Peter Oswald
Encyclopedia
Peter Osvald is a well-known English playwright
. He is married to the poet Alice Oswald
, with whom he has three children. They live in Devon
, South West England
.
He was Playwright-in-Residence at Shakespeare's Globe
theatre, London
, for whom he wrote three new plays. Later he was playwright-in-residence at the Finborough Theatre
, London
.
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 is married to the poet Alice Oswald
Alice Oswald
-Career:Oswald read Classics at New College, Oxford, has worked as a gardener at Chelsea Physic Garden, and today lives with her husband, the playwright Peter Oswald , and her three children in Devon, in the South-West of England....
, with whom he has three children. They live in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, South West England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
He was Playwright-in-Residence at Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, located on the south bank of the River Thames, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt 1614 then demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction is an academic best guess, based...
theatre, 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...
, for whom he wrote three new plays. Later he was playwright-in-residence at the Finborough Theatre
Finborough Theatre
The Finborough Theatre is a fifty seat theatre in the Earls Court area of London, United Kingdom , which presents new British writing, UK and premieres of new plays, primarily from the English speaking world including North America, Canada, Scotland and Ireland, music theatre, and rarely seen...
, 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...
.
Plays - an overview
- About The Trial of Kelly Connor - First Produced 2007, Finborough TheatreFinborough TheatreThe Finborough Theatre is a fifty seat theatre in the Earls Court area of London, United Kingdom , which presents new British writing, UK and premieres of new plays, primarily from the English speaking world including North America, Canada, Scotland and Ireland, music theatre, and rarely seen...
, London, UK
- Lucifer Saved - First Produced 2007, Finborough TheatreFinborough TheatreThe Finborough Theatre is a fifty seat theatre in the Earls Court area of London, United Kingdom , which presents new British writing, UK and premieres of new plays, primarily from the English speaking world including North America, Canada, Scotland and Ireland, music theatre, and rarely seen...
, London, UK
- The Storm (after the comedy Rudens (The Rope) by PlautusPlautusTitus Maccius Plautus , commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus...
) - First Produced 2005 Shakespeare's GlobeShakespeare's GlobeShakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, located on the south bank of the River Thames, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt 1614 then demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction is an academic best guess, based...
, London, UK
- Mary Stuart (Synopsis: The events leading up to the trial and execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1587, after a play by Friedrich von Schiller) - First Produced 2005, Scary Little Girls company Union Theatre (London)Union Theatre (London)The Union Theatre is a small fringe theatre situated in the borough of Southwark in London, England. It was established in 1998 by Sasha Regan who took the initiative to convert a disused paper warehouse near Southwark station into a functioning theatre...
SE1, UK , then performed at the Donmar WarehouseDonmar WarehouseDonmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
(London) and later transferred to the Apollo TheatreApollo TheatreThe Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
in London's West End running until 2006, directed by acclaimed British opera, film and theater director Phyllida LloydPhyllida LloydPhyllida Lloyd CBE is an English director, best known for her work in theatre and as the director of the most financially successful British film ever released, Mamma Mia!.-Career:...
with Janet McTeerJanet McTeerJanet McTeer, OBE is a British actress.-Life and career:McTeer was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom, the daughter of Jean and Alan McTeer...
as Mary Stuart and Harriet WalterHarriet WalterDame Harriet Mary Walter, DBE is a British actress.-Personal life:She is the niece of renowned British actor Sir Christopher Lee, as the daughter of his elder sister Xandra Lee. On her father's side she is a great-great-great-granddaughter of John Walter, founder of The TimesShe was educated at...
as Elizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter starred also in the 2009 BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
transfer of the production at the Broadhurst TheatreBroadhurst TheatreThe Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.It was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known theatre designer who had been working directly with the Shubert brothers; the Broadhurst opened 27 September 1917...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It earned seven Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations including Best Revival of a PlayTony Award for Best Revival of a PlayThe Tony Award for Best Revival has only been awarded since 1994. Prior to that, plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival...
. McTeer received a Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination for her role in Mary Stuart and won the Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
, Outstanding Actress in a Play. In 2008, the play was also produced at the Ensemble Theatre, Sydney, Australia with Kate RaisonKate RaisonKate Raison is an Australian actress, best known for her roles on television, including Cathy Hayden in A Country Practice, Sheridan Sturgess in E Street and Georgina Ellis in Pacific Drive....
as Mary Stuart and Greta ScacchiGreta ScacchiGreta Scacchi is an Italian-Australian actor.-Early life:Scacchi was born Greta Gracco in Milan, Italy, on 18 February 1960, the daughter of Luca Scacchi Gracco, an Italian art dealer and painter, and Pamela Carsaniga, an English dancer and antiques dealer...
as Elizabeth I of England, who won a nomination for best actress in a lead role at the Sydney Theatre Awards 2008.
- Other People's Shoes, Part 1: Blighty - Produced by the Barbican Theatre, Plymouth, UK. 2004
- The Golden AssThe Golden AssThe Metamorphoses of Apuleius, which St. Augustine referred to as The Golden Ass , is the only Latin novel to survive in its entirety....
(after the comedy Metamorphoses by Lucius Apuleius) - First Produced 2002 Shakespeares Globe, London, UK
- The RamayanaRamayanaThe Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
(after an Indian legend of Prince Rama) - First Produced 2000 Birmingham Rep, Birmingham, UK
- Augustine's Oak (ref. to St. Augustine of Canterbury and the Christianization of Roman Britain) - First Produced 1999 Shakespeare's Globe, London, UK
- The Odyssey (verse adaptation after HomerHomerIn the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
)- First Produced 1999 Gate Theatre, Notting Hill, London, UK
- The Haunted House (after a play by PlautusPlautusTitus Maccius Plautus , commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus...
)
- OedipusOedipusOedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
Tyrranos (after the tragedy by SophoclesSophoclesSophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
) - First Produced 1998 Battersea Arts CentreBattersea Arts CentreThe Battersea Arts Centre is a performance space near Clapham Junction in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth that specialises in music and theatre productions.-History:...
(BAC), London, UK
- PhaedraPhaedra (mythology)In Greek mythology, Phaedra is the daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus and the mother of Demophon of Athens and Acamas. Phaedra's name derives from the Greek word φαιδρός , which meant "bright"....
(after the play by RacineJean RacineJean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
) - First Produced 1998 BAC 2, London, UK
- The Turn of the ScrewThe Turn of the ScrewThe Turn of the Screw is a novella written by Henry James. Originally published in 1898, it is ostensibly a ghost story.Due to its ambiguous content, it became a favourite text of academics who subscribe to New Criticism. The novella has had differing interpretations, often mutually exclusive...
(after Henry JamesHenry JamesHenry 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....
) - First Produced 1998 House of Detention, London, UK
- ShakuntalaShakuntalaIn Hindu mythology Shakuntala is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the Mahabharata and dramatized by Kalidasa in his play Abhijñānaśākuntalam .-Etymology:Rishi Kanva found her in forest as a baby surrounded by Shakunta birds...
(after a play by KalidasaKalidasaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
) - First Produced 1997 Gate Theatre, Notting Hill, London, UK
- House of Desires (after a version of Juana Inés De La CruzSor JuanaSor Juana Inés de la Cruz , fully Juana Inés de Asbaje y Ramírez de Santillana, was a self-taught scholar and poet of the Baroque school, and nun of New Spain...
) - First Produced 1997 BAC 2, London, UK
- Dona Rosita: The Spinster (after a play by Federico García LorcaFederico García LorcaFederico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
) - First Produced 1997 Almeida, UK
- Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards A drama in verses after an eighteenth-century Japanese puppet play by the KabukiKabukiis classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
playwright Chikamatsu MonzaemonChikamatsu MonzaemonChikamatsu Monzaemon was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki...
- First Produced 1996 Cottesloe auditorium of the Royal National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, London, UK
- CinderellaCinderella"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
and the Coat of Skins - First Produced 1995 BAC Main, London, UK
- The Last Days of Don JuanDon JuanDon Juan is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra by Tirso de Molina is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630...
- First Produced 1995 BAC 1, London, UK
- Don CarlosDon CarlosDon Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
(written with Hilary Collier after a play by Friedrich von Schiller) - First Produced 1992 Lyric Studio Theatre, Hammersmith, London, UK
- Valdorama - First Produced 1992 Latchmere, London, UK
- Allbright First Produced 1991 Turtle Key Fulham , London, UK
- The Swansong of Ivanhoe Westeway First Produced at the Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh FestivalThe Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
and the Brain Club, London, UK
Books
- Peter Oswald; Mary Stuart. Samuel FrenchSamuel FrenchSamuel French was a U.S. entrepreneur who, together with British actor, playwright and theatrical manager Thomas Hailes Lacy, pioneered in the field of theatrical publishing and the licensing of plays....
, London, 2006
- Peter Oswald; The Golden Ass or the Curious Man. Comedy in three parts after the novel Metamorphoses by Lucius Apuleius. Oberon Books: London, GB. 2002. ISBN 1-84002-285-X.
- Peter Oswald; Earth Has Not Any Thing to Shew More Fair: A Bicentennial Celebration of Wordsworth's Sonnet Composed upon Westminster Bridge (co-editor with Alice OswaldAlice Oswald-Career:Oswald read Classics at New College, Oxford, has worked as a gardener at Chelsea Physic Garden, and today lives with her husband, the playwright Peter Oswald , and her three children in Devon, in the South-West of England....
and Robert WoofRobert Woof (scholar)Dr. Robert Samuel Woof was an English scholar, most famous for having been the first Director of the Wordsworth Trust and Museums Director of the Wordsworth Museum at Dove Cottage in Grasmere, Lake District, Cumbria...
) Shakespeare's GlobeShakespeare's GlobeShakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, located on the south bank of the River Thames, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt 1614 then demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction is an academic best guess, based...
& The WordsworthWilliam WordsworthWilliam Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
Trust, 2002 ISBN 1-870787-84-6
- Peter Oswald; Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards. A drama in verses after an eighteenth-century Japanese puppet play by the KabukiKabukiis classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
playwright Chikamatsu MonzaemonChikamatsu MonzaemonChikamatsu Monzaemon was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki...
. Methuen Drama, London, GB. 1996 (USA: Heinemann, Portsmouth, New Hampshire). ISBN 0-413-71510-8.