Terry Johnson (dramatist)
Encyclopedia
Terry Johnson is a British
dramatist and director working for stage, television and film. He is a Literary Associate at the Royal Court Theatre
. At The Court he directed Dumb Show by Joe Penhall
and opened his play Piano/Forte. Johnson won the 2010 Tony Award
for Best Director of a Musical for La Cage aux Folles
.
Johnson's stage work has been produced around the world. He has won nine British Theatre awards including the Olivier Award
for Best Comedy 1994 and 1999, Playwright of the Year 1995, Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Best New Play 1995, two Evening Standard Theatre Awards
, the Writers Guild Award for Best Play 1995 and 1996, the Meyer-Whitworth Award 1993 and the John Whiting Award
1991.
He has had many West End productions as director and/or writer including:
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
, Hitchcock Blonde, Entertaining Mr Sloane
, The Graduate, Dead Funny, Hysteria
, Elton John's Glasses and The Memory of Water
.
He has worked with Chicago
's Steppenwolf Theatre, directing John Malkovich
in The Libertine (nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Awards
including Best Production) and Lost Land, both plays by Stephen Jeffreys
.
He has written and directed television drama that has been broadcast worldwide, most recently Not Only But Always
for Channel 4
, which won five International Award nominations, Best Film at Banff, and a BAFTA for Rhys Ifans
.
The film version of his play Insignificance
(directed by Nicolas Roeg
) was the official British Entry at Cannes Film Festival
in 1985.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
dramatist and director working for stage, television and film. He is a Literary Associate 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...
. At The Court he directed Dumb Show by Joe Penhall
Joe Penhall
Joe Penhall is a British playwright and screenwriter.Born in London, his first major play was Some Voices for the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1994, which won the John Whiting Award. It has twice been revived off Broadway...
and opened his play Piano/Forte. Johnson won the 2010 Tony Award
Tony Award
The 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...
for Best Director of a Musical for La Cage aux Folles
La Cage aux Folles (play)
La Cage aux Folles is a 1973 French farce by Jean Poiret centering on confusion that ensues when Laurent, the son of a Saint Tropez night club owner and his gay lover, brings his fiancée's ultraconservative parents for dinner. The original French production premiered at the Théâtre du...
.
Johnson's stage work has been produced around the world. He has won nine British Theatre awards including the Olivier Award
Laurence Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Award is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London...
for Best Comedy 1994 and 1999, Playwright of the Year 1995, Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Best New Play 1995, two Evening Standard Theatre Awards
Evening Standard Awards
The Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December...
, the Writers Guild Award for Best Play 1995 and 1996, the Meyer-Whitworth Award 1993 and the John Whiting Award
John Whiting Award
The John Whiting Award is awarded annually to a British or Commonwealth playwright who, in the opinion of a consortium of UK theatres, shows a new and distinctive development in dramatic writing with particular relevance to contemporary society...
1991.
He has had many West End productions as director and/or writer including:
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (play)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a play based on Ken Kesey's 1962 novel of the same name. Dale Wasserman's stage adaptation, with music by Teiji Ito, made its Broadway preview on November 12, 1963, its premiere on November 13, and ran until January 25, 1964 for a total of one preview and 82...
, Hitchcock Blonde, Entertaining Mr Sloane
Entertaining Mr Sloane
Entertaining Mr Sloane is a play by the English playwright Joe Orton. It was first produced in London at the New Arts Theatre on 6 May 1964 and transferred to the West End's Wyndham's Theatre on 29 June 1964.-Plot summary:Act 1...
, The Graduate, Dead Funny, Hysteria
Hysteria (play)
Hysteria: Or Fragments of an Analysis of an Obsessional Neurosis is a two-hour play by Terry Johnson fictionalising a 1938 meeting between Salvador Dalí and Sigmund Freud a year before the latter's death. It is named after the Freudian psychological term "hysteria" and its London premiere was in 1...
, Elton John's Glasses and The Memory of Water
The Memory of Water
The Memory of Water is a comedy written by English playwright Shelagh Stephenson, first staged at Hampstead Theatre in 1996.-Vi:Vi is the mother of the three sisters and whose funeral they are together for. She was a glamorous woman when younger, with whom all the men of the village were enamoured...
.
He has worked with Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's Steppenwolf Theatre, directing John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
in The Libertine (nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Awards
Joseph Jefferson Awards
The Joseph Jefferson Awards are given annually by a volunteer non-profit committee to acknowledge excellence in theatre in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are given in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson...
including Best Production) and Lost Land, both plays by Stephen Jeffreys
Stephen Jeffreys
Stephen Jeffreys is a British playwright.His plays include Like Dolls or Angels ; Carmen 1936 ; Valued Friends ; The Clink ; The Libertine - also a screenplay filmed with Johnny Depp; A Going...
.
He has written and directed television drama that has been broadcast worldwide, most recently Not Only But Always
Not Only But Always
Not Only But Always is a British TV movie, originally screened on the Channel 4 network in the UK on 30 December 2004. Written and directed by playwright Terry Johnson, the film tells the story of the working and personal relationship between the comedians Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, a hugely...
for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, which won five International Award nominations, Best Film at Banff, and a BAFTA for Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
.
The film version of his play Insignificance
Insignificance (film)
Insignificance is a 1985 motion picture drama/comedy directed by Nicolas Roeg, produced by Jeremy Thomas and Alexander Stuart, and adapted by Terry Johnson from his play of the same name. The film is set in 1954, with most of the action taking place in a hotel room in New York City...
(directed by Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
) was the official British Entry at Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in 1985.
as playwright
- Days Here So Dark (1981, Paines PloughPaines PloughPaines Plough is a London-based British touring theatre company founded in 1974 by writer David Pownall and director John Adams. They named the company after their favourite pub, the Plough, where they would drink pints of Paines....
, EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
) - InsignificanceInsignificanceInsignificance may refer to:*Insignificance , a 1985 film directed by Nicolas Roeg*Insignificance , an album by Jim O'Rourke named after the film*Insignificance , a song by Pearl Jam*Insignificance...
(1982, Royal Court TheatreRoyal Court TheatreThe 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...
) (Plays & Players Award Best Play, Evening Standard AwardEvening Standard AwardsThe Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December...
Most Promising Playwright) - Cries From The Mammal House (1984, Leicester HaymarketHaymarket Theatre (Leicester)The Haymarket Theatre was a theatre in Leicester, England, based in the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Belgrave Gate in Leicester city centre. The theatre closed at the end of 2006 and has been replaced by the Curve Theatre...
/Royal Court) - Unsuitable For Adults (1984, Bush TheatreBush TheatreThe 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...
) - Imagine Drowning (1991, Hampstead TheatreHampstead TheatreHampstead 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...
) - Hysteria (1993, Royal Court, Mark Taper Forum, Duke of Yorks) (Olivier Award Best Comedy 1993)
- Dead Funny (1994, Hampstead, Vaudville, Savoy) (Writers Guild Award Best West End Play 1994, Drama Critics Circle Best Play 1994, Lloyds Private Banking Playwright of the Year 1994 and Time Out Drama Award 1994)
- London Cuckolds (adaptation from Edward RavenscroftEdward RavenscroftEdward Ravenscroft , English dramatist, belonged to an ancient Flintshire family.He was entered at the Middle Temple, but devoted his attention mainly to literature. Among his pieces are...
)(1998, 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...
, Lyttelton) - Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and DickCleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and DickCleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick is a 1998 play written by the English dramatist Terry Johnson, who also directed the original production at the National Theatre....
(1998, National Theatre) (Olivier Award: Best Comedy 1998) - The GraduateThe GraduateThe Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
(adaptation from novel by Charles Webb and screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry)(2000, London, Australia, New York, UK & US tours) (Touring Broadway Award Best Play) - Hitchcock Blonde (2003, Royal Court/The Lyric, West End, South Coast RepertorySouth Coast RepertorySouth Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
, Costa Mesa, California) - Piano/Forte (2006, Royal Court)
as director
- Rag Doll (Bristol Old VicBristol Old VicThe Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
) - Death of a SalesmanDeath of a SalesmanDeath of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
(York Theatre RoyalYork Theatre RoyalThe York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St. Leonard's Place, York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 847 people. This reduced capacity takes into account removal of the mixing position seats and the stage side boxes which are normally not sold...
) - Dead Funny (Hampstead, Vaudeville, National Tour, Savoy)
- Insignificance (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...
) - The Libertine (Steppenwolf, Chicago)
- Cracked (Hampstead Theatre)
- London Cuckolds (National Theatre, Lyttelton)
- Elton John's Glasses (Watford and West End)
- The Memory of Water (Hampstead Theatre / Vaudeville Theatre)
- Cleo, Camping Emmanuelle and Dick (National Theatre)
- Sparkleshark (National Theatre)
- The Graduate (London, Australia, New York)
- Hitchcock Blonde (Royal Court, Lyric West End, South Coast RepertorySouth Coast RepertorySouth Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
) - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (co-director with Tamara Harvey, Edinburgh & West End)
- Dumb Show (Royal Court)
- Rain Man (Apollo)
films
- Tuesday's Child (BBC) (co-written with Kate Lock)
- Way Up Stream (adapted for BBC)
- Cor, Blimey! (Company Pictures/ITV)
- Not Only But AlwaysNot Only But AlwaysNot Only But Always is a British TV movie, originally screened on the Channel 4 network in the UK on 30 December 2004. Written and directed by playwright Terry Johnson, the film tells the story of the working and personal relationship between the comedians Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, a hugely...
(Company/Ch4)(Nominated British Comedy Awards Best Television Comedy; Nominated BAFTA Best Single Drama; Winner BAFTA Best Actor for Rhys IfansRhys IfansRhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
, Winner Banff Best Made-for-TV Movie)
series / serials
- Ghosts – "Blood And Water" and "The Chemistry Lesson" (BBC TV)
- 99-1 (Zenith/Carlton) co-creator with Barbara CoxBarbara CoxBarbara Cox is a writer and script editor, mainly in British television, who has worked on such programmes as The Bill, The Paradise Club, Cardiac Arrest, Love Hurts, Dangerfield and Holby City....
- The Bite (Warner Sisters/ABC AUS)