Client details
Alan Bennett
Writer
| Charles Walker | +44 (0) 20 3214 0874 |
Alan Bennett has been one of our leading dramatists since the success of "Beyond the Fringe" in the 1960s. His television series "Talking Heads" has become a modern-day classic, as have many of his works for the stage, including "Forty Years On", "The Lady In The Van", "A Question of Attribution", "The Madness of George III" (together with the Oscar-nominated screenplay "The Madness of King George") and an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows". At the National Theatre, "The History Boys" won Evening Standard, Critics' Circle and Olivier awards, and the South Bank Award. On Broadway it won five New York Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics' Circle Awards, a New York Drama Critics' Award for Best Play, a New York Drama League Award and six Tonys including Best Play. The film of "The History Boys" was released in 2006. Alan Bennett's collection of prose, "Untold Stories", won the PEN/ Ackerley Prize for Autobiography in 2006. He was also named Reader's Digest Author of the Year. Current publication SMUT: TWO UNSEEMLY STORIES, Faber, Profile, 7 April 2011 The Shielding of Mrs Forbes Graham Forbes is a disappointment to his mother, who thinks that if he must have a wife, he should have done better. Though her own husband isn't all that satisfactory either. Still, this is Alan Bennett, so what is happening in the bedroom (and in lots of other places too) is altogether more startling, perhaps shocking, and ultimately more true to people's predilections. The Greening of Mrs Donaldson Mrs Donaldson is a conventional middle-class woman beached on the shores of widowhood after a marriage that had been much like many others: happy to begin with, then satisfactory and finally dull. But when she decides to take in two lodgers, her mundane life becomes much more stimulating... Reviews 'It is good, old-fashioned British humour with the lightest of subversive twists' Independent 'offers plenty of Bennett's trademark pleasures' Guardian
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| Publication Details | Notes |
|---|---|
| THE UNCOMMON READER 2007 Faber & Faber | Had the dogs not taken exception to the strange van parked in the royal grounds, the Queen might never have learnt of the Westminster travelling library’s weekly visits to the palace. But finding herself at its steps, she goes up to apologise for all the yapping and ends up taking out a novel by Ivy Compton-Burnett, last borrowed in 1989. Duff read though it proves to be, upbringing demands she finish it and, so as not to appear rude, she withdraws another. This second, more fortunate choice of book awakens in Her Majesty a passion for reading so great that her public duties begin to suffer. And so, as she devours work by everyone from Hardy to Brookner to Proust to Samuel Beckett, her equerries conspire to bring the Queen's literary odyssey to a close. Subversive and highly enjoyable, The Uncommon Reader offers the perfect argument for reading, written by one of its great champions, Alan Bennett. "A masterpiece of comic brevity" Robert McCrum, The Observer) "An exquisitely produced jewel of a book...[but] beneath the tasteful gilt-and-beige cover seethes a savagely Swiftian indignation against stupidity, Philistinism and arrogance in public places, and a passionate argument for the civilising power of art." (Jane Shilling, The Times) "In recounting this story of a ruler who becomes a reader, a monarch who’d rather write than reign, Mr. Bennett has written a captivating fairy tale ... a tale that showcases its author’s customary élan and keen but humane wit." (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times) |
| Publication Details | Notes |
|---|---|
| A LIFE LIKE OTHER PEOPLE'S 2009 Faber & Faber | Taken from Untold Stories `A beautiful little book, full of love regret and the dignity of unremarkable lives.' --Daily Mail `This poignant memoir is Bennett at his superlative best.' --Val Hennessy |
| UNTOLD STORIES 2005 Faber & Faber | The very best of Alan Bennett`s non-fiction writing from the last nine years including significant unpublished work: memoirs, essays, reviews and more. The title piece is a poignant memoir of his family and of growing up in Leeds. Also included are his celebrated diaries for the years 1996-2004. "I have never read a book of this length where I have turned the last page with such regret. It is intelligent, educated, engaging, humane, self-aware, cantankerous and irresistably funny. You want it to go on forever." (The Sunday Times) "Throughout this autobiography runs a belief in good sense, tolerance and clemency, along with a real depth of sentiment, clothed in the language of brilliant and witty perspecuity which gives these 658 pages an enduring claim to respect." (Cal McCrystal, The Independent on Sunday) "This thick book is so full of good things they could sell it for twice the price." (Sam Leith, The Daily Telegraph) * "The Week" magazine Book of the Year based on coverage in the national broadsheets, the TLS, The Mail on Sunday, The Spectator and The New Statesman. |
| WRITING HOME 2004 Faber & Faber | This is a collection of diaries, recollections and book reviews - including several old favourites - which work as a whole to create a portrait of the writer. "Throughout this autobiography runs a belief in good sense, tolerance and clemency, along with a real depth of sentiment, clothed in the language of brilliant and witty perspecuity which gives these 658 pages an enduring claim to respect." (Cal McCrystal, The Independent on Sunday) "This thick book is so full of good things they could sell it for twice the price." (Sam Leith, The Daily Telegraph) * "The Week" magazine Book of the Year based on coverage in the national broadsheets, the TLS, The Mail on Sunday, The Spectator and The New Statesman. |
| TELLING TALES 2000 BBC Books | A set of ten autobiographical tales from Bennett, dealing with his childhood and upbringing in Leeds during the 1940s. |
| Publication Details | Notes |
|---|---|
| THE HISTORY BOYS: SCREENPLAY 2006 FABER AND FABER | The script, Alan Bennett`s diary of the shoot and stills from the feature film, with an introduction by director Nick Hytner. |
| THE LAYING ON OF HANDS 2001 PROFILE BOOKS | Clive had died young and in Peru and the circumstances make some of his distinguished friends uneasy. |
| FATHER FATHER BURNING BRIGHT 2000 PROFILE BOOKS | A bittersweet comedy of manners based on the humdrum existence of Denis Midgley, an ineffectual schoolteacher who is abruptly pulled from a parent's evening to be told that his father is dying. |
| THE LADY IN THE VAN (PLAY) 1999 FABER AND FABER | |
| TALKING HEADS 2 1998 BBC BOOKS | Characterized by the author's understatement, observation and knowing irony, these six Alan Bennett monologues were written for the second BBC1 series of "Talking Heads". |
| THE CLOTHES THEY STOOD UP IN 1998 FABER & FABER | Maurice and Rosemary Ransome, a typically dissatisfied, middle-aged couple, return from a performance of Cosi fanTutte to find that everything has disappeared. There is a limit to what burglars can take: they seldom take easy chairs, for example, and even more seldom settees. These burglars did. They took everything..... |
| A CREAM CRACKER UNDER THE SETTEE (PLAY) 1998 SAMUEL FRENCH | |
| SAY SOMETHING HAPPENED (PLAY) 1996 SAMUEL FRENCH | |
| BED AMONG THE LENTILS (PLAY) 1996 SAMUEL FRENCH | |
| THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE III 1995 FABER & FABER | The screenplay for the film of the same name |
| SOLDIERING ON (PLAY) 1995 SAMUEL FRENCH | |
| SINGLE SPIES (PLAY) 1991 FABER & FABER | |
| KAFKA'S DICK (PLAY) 1990 SAMUEL FRENCH | |
| THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS (PLAY) 1990 FABER & FABER | |
| INTENSIVE CARE 1989 PEARSON | |
| OBJECTS OF AFFECTION 1988 BBC BOOKS | |
| TALKING HEADS 1988 BBC BOOKS | Six monologues written for television, each in its own way reflecting Alan Bennett's observant view of the British way of life. |
| FORTY YEARS ON (PLAY) 1989 SAMUEL FRENCH | |
| HER BIG CHANCE (PLAY) 1988 SAMUEL FRENCH | |
| PRICK UP YOUR EARS (PLAY) 1987 FABER & FABER | |
| TWO KAFKA PLAYS (PLAY) 1987 FABER & FABER | |
| THE OLD COUNTRY (PLAY) 1977 SAMUEL FRENCH | |
| GETTING ON (PLAY) 1971 SAMUEL FRENCH | |
| 102 BOULEVARD HAUSMANN BBC BOOKS | |
| HABEAS CORPUS (PLAY) 1976 SAMUEL FRENCH |
| Anthony Jones | |
| Nicki Stoddart Theatre (UK & Foreign) & Publications | +44 (0) 20 3214 0869 |
Alan Bennett has been one of our leading dramatists since the success of "Beyond the Fringe" in the 1960s. His television series "Talking Heads" has become a modern-day classic, as have many of his works for the stage, including "Forty Years On", "The Lady In The Van", "A Question of Attribution", "The Madness of George III" (together with the Oscar-nominated screenplay "The Madness of King George") and an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows". At the National Theatre, "The History Boys" won Evening Standard, Critics' Circle and Olivier awards, and the South Bank Award. On Broadway it won five New York Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics' Circle Awards, a New York Drama Critics' Award for Best Play, a New York Drama League Award and six Tonys including Best Play. The film of "The History Boys" was released in 2006. Alan Bennett's latest play, THE HABIT OF ART, toured successfully after its run at The National Theatre. THE HISTORY BOYS has recently completed its second tour out of Bath (Bath Theatre Royal Productions) and THE MADNESS OF GEORGE III opens at Bath this summer. Alan has recently been awarded the Prix Europeen de la SACD. |
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| THE HISTORY BOYS (2006) | BBC / Fox Searchlight Pictures / DNA Films | Adapted from his play Director Nicholas Hytner Producers: Damian Jones, Kevin Loader, Nicholas Hytner with Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, Dominic Cooper, Samuel Barnett * Nominated for Best Screenplay, BIFA Awards 2006 |
| THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE (1994) | Samuel Goldwyn Productions | Screenplay adapted from his own play Director: Nicholas Hytner Producer: Stephen Evans with Nigel Hawthorne, Helen Mirren * Winner of WGGB Best Screenplay Award, 1995 * Nominated for an Oscar Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, 1995 * Nominated for a BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay, 1996 * Winner of LCCFA British Screenwriter of the Year, 1996 * Nominated for WGA Best Screenplay Award, 1995 |
| PRICK UP YOUR EARS (1987) | Zenith Productions | Screenplay adapted from the book by John Lahr Producer: Andrew Brown Director: Stephen Frears with Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Vanessa Redgrave, Julie Walters * Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay Award, BAFTA 1988 * Winner LCCFA Screenwriter of the Year Award, 1988 |
| A PRIVATE FUNCTION (1984) | Handmade Films | Original screenplay Director: Malcolm Mowbray Producer: Mark Shivas with Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliot * Nominated for Best Original Screenplay, BAFTA Awards 1985 * Nominated for Best Film Award, BAFTA Awards 1985 * Winner LCCFA Screenwriter of the Year, 1986 |
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| OUR WINNIE (1982) | BBC | Director: Malcolm Mowbray with Elizabeth Spriggs, Leslie Manville, Jim Broadbent |
| INTENSIVE CARE (1982) | BBC | Director: Gavin Millar Producer: Innes Lloyd with Thora Hird, Alan Bennett, Derek Fowlds |
| ALL DAY ON THE SANDS (1979) | LWT | Director: Giles Foster Producer: Stephen Frears with Alun Armstrong |
| ONE FINE DAY (1979) | LWT | Director: Stephen Frears with Dave Allen |
| AFTERNOON OFF (1979) | LWT | Director/Producer: Stephen Frears with Alan Bennett, Thora Hird |
| THE OLD CROWD (1979) | LWT | Producer: Stephen Frears Director: Lindsay Anderson with Julian Fellowes |
| DORIS AND DOREEN (1978) | LWT | Director: Stephen Frears with Pete Postlethwaite, Patricia Routledge, Prunella Scales |
| ME! I'M AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF (1978) | LWT | Director: Stephen Frears with Thora Hird, Alan Bennett, Julie Walters, Derek Thompson |
| A VISIT FROM MISS PROTHERO (1978) | BBC | Director: Stephen Frears with Hugh Lloyd, Patricia Routledge |
| A LITTLE OUTING (1977) | BBC | Director: Brian Tufano |
| SUNSET ACROSS THE BAY (1975) | LWT | Director: Brian Tufano |
| A DAY OUT (1972) | BBC | Director: Stephen Frears wtih Brian Glover, Bernard Wrigley, John Normington |
| BEYOND THE FRINGE (1964) | BBC | Co-written with and starring Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, Dudley Moore |
| TELLING TALES X 10 | Slow Motion Ltd / BBC | |
| TALKING HEADS II: (1998) | Slow Motion Ltd / BBC | Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet, The Hand of God, Playing Sandwiches, The Outside Dog, Nights in the Gardens of Spain, Waiting for the Telegram Directors: Stuart Burge, Patrick Garland, Gavin Millar, Tristram Powell, Udayan Prasad Producer: Mark Shivas with Patricia Routledge, Eileen Atkins, David Haig, Julie Walters, Penelope Wilton, Thora Hird * Nominated for Best Single Drama BAFTA Award, 1999 |
| A QUESTION OF ATTRIBUTION (1992) | BBC | Director: John Schlesinger Producer: Innes Lloyd with James Fox, Geoffrey Palmer, Prunella Scales * Winner of Best Single Drama BAFTA, 1991 |
| 102 BOULEVARD HAUSSMANN (1991) | BBC | Director: Udayan Prasad Producer: Innes Lloyd with Alan Bates, Paul Rhys, Janet McTeer |
| TALKING HEADS: (1987) | BBC | A Cream Cracker Under the Settee, A Chip in the Sugar, Soldiering On, A Lady of Letters, Bed Among the Lentils, Her Big Chance Directors: Stuart Burge, Giles Foster Producer: Innes Lloyd with Steven Beard, Alan Bennett, Stephanie Cole, Thora Hird, Patricia Routledge, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters |
| THE INSURANCE MAN (1986) | BBC | Director: Richard Eyre Producer: Innes Lloyd with Trevor Peacock |
| AN ENGLISHMAN ABROAD (1983) | BBC | Director: John Schlesinger Producer: Innes Lloyd with Alan Bates |
| OBJECTS OF AFFECTION (1982) | BBC | Producer: Innes Lloyd |
| SAY SOMETHING HAPPENED (1982) | BBC | Director: Malcolm Mowbray Producer: Innes Lloyd |
| MARKS (1982) | BBC | Director: Piers Haggard with Marjorie Yates |
| ROLLING HOME (1982) | BBC | Director: Piers Haggard with John Barrett, Maureen Lipman |
| A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE (1982) | BBC | Director: Giles Foster Producer: Innes Lloyd with Patricia Routledge |
