David Halliwell
Encyclopedia
David William Halliwell was a British dramatist.
Halliwell was an art student at Huddersfield College of Art (1953-59) who later studied acting at RADA
and was expelled for a time from the former institution. In the earl 1960s he worked as an actor in rep and was a stage manager at the Nottingham Playhouse
for a time.
His experiences at the Huddersfield College were the basis for his earliest produced and best remembered play Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs. In the play Malcolm Scrawdyke, a Hitlerite figure plots revenge against authority for his college expulsion by forming the Party of Dynamic Erection with his three acolytes. "The Nazis made a big impression on people of my age", Halliwell recalled. "They almost destroyed Europe. But as well as being pretty threatening they were also seen as a laughing stock even during the war." The play won Halliwell the Evening Standard' s Most Promising Playwright Award in 1967.
Malcolm' s premier production at the Unity Theatre
in 1965 was directed by Mike Leigh
with Halliwell himself in the central role of Malcolm. John Hurt
featured as the character in a slightly later West End production and the feature film version (Little Malcolm
, 1974). A successful revival in 1999 starred Ewan McGregor
.
In 1968 Halliwell jointly set up a company name Quipu which performed at various London theatres until 1973. Its stated aim reflected the radical politics of the time: "a new kind of organisation in which the means of production are owned, controlled and developed by the artists whose work is being produced". Quipu, "the first lunchtime theatre club in London", allowed the tryout of short plays. His later stage plays include Who's Who of Flapland (1967) and K.D. Dufford (1969).
Halliwell researched the professional relationship of Maurice Wilkins
and Rosalind Franklin
, both involved in the discovery of DNA
, in the 1980s, but his work was not completed, although the recordings of people he interviewed have been preserved.
He contributed several television scripts to several of the BBC's anthology series, including Play for Today
, and wrote (an unproduced serial) for Doctor Who
.
Halliwell was an art student at Huddersfield College of Art (1953-59) who later studied acting at RADA
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
and was expelled for a time from the former institution. In the earl 1960s he worked as an actor in rep and was a stage manager at the Nottingham Playhouse
Nottingham Playhouse
The Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in the 1950s when it operated from a former cinema. Directors during this period included Val May and Frank Dunlop.-The building:...
for a time.
His experiences at the Huddersfield College were the basis for his earliest produced and best remembered play Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs. In the play Malcolm Scrawdyke, a Hitlerite figure plots revenge against authority for his college expulsion by forming the Party of Dynamic Erection with his three acolytes. "The Nazis made a big impression on people of my age", Halliwell recalled. "They almost destroyed Europe. But as well as being pretty threatening they were also seen as a laughing stock even during the war." The play won Halliwell the Evening Standard
Malcolm
Unity Theatre, London
The Unity Theatre was a theatre club formed in 1936, and initially based in St Judes Hall, Britannia Street, Kings Cross, in 1937 they moved to a former chapel in Goldington Street, near St Pancras, in the London Borough of Camden. Although the theatre was destroyed by fire in 1975 productions...
in 1965 was directed by Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh
Michael "Mike" Leigh, OBE is a British writer and director of film and theatre. He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and studied further at the Camberwell School of Art and the Central School of Art and Design. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid 1960s...
with Halliwell himself in the central role of Malcolm. John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
featured as the character in a slightly later West End production and the feature film version (Little Malcolm
Little Malcolm
Little Malcolm is a 1974 British comedy drama film directed by Stuart Cooper. It was entered into the 24th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Silver Bear....
, 1974). A successful revival in 1999 starred Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
.
In 1968 Halliwell jointly set up a company name Quipu which performed at various London theatres until 1973. Its stated aim reflected the radical politics of the time: "a new kind of organisation in which the means of production are owned, controlled and developed by the artists whose work is being produced". Quipu, "the first lunchtime theatre club in London", allowed the tryout of short plays. His later stage plays include Who's Who of Flapland (1967) and K.D. Dufford (1969).
Halliwell researched the professional relationship of Maurice Wilkins
Maurice Wilkins
Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins CBE FRS was a New Zealand-born English physicist and molecular biologist, and Nobel Laureate whose research contributed to the scientific understanding of phosphorescence, isotope separation, optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction, and to the development of radar...
and Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Elsie Franklin was a British biophysicist and X-ray crystallographer who made critical contributions to the understanding of the fine molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal and graphite...
, both involved in the discovery of DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
, in the 1980s, but his work was not completed, although the recordings of people he interviewed have been preserved.
He contributed several television scripts to several of the BBC's anthology series, including Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
, and wrote (an unproduced serial) for Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
.
External links
- David Halliwell at the Doollee.com - The Playwrights website
- "David Halliwell Biography (1936-
[ 2006)",] Film Reference website