. It received nine votes, putting it in second place.
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.
Plays
- Jordan (1992)
- Gabriel (1997)
- Blavatsky's Tower (1998)
- Silence (1999)
- The Games Room
- Loveplay (2001)
- DinnerDinner (play)Dinner is a 2002 play by the British dramatist Moira Buffini. It premiered at the Royal National Theatre, London on 18 October 2002.-Original Production:It was first performed at the Royal National Theatre in 2002, with the following cast:...
(2002) - Dying For It (2007) a free adaptation of Nikolai ErdmanNikolai ErdmanNikolay Robertovich Erdman was a Soviet dramatist and screenwriter primarily remembered for his work with Vsevolod Meyerhold in the 1920s. His plays, notably The Suicide , form a link in Russian literary history between the satirical drama of Nikolai Gogol and the post-World War II Theatre of the...
's 'The Suicide - Welcome to ThebesWelcome to ThebesWelcome to Thebes is a 2010 play by Moira Buffini. It premiered on 15 June 2010 in a production at the Olivier auditorium of the Royal National Theatre in London directed by Richard Eyre.-Plot:...
(2010) - GreenlandGreenland (2011 play)Greenland is a play by the British playwrights Moira Buffini, Penelope Skinner, Matt Charman and Jack Thorne on global warming and its effects, named after the island of Greenland. It premiered at the Lyttelton auditorium of the Royal National Theatre in London from 27 January to 2 April 2011,...
(2011) written with Penelope SkinnerPenelope SkinnerPenelope Skinner is a British playwright who came to prominence after her play Fucked was first produced in 2008 at the Old Red Lion Theatre and the Edinburgh Festival to huge critical acclaim and has had successive plays staged in London including at the Bush Theatre, National Theatre with an...
, Matt CharmanMatt CharmanMatt Charman is a British playwright.Charman was born on the 5 June 1979 in Crawley, West Sussex.His first play, A Night at the Dogs, was selected from over 700 entries to win the 2004 Verity Bargate Award....
and Jack ThorneJack Thorne (writer)Jack Thorne is an English screenwriter and playwright. Born in Bristol, England, he has written for radio, theatre and film, most notably on the TV shows Skins, Cast-offs, This Is England '86, The Fades and the feature film The Scouting Book For Boys...
Filmography
- Marianne DreamsMarianne DreamsMarianne Dreams is a children's fantasy novel by Catherine Storr.-Plot introduction:Marianne is a young girl who is bedridden with a long-term illness. She draws a picture to fill her time, and finds that she spends her dreams within the picture she has drawn...
(2007) - A Vampire Story (2008)
- Handbagged (2010)
- Tamara DreweTamara Drewe (film)Tamara Drewe is a 2010 comedy film directed by Stephen Frears.The screenplay was written by Moira Buffini, based on the newspaper comic strip of the same name written by Posy Simmonds...
(2010) - Jane EyreJane Eyre (2011 film)Jane Eyre is a 2011 British romantic drama film directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. The screenplay is written by Moira Buffini based on the 1847 novel of the same name by Charlotte Brontë...
(2011)
External links
- "Moira Buffini" entry by Aleks Sierz in his In-yer-face theatreIn-yer-face theatreIn-yer-face theatre describes drama that emerged in Great Britain in the 1990s. This category coined by British theatre critic Aleks Sierz is the title of his book, In-Yer-Face Theatre, first published by Faber and Faber in March 2001...
website. Accessed June 8, 2008.
- "Monsterists" entry by Aleks Sierz in his In-yer-face theatreIn-yer-face theatreIn-yer-face theatre describes drama that emerged in Great Britain in the 1990s. This category coined by British theatre critic Aleks Sierz is the title of his book, In-Yer-Face Theatre, first published by Faber and Faber in March 2001...
website. Accessed June 8, 2008.