David Turner (dramatist)
Encyclopedia
David Turner was a British playwright.
From a working class background, he studied French at Birmingham University
and subsequently worked as a school teacher in that city. He is best remembered for his stage play Semi-Detached
, first performed during 1962, which reached Broadway and was made into the film All the Way Up
(1970). He prepared modern versions of classic plays including John Gay
's The Beggar's Opera
, a version seen in London in 1968, and The Miser
by Molière
, which was performed at the Birmingham Rep
in 1973.
An early opponent of the 'Clean-Up TV' founder Mary Whitehouse
he interrupted, as an audience member, the meeting in April 1964 at Birmingham Town Hall which first brought her to national attention in Britain accusing Mrs Whitehouse of attacking creative freedoms. The creator of Swizzlewick
(BBC 1964), a twice weekly comedy drama, he wrote an episode of the series featuring possibly the earliest parody of the morality campaigner. Way Off Beat, another suburban comedy like Semi-Detached, was transmitted as part of The Wednesday Play
anthology series in June 1966. Critic John Russell Taylor
thought Turner had "revivified the Jonsonian[ Ben Jonson's
] comedy of humours".
Turner was for a time a scriptweriter on The Archers
, the BBC radio soap opera. He also adapted literary works for television. A five part version of Germinal, from the 1885 novel by Émile Zola
, was transmitted early in 1970 and Roads to Freedom (also 1970) was a thirteen part adaptation of the novel of that name
by Jean-Paul Sartre
. Both were nominated for several BAFTA
awards including one for Turner's version of Sartre's work. He also wrote versions of Stella Gibbons
' Cold Comfort Farm (1968) based on her comic classic
and North and South (1975) from the 1855 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell
.
From a working class background, he studied French at Birmingham University
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
and subsequently worked as a school teacher in that city. He is best remembered for his stage play Semi-Detached
Semi-Detached (play)
Semi-Detached is a play written by David Turner. It was premiered at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in June 1962 with Leonard Rossiter in the lead role and directed by Tony Richardson....
, first performed during 1962, which reached Broadway and was made into the film All the Way Up
All the Way Up
All the Way Up is a 1970 British comedy film directed by James MacTaggart based on Semi-Detached, a 1962 play by Midlands dramatist David Turner. It stars Richard Briers, Warren Mitchell, Pat Heywood, Kenneth Cranham, Adrienne Posta and Elaine Taylor....
(1970). He prepared modern versions of classic plays including John Gay
John Gay
John Gay was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera , set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch...
's The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
, a version seen in London in 1968, and The Miser
The Miser
L'Avare is a 1668 five-act satirical comedy by French playwright Molière. Its title is usually translated as The Miser when the play is performed in English....
by Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
, which was performed at the Birmingham Rep
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...
in 1973.
An early opponent of the 'Clean-Up TV' founder Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse, CBE was a British campaigner against the permissive society particularly as the media portrayed and reflected it...
he interrupted, as an audience member, the meeting in April 1964 at Birmingham Town Hall which first brought her to national attention in Britain accusing Mrs Whitehouse of attacking creative freedoms. The creator of Swizzlewick
Swizzlewick
Swizzlewick was a twice weekly 1964 BBC comedy drama series about the day-to-day events of a local council in a fictional Midlands town. The writers included David Turner who created the series....
(BBC 1964), a twice weekly comedy drama, he wrote an episode of the series featuring possibly the earliest parody of the morality campaigner. Way Off Beat, another suburban comedy like Semi-Detached, was transmitted as part of The Wednesday Play
The Wednesday Play
The Wednesday Play was an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. Every week's play was usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured...
anthology series in June 1966. Critic John Russell Taylor
John Russell Taylor
John Russell Taylor is an English critic and author. He is the author of critical studies of British theatre; of critical biographies of such important figures in Anglo-American film as Alfred Hitchcock, Alec Guinness, Orson Welles, Vivien Leigh, and Ingrid Bergman; of Strangers in Paradise: The...
thought Turner had "revivified the Jonsonian
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
Turner was for a time a scriptweriter on The Archers
The Archers
The Archers is a long-running British soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting"...
, the BBC radio soap opera. He also adapted literary works for television. A five part version of Germinal, from the 1885 novel by Émile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
, was transmitted early in 1970 and Roads to Freedom (also 1970) was a thirteen part adaptation of the novel of that name
The Roads to Freedom
The Roads to Freedom is a series of novels by Jean-Paul Sartre. Intended as a tetralogy, it was left incomplete with only three of the planned four volumes published....
by Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
. Both were nominated for several BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
awards including one for Turner's version of Sartre's work. He also wrote versions of Stella Gibbons
Stella Gibbons
Stella Dorothea Gibbons was an English novelist, journalist, poet, and short-story writer.Her first novel, Cold Comfort Farm, won the Femina Vie Heureuse Prize for 1933...
' Cold Comfort Farm (1968) based on her comic classic
Cold Comfort Farm
Cold Comfort Farm is a comic novel by Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb...
and North and South (1975) from the 1855 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
.
External links
- David Turner (1927-1990), a list of his plays on the Doollee.com website