Ronald Harwood
Encyclopedia
Sir Ronald Harwood CBE
(born 9 November 1934) is an author, playwright
and screenwriter
. He is most noted for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for The Dresser
(for which he was nominated for an Oscar) and The Pianist
, for which he won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
(2007).
, South Africa
, the son of Isobel (née Pepper) and Isaac Horwitz. Harwood moved from Cape Town to London in 1951 to pursue a career in the theatre. He changed his name from Horwitz after an English master told him it was too foreign and too Jewish for a stage actor. After training for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
, he joined the Shakespeare Company of Sir Donald Wolfit
. From 1953 to 1958, Harwood was Sir Donald's personal dresser. He would later draw on this experience when he wrote the stage play, The Dresser
, and the biography, Sir Donald Wolfit CBE: His life and work in the Unfashionable Theatre. In 1959, after leaving the Wolfit company. he joined the 59 Theatre Company for a season at the Lyric Hammersmith
.
In 1960, Harwood began a career as a writer and published his first novel, All the Same Shadows in 1961, the screenplay, Private Potter in 1962, and the produced stage play, March Hares in 1964. Harwood continued at a prolific pace penning more than 21 stage plays, and 10 books. He also created more than 16 screen plays, but seldom wrote original material directly for the screen, usually acting as an adapter, sometimes of his own work (notably The Dresser).
One of the recurring themes in Harwood's work is his fascination for the stage, its performing artists and artisans as displayed in The Dresser, his plays, After the Lions (about Sarah Bernhardt
), Another Time (a semi-autobiographical piece about a gifted South African pianist), Quartet
(about ageing opera singers) and his non-fiction book All the World's a Stage, a general history of theatre. Harwood also has a strong interest in World War II, as shown by the films Operation Daybreak, The Statement, The Pianist
, and his play turned to film Taking Sides
. Based on true stories, the two last films feature musicians as their main characters. His 2008 play An English Tragedy is based on the true story of the British fascist John Amery
.
Harwood also wrote the screenplay for the films, The Browning Version
(1994) with Albert Finney, Being Julia
(2004) with Annette Bening
and Jeremy Irons
, and Roman Polanski
's version of Oliver Twist
(2005) with Ben Kingsley
.
He won an Academy Award for the script of The Pianist
, having already been nominated for The Dresser
in 1983. Harwood received his third Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2007 for his adaptation of the memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby
, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
, for which he also won a BAFTA and the Prix Jacques Prevert Du Scenario, 2008, for Best Adaptation. In 2008. Harwood was awarded the Humanitas Award in recognition of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
from 1989 to 1993, and of International PEN
from 1993 to 1997. He was Chairman of the Royal Society of Literature (2001 to 2004) and is President of the Royal Literary Fund (2005). He was made Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
in 1974, Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters (1996) and Commander of the Order of the British Empire
in 1999. In 2003 he was elected a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
in the Department of Language and Literature. He was made Doctor of Letters, Keele University (2002), Doctor Honoris Causa, National Academy for Theatre & Film Arts, Sofia (2007), Honorary Fellow, Central School of Speech and Drama (2007) and Honorary Fellow, University of Chichester (2009). Harwood was knighted
in the 2010 Birthday Honours
. He has been the Chairman of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
, Guildford since 2008.
is his cousin. On the 12th of June 2010, he received a knighthood
for services to theatre. He is the brother of South African dance critic Eve Borland.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 9 November 1934) is an author, 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...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He is most noted for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for The Dresser
The Dresser
The Dresser is a 1983 film which tells the story of an aging actor's personal assistant, who struggles to keep his charge's life together. It is based on a screenplay by Ronald Harwood, in turn based on his successful 1980 West End and Broadway play of the same name.The film was directed by Peter...
(for which he was nominated for an Oscar) and The Pianist
The Pianist (2002 film)
The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman...
, for which he won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a 2007 biographical drama film based on Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir of the same name. The film depicts Bauby's life after suffering a massive stroke, on December 8, 1995, at the age of 42, which left him with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. The...
(2007).
Early life and career
Harwood was born Ronald Horwitz in Cape TownCape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the son of Isobel (née Pepper) and Isaac Horwitz. Harwood moved from Cape Town to London in 1951 to pursue a career in the theatre. He changed his name from Horwitz after an English master told him it was too foreign and too Jewish for a stage actor. After training for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
, he joined the Shakespeare Company of Sir Donald Wolfit
Donald Wolfit
Sir Donald Wolfit, KBE was a well-known English actor-manager.-Biography:Wolfit, who was "Woolfitt" at birth was born at New Balderton, near Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire and attended the Magnus Grammar School and made his stage début in 1920...
. From 1953 to 1958, Harwood was Sir Donald's personal dresser. He would later draw on this experience when he wrote the stage play, The Dresser
The Dresser
The Dresser is a 1983 film which tells the story of an aging actor's personal assistant, who struggles to keep his charge's life together. It is based on a screenplay by Ronald Harwood, in turn based on his successful 1980 West End and Broadway play of the same name.The film was directed by Peter...
, and the biography, Sir Donald Wolfit CBE: His life and work in the Unfashionable Theatre. In 1959, after leaving the Wolfit company. he joined the 59 Theatre Company for a season at the Lyric Hammersmith
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
.
In 1960, Harwood began a career as a writer and published his first novel, All the Same Shadows in 1961, the screenplay, Private Potter in 1962, and the produced stage play, March Hares in 1964. Harwood continued at a prolific pace penning more than 21 stage plays, and 10 books. He also created more than 16 screen plays, but seldom wrote original material directly for the screen, usually acting as an adapter, sometimes of his own work (notably The Dresser).
One of the recurring themes in Harwood's work is his fascination for the stage, its performing artists and artisans as displayed in The Dresser, his plays, After the Lions (about Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
), Another Time (a semi-autobiographical piece about a gifted South African pianist), Quartet
Quartet (Harwood)
Quartet is a play by Ronald Harwood about aging opera singers.The play, presented by Michael Codron, was first directed by Christopher Morahan at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford prior to its West End opening at the Albery Theatre on 8 September 1999 starring Sir Donald Sinden.Following a...
(about ageing opera singers) and his non-fiction book All the World's a Stage, a general history of theatre. Harwood also has a strong interest in World War II, as shown by the films Operation Daybreak, The Statement, The Pianist
The Pianist (2002 film)
The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman...
, and his play turned to film Taking Sides
Taking Sides (play)
Taking Sides is a 1995 play by British playwright Ronald Harwood, about the post-War U.S. denazification investigation of the German conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwängler on charges of having served the Nazi regime. Harwood drew inter alia on a detailed diary kept by Furtwängler of his...
. Based on true stories, the two last films feature musicians as their main characters. His 2008 play An English Tragedy is based on the true story of the British fascist John Amery
John Amery
John Amery was a British fascist who proposed to the Wehrmacht the formation of a British volunteer force and made recruitment efforts and propaganda broadcasts for Nazi Germany...
.
Harwood also wrote the screenplay for the films, The Browning Version
The Browning Version (1994 film)
The Browning Version is a 1994 film directed by Mike Figgis and starring Albert Finney. The film is based on the 1948 play by Terence Rattigan, which was previously adapted for film under the same name in 1951.-Plot:...
(1994) with Albert Finney, Being Julia
Being Julia
Being Julia is a 2004 drama film with comic undertones directed by István Szabó and starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the 1937 novel Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham...
(2004) with Annette Bening
Annette Bening
Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films...
and Jeremy Irons
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
, and Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's version of Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist (2005 film)
Oliver Twist is a 2005 British drama film directed by Roman Polanski. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the 1838 novel of the same title by Charles Dickens....
(2005) with Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
.
He won an Academy Award for the script of The Pianist
The Pianist (2002 film)
The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman...
, having already been nominated for The Dresser
The Dresser
The Dresser is a 1983 film which tells the story of an aging actor's personal assistant, who struggles to keep his charge's life together. It is based on a screenplay by Ronald Harwood, in turn based on his successful 1980 West End and Broadway play of the same name.The film was directed by Peter...
in 1983. Harwood received his third Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2007 for his adaptation of the memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Jean-Dominique Bauby
Jean-Dominique Bauby was a well-known French journalist, author and editor of the French fashion magazine ELLE.On 8 December 1995 at the age of 43, Bauby suffered a massive stroke. When he woke up twenty days later, he found he was entirely speechless; he could only blink his left eyelid...
, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a translation of the French memoir Le scaphandre et le papillon by journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby. It describes what his life is like after suffering a massive stroke that left him with a condition called locked-in syndrome...
, for which he also won a BAFTA and the Prix Jacques Prevert Du Scenario, 2008, for Best Adaptation. In 2008. Harwood was awarded the Humanitas Award in recognition of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Recognition
Harwood was president of the English PEN ClubInternational PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
from 1989 to 1993, and of International PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
from 1993 to 1997. He was Chairman of the Royal Society of Literature (2001 to 2004) and is President of the Royal Literary Fund (2005). He was made Fellow 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...
in 1974, Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters (1996) and Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1999. In 2003 he was elected a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the most prominent academic institution in Serbia today...
in the Department of Language and Literature. He was made Doctor of Letters, Keele University (2002), Doctor Honoris Causa, National Academy for Theatre & Film Arts, Sofia (2007), Honorary Fellow, Central School of Speech and Drama (2007) and Honorary Fellow, University of Chichester (2009). Harwood was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in the 2010 Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...
. He has been the Chairman of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, Surrey presents in-house productions which often tour and transfer to London's West End. Other performances include opera, ballet and pantomime. Named after the actress Yvonne Arnaud, the company has two performance venues, a main theatre and the smaller Mill...
, Guildford since 2008.
Personal life
He attended the Seapoint Boys’ High School in that area of Cape Town. He moved to England in 1951. In 1959, he married Natasha Riehle. The actor Sir Antony SherAntony Sher
Sir Antony Sher, KBE is a double Olivier Award winning South African-born British actor, writer, theatre director and painter.- Early years :...
is his cousin. On the 12th of June 2010, he received a knighthood
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
for services to theatre. He is the brother of South African dance critic Eve Borland.
Stage plays
- March Hares (Liverpool, 1964)
- Country Matters (69 Theatre Company, ManchesterManchesterManchester 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...
, 1969) - The Good CompanionsThe Good Companions (musical)The Good Companions is a musical with a book by Ronald Harwood, music by André Previn, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It is based on the 1929 novel of the same title by J. B...
(musical by André PrevinAndré PrevinAndré George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
and Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
), libretto (Her Majesty's TheatreHer Majesty's TheatreHer Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
, 1974) - The Ordeal of Gilbert PinfoldThe Ordeal of Gilbert PinfoldThe Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold is a novel first published in 1957 by English writer Evelyn Waugh. Strong parallels may be drawn between events in the novel overtaking the eponymous protagonist, Gilbert Pinfold, and episodes in the author's own life...
, adapted from Evelyn WaughEvelyn WaughArthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
's novel (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and the Round House, London, 1977, - A Family (Manchester and the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, 1978)
- The Dresser (The Royal Exchange Manchester and Queen's TheatreQueen's TheatreThe Queen's Theatre is a West End theatre located in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. It opened on 8 October 1907 as a twin to the neighbouring Gielgud Theatre which opened ten months earlier. Both theatres were designed by W.G.R...
, 1980; Duke of York's TheatreDuke of York's TheatreThe Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
, 2005) - After the Lions (Manchester, 1982)
- Tramway Road (Lyric HammersmithLyric HammersmithThe Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
,1984) - The Deliberate Death of a Polish Priest (Almeida TheatreAlmeida TheatreThe 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...
, 1985) - Interpreters (Queen's Theatre, 1985)
- J J Farr (Theatre Royal, BathTheatre Royal, BathThe Theatre Royal in Bath, England, is over 200 years old. It is one of the more important theatres in the United Kingdom outside London, with capacity for an audience of around 900....
and Phoenix TheatrePhoenix TheatrePhoenix Theatre may refer to:*Phoenix Arts Centre, former name was Phoenix Theatre in Leicester, UK*Phoenix Theatre , a West End theatre*Phoenix Theatre , a professional alternative theatre*Phoenix Theatre , a regional theatre...
, 1987) - Ivanov, translation of ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's play (Strand TheatreNovello TheatreThe Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
,1989) - Another Time (Bath and Wyndham's TheatreWyndham's TheatreWyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
,1989) - Reflected Glory (Darlington and Vaudeville TheatreVaudeville TheatreThe Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
, 1992) - Poison Pen, about the death of composer Peter WarlockPeter WarlockPeter Warlock was a pseudonym of Philip Arnold Heseltine , an Anglo-Welsh composer and music critic. He used the pseudonym when composing, and is now better known by this name....
(Manchester, 1993)) - Taking Sides, about the conductor Wilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
(Minerva Theatre, ChichesterMinerva Theatre, ChichesterThe Minerva Theatre is a studio theatre seating at full capacity 283. It is run as part of the adjacent Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, and was opened in 1989...
,1995 and 2008; Duchess TheatreDuchess TheatreThe Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street, near Aldwych.The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. It has 479 seats on two levels....
, 2009) - The Handyman (Minerva Theatre, Chichester, 1996)
- QuartetQuartet (Harwood)Quartet is a play by Ronald Harwood about aging opera singers.The play, presented by Michael Codron, was first directed by Christopher Morahan at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford prior to its West End opening at the Albery Theatre on 8 September 1999 starring Sir Donald Sinden.Following a...
(Albery Theatre, 1999) - Goodbye Kiss/Guests, double bill about the South African diaspora (Orange Tree TheatreOrange Tree TheatreThe Orange Tree Theatre is a 172-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south west London, built specifically as a theatre in the round....
, 2000) - Mahler's Conversion (Yvonne Arnaud TheatreYvonne Arnaud TheatreThe Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, Surrey presents in-house productions which often tour and transfer to London's West End. Other performances include opera, ballet and pantomime. Named after the actress Yvonne Arnaud, the company has two performance venues, a main theatre and the smaller Mill...
, GuildfordGuildfordGuildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
and Aldwych TheatreAldwych TheatreThe Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
, 2001) - See U Next Tuesday, adaptation of Francis VeberFrancis VeberFrancis Paul Veber is a French film director, screenwriter and producer, and theater playwright. Many of his French comedies feature recurring types of characters, named François Pignon and François Perrin...
's Diner de Cons (Gate Theatre, Dublin, 2002 and Albery Theatre, 2003) - An English Tragedy, based on the true story of the British fascist John AmeryJohn AmeryJohn Amery was a British fascist who proposed to the Wehrmacht the formation of a British volunteer force and made recruitment efforts and propaganda broadcasts for Nazi Germany...
(Palace Theatre WatfordWatfordWatford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
, 2008) - Collaboration, (Minerva Theatre, ChichesterMinerva Theatre, ChichesterThe Minerva Theatre is a studio theatre seating at full capacity 283. It is run as part of the adjacent Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, and was opened in 1989...
, 2008; Duchess TheatreDuchess TheatreThe Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street, near Aldwych.The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. It has 479 seats on two levels....
, 2009)
Screenplays
- Private PotterPrivate PotterPrivate Potter is a 1962 British drama film directed by Caspar Wrede and starring Tom Courtenay, Mogens Wieth, Ronald Fraser, and James Maxwell.-Plot:...
(1962) - A High Wind in JamaicaA High Wind in Jamaica (film)A High Wind in Jamaica is a 1965 film, based on the novel of the same name, and directed by Alexander Mackendrick for the 20th Century-Fox studio. It starred Anthony Quinn and James Coburn as the pirates who capture the children....
(1965) - Diamonds for BreakfastDiamonds for Breakfast (film)Diamonds for Breakfast is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Christopher Morahan.-Cast:* Marcello Mastroianni - Grand Duke Nicholas Wladimirovitch Goduno* Rita Tushingham - Bridget Rafferty* Elaine Taylor - Victoria* Margaret Blye - Honey...
(1968) - Eyewitness (1970)
- One Day in the Life of Ivan DenisovichOne Day in the Life of Ivan DenisovichOne Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a novel written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, first published in November 1962 in the Soviet literary magazine Novy Mir . The story is set in a Soviet labor camp in the 1950s, and describes a single day of an ordinary prisoner, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov...
(1971) - Operation DaybreakOperation DaybreakOperation Daybreak is a 1975 World War II film based on the true story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague - starring Anthony Andrews, Timothy Bottoms and Martin Shaw. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and shot mostly on location in Prague. It was adapted from the book Seven Men...
(1975) - The DresserThe DresserThe Dresser is a 1983 film which tells the story of an aging actor's personal assistant, who struggles to keep his charge's life together. It is based on a screenplay by Ronald Harwood, in turn based on his successful 1980 West End and Broadway play of the same name.The film was directed by Peter...
(1983) (also producer) - The Doctor and the Devils (1985) (from a script by Dylan ThomasDylan ThomasDylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
) - The Browning VersionThe Browning Version (1994 film)The Browning Version is a 1994 film directed by Mike Figgis and starring Albert Finney. The film is based on the 1948 play by Terence Rattigan, which was previously adapted for film under the same name in 1951.-Plot:...
(1994) - Cry, the Beloved CountryCry, the Beloved Country (1995 film)Cry, the Beloved Country is a 1995 film directed by Darrell Roodt. Based on the novel Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton it stars James Earl Jones and Richard Harris. It features the song Exile by Enya. The score was composed by John Barry....
(1995) - Taking SidesTaking Sides (film)Taking Sides is a 2001 German-French-Austrian-British co-production starring Harvey Keitel and Stellan Skarsgård set during the period of denazification investigations conducted in post-war Germany after the Second World War...
(2001) - The PianistThe Pianist (2002 film)The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman...
(2002) - The Statement (2003)
- Being JuliaBeing JuliaBeing Julia is a 2004 drama film with comic undertones directed by István Szabó and starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the 1937 novel Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham...
(2004) - Oliver TwistOliver Twist (2005 film)Oliver Twist is a 2005 British drama film directed by Roman Polanski. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the 1838 novel of the same title by Charles Dickens....
(2005) - Love in the Time of CholeraLove in the Time of Cholera (film)Love in the Time of Cholera is a 2007 film directed by Mike Newell. Based on the novel of the same name by Gabriel García Márquez, it tells the story of a love triangle between Fermina Daza and her two suitors, Florentino Ariza and Doctor Juvenal Urbino which spans 50 years, from 1880 to...
(2007) - The Diving Bell and the ButterflyThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film)The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a 2007 biographical drama film based on Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir of the same name. The film depicts Bauby's life after suffering a massive stroke, on December 8, 1995, at the age of 42, which left him with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. The...
(2007) - AustraliaAustralia (2008 film)Australia is a 2008 epic historical romance film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It is the second-highest grossing Australian film of all time, behind Crocodile Dundee. The screenplay was written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Ronald Harwood...
(2008)
Books and published works
- All the Same Shadows (novel) Cape (1961)
- George Washington September Sir! (novel) Avon (1961)
- The Guilt Merchants (novel) Cape (1963)
- The Girl in Melanie Klein (novel) Secker & Warburg (1969)
- Sir Donald Wolfit: His Life and Work in the Unfashionable Theatre (biography) Secker & Warburg (1971) ISBN 0436191210)
- Articles of Faith (novel - Winifred HoltbyWinifred HoltbyWinifred Holtby was an English novelist and journalist, best known for her novel South Riding.-Life and writings:...
Prize) Secker & Warburg (1973) ISBN 0436191229 - The Genoa Ferry (novel) Secker & Warburg (1976) ISBN 0436191237
- César and Augusta (novel about the composer César Franck) Secker & Warburg (1978) ISBN 0436191199
- One. Interior. Day. Adventures in the Film Trade, Secker & Warburg (1978) ISBN 0436191245
- New Stories 3: An Arts Council Anthology (with Francis King) Hutchinson (1978) ISBN 0091332710
- The Dresser (play) Grove Press (1981) ISBN 0394179366
- A Night at the Theatre (editor), Methuen (1982) ISBN 0413499502
- The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold (play) Amber Lane (1983) ISBN 0906399424
- After the Lions (play) Amber Lane (1983) ISBN 0906399416
- All the World's a Stage (theatre history), Secker & Warburg (1984) ISBN 0436191326
- The Ages of Gielgud, an Actor at Eighty, Hodder & Stoughton (1984) ISBN 0340348283
- Tramway Road (play) Amber Lane (1984) ISBN 0906399580
- The Deliberate Death of a Polish Priest (play) Amber Lane (1985) ISBN 0906399637
- Interpreters (play) Amber Lane (1986) ISBN 090639967X
- Mandela (a Channel Four book), Boxtree (1987) ISBN 1852832045
- Dear Alec: Guinness at 75 (editor), Hodder & Stoughton (1989) ISBN 0340499540
- Another Time (play) Amber Lane (1989) ISBN 090639998X
- Reflected Glory (play) Faber (1992) ISBN 0571164633
- The Collected Plays of Ronald Harwood, Faber (1993) ISBN 0571170013
- The Faber Book of the Theatre (editor) Faber (1994) ISBN 0571164811
- Harwood Plays: Two (Contemporary Classics), Faber (1995) ISBN 9001877427
- The Handyman (play) Faber (1997) ISBN 0571190413
- Quartet/Equally Divided (plays) Faber (1999) ISBN 0571200923)
- Mahler's Conversion (play) Faber (2001) ISBN 9780571212316
- The Pianist/Taking Sides (screenplays) Faber (2003) ISBN 0571212816
- An English Tragedy (play) Faber (2006) ISBN 0571233287
- Ronald Harwood's Adaptations: From Other Works Into Films, Guerilla Books (2007) ISBN 9780955494307
See also
Further reading
- Who's Who in the Theatre 17th edition, Gale (1981) ISBN 0810302157
- HaIliwell's Who's Who in the Movies, 4th edition, HarperCollins (2006) ISBN 0007169574
- Theatre RecordTheatre RecordTheatre Record is a periodical that reprints reviews, production photographs, and other information about the British theatre.-Overview:Founded by Ian Herbert and published fortnightly since January 1981, Theatre Record is printed and published in England every two weeks.It reprints unabridged all...
and its annual Indexes - The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English, Oxford (1996) ISBN 0192122711
External links
- http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/22859/in-praise-of-the-patriotic-playwright.thtml
- AUSTRALIA: a baz luhrmann film
- Sir Ronald Harwood: Screenwriting Lecture part of the BAFTA Screenwriters on Screenwriting series.