fbpx
Wikipedia

C. P. Taylor

Cecil Philip Taylor (6 November 1929 – 9 December 1981)[1] usually credited as C. P. Taylor, was a Scottish playwright. He wrote almost 80 plays during his 16 years as a professional playwright, including several for radio and television. He also made a number of documentary programmes for the BBC.[2] His plays tended to draw on his Jewish background and his Socialist Marxist viewpoint, and to be written in dialect.

Personal life Edit

Taylor was born on 6 November 1929 in Glasgow and grew up in the Crosshill district of Govanhill, in a politically radical Jewish family with strong ties to the Labour Party.[2] His parents had immigrated from Russia.[3] He left school at 14 and began his working life as a radio and television repairman.

In 1955, when he was 26, he met his first wife, Irene Diamond, in a drama group. In order for them to afford to marry, he took a job as a record salesman in Newcastle, the city where his mother had grown up.[2] He and Irene lived there, in Fenham, for many years and had two children, Avram and Clare.[4][5]

In 1967 he married Elizabeth Screen, with whom he also had two children, David and Catheryn.[4][5] Shortly after their marriage, he and Elizabeth settled at the village of Longhorsley in Northumberland, where he lived until his death on 9 December 1981. He is buried in St. Helen's Church graveyard in the village.[4] His death from pneumonia has been attributed to his habit of writing in his garden shed.

Plays Edit

His first play Mr David (1954) won second prize in a playwriting competition organized by the World Jewish Congress. Unperformed until 1966, a production was arranged by the Jewish State Theatre in Warsaw.[2]

Aa Went Tae Blaydon Races, a historical drama about a miners' strike on Tyneside in 1862, was the first play by Taylor to be premiered by a professional theatre company. It opened the new Flora Robson Theatre in Newcastle in 1962.[2]

A long relationship with the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh began in 1965, enabling Taylor to leave his day job and concentrate on his work as a dramatist. The first play for the Traverse was Happy Days Are Here Again, followed by Bread and Butter (1966), Lies about Vietnam (1969), The Black and White Minstrels (1972), Next Year in Tel Aviv (1973), Schippel (1974), Gynt (1975), Walter (1975), and Withdrawal Symptoms (1978).[2]

By the late 1970s, Taylor became increasingly involved with the Live Theatre Company in Newcastle, which premiered several of his plays, among them Some Enchanted Evening (1977), Bandits (1977), Operation Elvis (1978), And a Nightingale Sang (1978) – a bitter-sweet comedy set in wartime Tyneside – and The Saints Go Marching In (1980 – later known as Bring Me Sunshine, Bring Me Smiles').[2]

In The Peter Pan Man (Scottish Youth Theatre 1978)[6] he transferred the play by J. M. Barrie to an Elswick estate.

His most successful play is probably Good (1981), in which a liberal German Professor of German literature, Halder becomes involved with the Third Reich war machine and Auschwitz through moral cowardice and subtle corruption. Halder, however, continues to see himself as a 'good man' even as he is drawn further and further into Hitler's nightmare. Good was first staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Donmar Warehouse in September 1981, with Alan Howard, as Halder, winning both the Evening Standard Award and the Plays and Players Best Actor awards. The play is frequently revived; in March 1999, also at the Donmar Warehouse, Charles Dance played the leading role. In 2023, it was produced in London's Harold Pinter theatre, with David Tennant as Halder.

Film and television versions of his plays Edit

Awards Edit

  • The World Jewish Congress Playwriting Prize (1954)[5]
  • Arts Council Playwright's bursary (1965)[5]
  • Scottish Television Theatre Award (1969)[5]

References Edit

  1. ^ Profile of Cecil Philip Taylor
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Clive Barker; Simon Trussler (April 1993). New Theatre Quarterly 33: Volume 9. p. 44. ISBN 9780521448123. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  3. ^ "St. Louis News and Events | Riverfront Times". www.riverfronttimes.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b c . www.genuki.bpears.org.uk. Archived from the original on 19 March 2005. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e [1][dead link]
  6. ^ . uc-ipc.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links Edit

  • C.P. Taylor biography in the 1993 New Theatre Quarterly 33 by Susen Friesner, retrieved 2010-09-07
  • Article about C.P. Taylor in The Guardian, retrieved 2010-09-07
  • List of C.P. Taylor plays, retrieved 2010-09-07
  • Review of the 1999 version of Good by CurtainUp

taylor, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2017, lear. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources C P Taylor news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Cecil Philip Taylor 6 November 1929 9 December 1981 1 usually credited as C P Taylor was a Scottish playwright He wrote almost 80 plays during his 16 years as a professional playwright including several for radio and television He also made a number of documentary programmes for the BBC 2 His plays tended to draw on his Jewish background and his Socialist Marxist viewpoint and to be written in dialect Contents 1 Personal life 2 Plays 3 Film and television versions of his plays 4 Awards 5 References 6 External linksPersonal life EditTaylor was born on 6 November 1929 in Glasgow and grew up in the Crosshill district of Govanhill in a politically radical Jewish family with strong ties to the Labour Party 2 His parents had immigrated from Russia 3 He left school at 14 and began his working life as a radio and television repairman In 1955 when he was 26 he met his first wife Irene Diamond in a drama group In order for them to afford to marry he took a job as a record salesman in Newcastle the city where his mother had grown up 2 He and Irene lived there in Fenham for many years and had two children Avram and Clare 4 5 In 1967 he married Elizabeth Screen with whom he also had two children David and Catheryn 4 5 Shortly after their marriage he and Elizabeth settled at the village of Longhorsley in Northumberland where he lived until his death on 9 December 1981 He is buried in St Helen s Church graveyard in the village 4 His death from pneumonia has been attributed to his habit of writing in his garden shed Plays EditHis first play Mr David 1954 won second prize in a playwriting competition organized by the World Jewish Congress Unperformed until 1966 a production was arranged by the Jewish State Theatre in Warsaw 2 Aa Went Tae Blaydon Races a historical drama about a miners strike on Tyneside in 1862 was the first play by Taylor to be premiered by a professional theatre company It opened the new Flora Robson Theatre in Newcastle in 1962 2 A long relationship with the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh began in 1965 enabling Taylor to leave his day job and concentrate on his work as a dramatist The first play for the Traverse was Happy Days Are Here Again followed by Bread and Butter 1966 Lies about Vietnam 1969 The Black and White Minstrels 1972 Next Year in Tel Aviv 1973 Schippel 1974 Gynt 1975 Walter 1975 and Withdrawal Symptoms 1978 2 By the late 1970s Taylor became increasingly involved with the Live Theatre Company in Newcastle which premiered several of his plays among them Some Enchanted Evening 1977 Bandits 1977 Operation Elvis 1978 And a Nightingale Sang 1978 a bitter sweet comedy set in wartime Tyneside and The Saints Go Marching In 1980 later known as Bring Me Sunshine Bring Me Smiles 2 In The Peter Pan Man Scottish Youth Theatre 1978 6 he transferred the play by J M Barrie to an Elswick estate His most successful play is probably Good 1981 in which a liberal German Professor of German literature Halder becomes involved with the Third Reich war machine and Auschwitz through moral cowardice and subtle corruption Halder however continues to see himself as a good man even as he is drawn further and further into Hitler s nightmare Good was first staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Donmar Warehouse in September 1981 with Alan Howard as Halder winning both the Evening Standard Award and the Plays and Players Best Actor awards The play is frequently revived in March 1999 also at the Donmar Warehouse Charles Dance played the leading role In 2023 it was produced in London s Harold Pinter theatre with David Tennant as Halder Film and television versions of his plays EditIn 1989 playwright Jack Rosenthal made a posthumous adaptation for television of And a Nightingale Sang This Tyne Tees Television production starred Joan Plowright Phyllis Logan John Woodvine Stephen Tompkinson and Tom Watt and won a Prix Europa in 1990 In 2008 Good was released as a feature film with Viggo Mortensen in the role of Halder and Jason Isaacs playing his Jewish friend Gluckstein Awards EditThe World Jewish Congress Playwriting Prize 1954 5 Arts Council Playwright s bursary 1965 5 Scottish Television Theatre Award 1969 5 References Edit Profile of Cecil Philip Taylor a b c d e f g Clive Barker Simon Trussler April 1993 New Theatre Quarterly 33 Volume 9 p 44 ISBN 9780521448123 Retrieved 8 January 2017 St Louis News and Events Riverfront Times www riverfronttimes com Archived from the original on 1 February 2013 Retrieved 27 January 2022 a b c GENUKI Longhorsley Past and Present www genuki bpears org uk Archived from the original on 19 March 2005 Retrieved 17 January 2022 a b c d e 1 dead link Archived copy uc ipc com Archived from the original on 20 August 2008 Retrieved 17 January 2022 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Theatre Record and its annual IndexesExternal links EditC P Taylor biography in the 1993 New Theatre Quarterly 33 by Susen Friesner retrieved 2010 09 07 Article about C P Taylor in The Guardian retrieved 2010 09 07 List of C P Taylor plays retrieved 2010 09 07 Review of the 1999 version of Good by CurtainUp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title C P Taylor amp oldid 1180112596, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.