David Eldridge (dramatist)

Last updated


David Eldridge
David Eldridge, playwright.jpg
Eldrige in London, 2006
Born (1973-09-20) 20 September 1973 (age 50)
Education Brentwood School (Essex)
University of Exeter
Occupation(s)Playwright, screenwriter, educator
Years active1995–present

David Eldridge (born 20 September 1973) is a British dramatist and screenwriter, born in Romford, Greater London, United Kingdom. [1] [2] [3] His plays have been produced in the West End and on Broadway. He has written for stage, screen and radio.

Contents

Career

His plays have been performed at major new writing institutions in the UK, including The Royal Court Theatre, the Bush Theatre, the Finborough Theatre and the National Theatre. His stage adaptation of the film Festen transferred from the Almeida Theatre to the West End and Broadway. His play Market Boy, informed by his childhood working on a stall at Romford Market, played at the National Theatre's largest space, the Olivier in June 2006. In July 2008 his play Under the Blue Sky was revived at the Duke of York's Theatre starring Chris O'Dowd, Catherine Tate and Francesca Annis. [4] [5] [6] [7]

In March 2011 his play The Knot of the Heart played at the Almeida Theatre and starred Lisa Dillon, for whom the role of Lucy was written and in February 2012 his play In Basildon, played at the Royal Court Theatre directed by Dominic Cooke starring Linda Bassett and Ruth Sheen. Both plays opened to critical acclaim. The Knot of the Heart won the Off-West End Theatre Award for Best New Play [8] and In Basildon was voted The Guardian Theatre Critics and Arts Writers No.1 Theatre of 2012. [9] In April 2012 the Royal Exchange Theatre presented his new version of Miss Julie by August Strindberg, starring Maxine Peake. In July 2014 his play Holy Warriors played at Shakespeare's Globe.

David's screenplay for a ninety-minute single film, The Scandalous Lady W , based upon Hallie Rubenhold's book Lady Worsley's Whim, was broadcast on BBC2 in August 2015 starring Natalie Dormer and directed by Sheree Folkson.

In October 2017 The National Theatre presented the world premiere of his play Beginning in the Dorfman Theatre directed by Polly Findlay. [10] Beginning transferred from The National Theatre to the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End, opening in January 2018 with both Sam Troughton and Justine Mitchell reprising their original roles. Beginning was revived for a tour starting at the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch, Essex in 2021. It became the first in his trilogy of plays about love and relationships for the National Theatre to be premièred in its Dorfman Theatre. The second, Middle , had its first performances rescheduled to start in April 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. [11]

Eldridge is currently lecturer in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London. [12] He also teaches screenwriting for the Arvon Foundation. [13]

Plays

Adaptations/Versions

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<i>A Dolls House</i> 1879 play by Henrik Ibsen

A Doll's House is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month. The play is set in a Norwegian town circa 1879.

<i>Hedda Gabler</i> Play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen

Hedda Gabler is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been canonized as a masterpiece within the genres of literary realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama. Ibsen mainly wrote realistic plays until his forays into modern drama. Hedda Gabler dramatizes the experiences of the title character, Hedda, the daughter of a general, who is trapped in a marriage and a house that she does not want. Overall, the title character for Hedda Gabler is considered one of the great dramatic roles in theater. The year following its publication, the play received negative feedback and reviews. Hedda Gabler has been described as a female variation of Hamlet.

Professor Frank McGuinness is an Irish writer. As well as his own plays, which include The Factory Girls, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me and Dolly West's Kitchen, he is recognised for a "strong record of adapting literary classics, having translated the plays of Racine, Sophocles, Ibsen, Garcia Lorca, and Strindberg to critical acclaim". He has also published six collections of poetry, and two novels. McGuinness was Professor of Creative Writing at University College Dublin (UCD) from 2007 to 2018.

Pam Gems was an English playwright. The author of numerous original plays, as well as of adaptations of works by European playwrights of the past, Gems is best known for the 1978 musical play Piaf.

<i>Ghosts</i> (play) Play written by Henrik Ibsen

Ghosts is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was written in Danish and published in 1881, and first staged in 1882 in Chicago, Illinois, US, performed in Danish.

Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre is an English film, theatre, television and opera director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almeida Theatre</span> Theatre in Islington, London

The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West End theatres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rafe Spall</span> British actor

Rafe Joseph Spall is an English actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Grandage</span> British theatre director (born 1962)

Michael Grandage CBE is a British theatre director and producer. He is currently Artistic Director of the Michael Grandage Company. From 2002 to 2012 he was Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse in London and from 2000 to 2005 he was Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres.

Lisa Dillon is an English actress.

<i>The Lady from the Sea</i> Play by Henrik Ibsen

The Lady from the Sea is a play written in 1888 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen inspired by the ballad Agnete og Havmanden. The drama introduces the character of Hilde Wangel who is again portrayed in Ibsen's later play The Master Builder. The character portrayal of Hilde Wangel has been portrayed twice in contemporary film, most recently in the 2014 film titled A Master Builder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malcolm Sinclair (actor)</span> British actor

Malcolm Sinclair is a British stage and television actor and former President of Trade Union, Equity 2010–18 when he stood down after 4 terms and was replaced by Maureen Beattie. He played Assistant Chief Constable Freddy Fisher in the television series Pie in the Sky from 1994 to 1997.

Festen is a British stage adaptation of the 1998 Danish film of the same name. The adaptation is by English playwright David Eldridge. It was first staged in 2004 by producer Marla Rubin at the Almeida Theatre in London, and has since been staged in many countries around the world.

<i>John Gabriel Borkman</i>

John Gabriel Borkman is a 1896 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was his penultimate work.

Mike Poulton is an English writer, translator and adapter of classic plays for contemporary audiences. He has been Tony nominated for his play 'Fortune's Fool' along with his adaptations of 'Wolf Hall' and 'Bring Up the Bodies'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian McDiarmid</span> Scottish actor and stage director (born 1944)

Ian McDiarmid is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen. Making his stage debut in Hamlet in 1972, McDiarmid joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974, and has since starred in a number of Shakespeare's plays. He has received an Olivier Award for Best Actor for Insignificance (1982) and a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Faith Healer (2006).

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufus Norris</span> British theatre and film director (born 1965)

Rufus Norris is a British theatre and film director, who is currently the artistic director and chief executive of the National Theatre.

Max Bennett is an English actor. On television, he is best known for playing Monk Adderley in Poldark on the BBC, and Robert Southwell in Will for TNT. On film, he is best known for playing David in the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and Brown in Guy Ritchie's crime caper The Gentlemen. He has worked extensively in London theatre, with leading roles in the West End, as well as for the Donmar Warehouse, Royal Court, Young Vic, Shakespeare's Globe and the National Theatre.

Marla Rubin is an Olivier Award and South Bank Sky Arts Award-winning West End and Broadway theatre producer.

References

  1. "Playwright David Eldridge revisits his Essex roots". 30 April 2012. Archived from the original on 30 April 2012.
  2. "Playwright David Eldridge on his brilliant new play". 5 September 2011. Archived from the original on 5 September 2011.
  3. "Playwright David Eldridge on new writing". 2 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011.
  4. "David Eldridge on Festen". 2 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011.
  5. "David Eldrdge on his career". 2 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011.
  6. "Playwright David Eldridge goes Monsterist with Market Boy". 2 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011.
  7. "Playwright David Eldridge on his West End hit". 2 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011.
  8. Matt Trueman, "Off West End awards: pub theatres given plenty to cheer", The Guardian, 2 February 2012.
  9. Alex Needham, "Best theatre of 2012, no 1: In Basildon, Royal Court — David Eldridge's resonant and richly populated play put England's many postwar paradoxes on stage – and it was funny, too", The Guardian, 21 December 2012.
  10. Beginning by David Eldridge, 5 Oct - 14 Nov 2017, National Theatre
  11. "David Eldridge: 'Selling shoes on a Romford Market stall definitely fed into my plays'". The Stage. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  12. "David Eldridge". Department of English, Theatre and Creative Writing, Birkbeck, University of London. 3 June 2019.
  13. "SCREENWRITING: TUTORED RETREAT - a course at Arvon - Arvon".