Samuel Adamson
Encyclopedia
Samuel Adamson is an Australian playwright
and screenwriter
who has lived and worked in the UK since 1991. He was born in Adelaide and lives in London.
in 1996 in a production directed by then-artistic director Dominic Dromgoole
, with a cast including Kate Beckinsale
, John Light
and Neil Stuke
.http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821195406817 It was later produced in Germany and New York. The play led to him becoming Pearson Writer in Residence at the Bush from 1997 to 1998.http://www.smadamson.btinternet.co.uk/biography.html
Adamson’s second play was Grace Note, starring Geraldine McEwan
, in 1997 for the Peter Hall Company at the Old Vic
, which was also directed by Dromgoole.http://www.geraldinemcewan.com/THEATRE.html His next play was Drink, Dance, Laugh and Lie at the Bush in 1999.http://www.breakfastattiffanys.co.uk/cast_creative/creative/sam_adamson/
He has written versions of Henrik Ibsen
’s plays. A Doll’s House, directed by Thea Sharrock
, was the tenth anniversary production at Southwark Playhouse
, London, in 2003,http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/otherresources/interviews/TheaSharrock.htm while Pillars of the Community
at the Lyttleton at the Royal National Theatre
was directed by Marianne Elliott
in 2005 and starred Damian Lewis
and Lesley Manville
.
He also adapted two plays by Anton Chekhov
for tours for the Oxford Stage Company (now Headlong), both directed by Dominic Dromgoole
: Three Sisters
, which transferred to the Whitehall Theatre, and The Cherry Orchard
which moved to the Riverside Studios
. He adapted Bernhard Studlar’s Vienna Dreaming at the National Theatre Studio and Arthur Schnitzler
’s Professor Bernhardi for Dumbfounded Theatre at the Arcola Theatre
in 2005 and also on BBC Radio 3. He also wrote Tomorrow Week for BBC Radio 3.http://www.breakfastattiffanys.co.uk/cast_creative/creative/sam_adamson/
His play, Southwark Fair, was directed at the Royal National Theatre
in 2005 by artistic director Nicholas Hytner
, starring Rory Kinnear
, Margaret Tyzack
and Con O'Neill
.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3649793/Chuffed-Thats-an-understatement.html His one-woman play Some Kind of Bliss was performed by Lucy Briers
at the Royal National Theatre
in 2006 and then at the Trafalgar Studios in 2007. He also wrote Fish and Company for the National Youth Theatre
and Soho Theatre
. In 2005 he contributed to the 24 Hour Plays at the Old Vic
and in 2007 to A Chain Play at the Almeida Theatre
.
He wrote the screenplay for the 2007 short film, Running For River, starring Romola Garai
.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2696669/
All About My Mother
, his stage adaptation of Pedro Almodóvar
’s film Todo sobre mi madre, was produced to great acclaim at the Old Vic
in 2007, starring Lesley Manville
and Diana Rigg
.http://www.oldvictheatre.com/whatson.php?id=36
In 2008, he began working with Tori Amos
on a musical adaptation of the George MacDonald
story The Light Princess
for the Royal National Theatre
. His play Mrs Affleck, inspired by Ibsen’s Little Eyolf
, opened at the Royal National Theatre
in January 2009, directed by Marianne Elliott
and starring Claire Skinner
.http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/mrsaffleck His adaptation of Truman Capote
's Breakfast at Tiffany's
, starring Anna Friel
and directed by Sean Mathias
, opened at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London in September 2009.http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/25043/dreyfus-to-join-cast-of-breakfast-at A Quiet Island was due to open at the Almeida Theatre
, London in 2009, directed by Indhu Rubasingham, but was postponed.http://www.whatsonstage.com/news/theatre/london/E8831242297261/Almeida+Postpones+Adamson%92s+Island+Premiere.html
His play 'Frank and Ferdinand', an interpretation of the story of the Pied Piper is currently part of the National Theatre Connections Festival 2011 and will be performed by young amateur companies all over Britain.
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:...
who has lived and worked in the UK since 1991. He was born in Adelaide and lives in London.
Career
Samuel Adamson's debut play was Clocks and Whistles at the Bush TheatreBush 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...
in 1996 in a production directed by then-artistic director Dominic Dromgoole
Dominic Dromgoole
Dominic Dromgoole is an English theatre director and writer about the theatre. He is married with three daughters, and lives in London.-Early life:...
, with a cast including Kate Beckinsale
Kate Beckinsale
Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale is an English actress. After some minor television roles, she made her film debut in Much Ado About Nothing while still a student at Oxford University...
, John Light
John Light
John Light may refer to:* John Light , an English cinema, television and theatre actor* John Light , Texas politician...
and Neil Stuke
Neil Stuke
Neil Stuke , is an English actor notable for playing Matthew in the second and third series of Game On after taking over the role from Ben Chaplin,and for his role as Billy Lamb, Head Clerk in the 2011 BBC television series "Silk"...
.http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821195406817 It was later produced in Germany and New York. The play led to him becoming Pearson Writer in Residence at the Bush from 1997 to 1998.http://www.smadamson.btinternet.co.uk/biography.html
Adamson’s second play was Grace Note, starring Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan is an English actor with a diverse history in theatre, film, and television. From 2004 to 2009 she appeared as Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie sleuth, for the series Marple.-Background:...
, in 1997 for the Peter Hall Company at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
, which was also directed by Dromgoole.http://www.geraldinemcewan.com/THEATRE.html His next play was Drink, Dance, Laugh and Lie at the Bush in 1999.http://www.breakfastattiffanys.co.uk/cast_creative/creative/sam_adamson/
He has written versions of Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
’s plays. A Doll’s House, directed by Thea Sharrock
Thea Sharrock
Thea Sharrock is an award-winning English theatre director. In 2001, when at age 24 she became artistic director of London's Southwark Playhouse, she was the youngest artistic director in British theatre....
, was the tenth anniversary production at Southwark Playhouse
Southwark Playhouse
-History:Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice, Tom Wilson & Mehmet Ergen. They identified the need for a high quality accessible theatre which would also act as a major resource for the community...
, London, in 2003,http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/otherresources/interviews/TheaSharrock.htm while Pillars of the Community
The Pillars of Society
The Pillars of Society is an 1877 play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen....
at the Lyttleton 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...
was directed by Marianne Elliott
Marianne Elliott
For the theatre director, see Marianne Elliott .Marianne Elliott is an Irish historian....
in 2005 and starred Damian Lewis
Damian Lewis
Lewis was born in St John's Wood, London, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His paternal grandparents were Welsh. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of...
and Lesley Manville
Lesley Manville
Lesley Manville is an award-winning English actress.-Early life:Born in Brighton, Manville was raised in Hove, East Sussex, one of three daughters of a taxicab driver. Training as a soprano singer from age 8, she twice became under-18 champion of Sussex...
.
He also adapted two plays by Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton 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...
for tours for the Oxford Stage Company (now Headlong), both directed by Dominic Dromgoole
Dominic Dromgoole
Dominic Dromgoole is an English theatre director and writer about the theatre. He is married with three daughters, and lives in London.-Early life:...
: Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
, which transferred to the Whitehall Theatre, and The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
which moved to the Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios is a production studio, theatre and independent cinema on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. It plays host to contemporary and international dramatic and dance performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production.-History:In 1933, the...
. He adapted Bernhard Studlar’s Vienna Dreaming at the National Theatre Studio and Arthur Schnitzler
Arthur Schnitzler
Dr. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and dramatist.- Biography :Arthur Schnitzler, son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter , was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian...
’s Professor Bernhardi for Dumbfounded Theatre at the Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre is a studio theatre in Dalston, in the London Borough of Hackney. The theatre's ambition is to create and present high-quality theatre with a social and political relevance to its multicultural local community as well as a wider audience....
in 2005 and also on BBC Radio 3. He also wrote Tomorrow Week for BBC Radio 3.http://www.breakfastattiffanys.co.uk/cast_creative/creative/sam_adamson/
His play, Southwark Fair, was directed 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...
in 2005 by artistic director Nicholas Hytner
Nicholas Hytner
Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner is an English film and theatre producer and director. He has been the artistic director of London's National Theatre since 2003.-Biography:...
, starring Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear is an award-winning English actor who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.-Early life:...
, Margaret Tyzack
Margaret Tyzack
Margaret Maud Tyzack, CBE was a British actress.-Early life:Tyzack was born in Essex, England, the daughter of Doris and Thomas Edward Tyzack. She grew up in West Ham...
and Con O'Neill
Con O'Neill
Con O'Neill may refer to:* Conn O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone , King of the Irish* Con O'Neill , British actor* Con O'Neill , British ambassador...
.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3649793/Chuffed-Thats-an-understatement.html His one-woman play Some Kind of Bliss was performed by Lucy Briers
Lucy Briers
Lucy Briers is an English actress. She has received critical praise for her many film, television, and stage roles, including the premiere of Best Friends & Butterflies.-Personal life:...
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...
in 2006 and then at the Trafalgar Studios in 2007. He also wrote Fish and Company for the National Youth Theatre
National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre is a registered charity in London, Great Britain, committed to creative, personal and social development of young people through the medium of creative arts....
and Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre is a theatre in the eponymous Soho district of the City of Westminster. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret....
. In 2005 he contributed to the 24 Hour Plays at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
and in 2007 to A Chain Play at the Almeida Theatre
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...
.
He wrote the screenplay for the 2007 short film, Running For River, starring Romola Garai
Romola Garai
Romola Sadie Garai is an English actress. She is known for appearing in the movies Amazing Grace, Atonement, and Glorious 39, and for appearing in the BBC adaptation of Emma.-Early life:...
.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2696669/
All About My Mother
All About My Mother
All About My Mother is a 1999 Spanish drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The film deals with complex issues such as AIDS, transvestitism, faith, and existentialism....
, his stage adaptation of Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular...
’s film Todo sobre mi madre, was produced to great acclaim at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
in 2007, starring Lesley Manville
Lesley Manville
Lesley Manville is an award-winning English actress.-Early life:Born in Brighton, Manville was raised in Hove, East Sussex, one of three daughters of a taxicab driver. Training as a soprano singer from age 8, she twice became under-18 champion of Sussex...
and Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
.http://www.oldvictheatre.com/whatson.php?id=36
In 2008, he began working with Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
on a musical adaptation of the George MacDonald
George MacDonald
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S...
story The Light Princess
The Light Princess
The Light Princess is a fairy tale by George MacDonald. It was published in 1864.- Plot summary :A king and queen, after some time, have a daughter. The king invites everyone to the christening, except his sister Princess Makemnoit, a spiteful and sour woman. She arrives without an invitation and...
for 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...
. His play Mrs Affleck, inspired by Ibsen’s Little Eyolf
Little Eyolf
Little Eyolf is an 1894 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play was first performed on January 12, 1895 in the Deutsches Theater in Berlin.-Plot:...
, opened 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...
in January 2009, directed by Marianne Elliott
Marianne Elliott
For the theatre director, see Marianne Elliott .Marianne Elliott is an Irish historian....
and starring Claire Skinner
Claire Skinner
Claire L. Skinner is an English actress, who is well known in the United Kingdom for her television career.-Biography:Born and brought up in Hemel Hempstead, Skinner, the youngest daughter of a shopkeeper and an Irish-born secretary, was immensely shy as a child...
.http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/mrsaffleck His adaptation of Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
's Breakfast at Tiffany's
Breakfast at Tiffany's (novella)
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a novella by Truman Capote published in 1958. The main character, Holly Golightly, is one of Capote's best-known creations and an American cultural icon.-Plot:...
, starring Anna Friel
Anna Friel
Anna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...
and directed by Sean Mathias
Sean Mathias
Sean Gerard Mathias is a British theatre director, film director, writer and actor.Mathias was born in Swansea, south Wales. He is known for directing the film, Bent, and for directing highly acclaimed theatre productions in London, New York, Cape Town, Los Angeles and Sydney...
, opened at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London in September 2009.http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/25043/dreyfus-to-join-cast-of-breakfast-at A Quiet Island was due to open at the Almeida Theatre
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...
, London in 2009, directed by Indhu Rubasingham, but was postponed.http://www.whatsonstage.com/news/theatre/london/E8831242297261/Almeida+Postpones+Adamson%92s+Island+Premiere.html
His play 'Frank and Ferdinand', an interpretation of the story of the Pied Piper is currently part of the National Theatre Connections Festival 2011 and will be performed by young amateur companies all over Britain.
External links
- Daily Telegraph interview, February 2006
- http://www.theagency.co.uk/clients/clientdisplay.html?viewListing=OTk= Samuel Adamson's page with his agents, The Agency