Harold Hobson
Encyclopedia
Sir Harold Hobson was an influential English
drama critic and author.
He was born in Thorpe Hesley
near Rotherham
in South Yorkshire
, England and read History at Oxford University
. He was an assistant literary editor for the Sunday Times
from 1944 and later became its drama critic (1947-76). He was the only drama critic to recognise Harold Pinter
's talent as a dramatist and wrote of The Birthday Party
, "Pinter … possesses the most original, disturbing and arresting talent in theatrical London" http://www.enotes.com/drama-criticism/pinter-harold. During his career, he was to champion many other new playwrights, especially John Osborne
, Samuel Beckett
and Tom Stoppard
. He was also drama critic of the Christian Science Monitor (1931-74), wrote for Drama and The Listener and was a regular member of the radio programme The Critics. In the 1960s, he was invited by Peter Hall to join the board of the National Theatre
.
He wrote a number of books relating to British and French theatre, including his autobiography entitled Indirect Journey (1978) and a personal history based on his work as a drama critic Theatre in Britain (1984).
Harold Hobson received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II
in 1977.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
drama critic and author.
He was born in Thorpe Hesley
Thorpe Hesley
Thorpe Hesley is a suburb of Rotherham. It lies on the east side of the M1 motorway at junction 35. Described in the late 19th century as an old village 6 miles from Sheffield, it was noted for the manufacture of nails. It lies in the township of Wentworth, except a small part which is in...
near Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
in South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, England and read History at Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. He was an assistant literary editor for the Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
from 1944 and later became its drama critic (1947-76). He was the only drama critic to recognise Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
's talent as a dramatist and wrote of The Birthday Party
The Birthday Party (play)
The Birthday Party is the first full-length play by Harold Pinter and one of Pinter's best-known and most-frequently performed plays...
, "Pinter … possesses the most original, disturbing and arresting talent in theatrical London" http://www.enotes.com/drama-criticism/pinter-harold. During his career, he was to champion many other new playwrights, especially John Osborne
John Osborne
John James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
, Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
and Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
. He was also drama critic of the Christian Science Monitor (1931-74), wrote for Drama and The Listener and was a regular member of the radio programme The Critics. In the 1960s, he was invited by Peter Hall to join the board of the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
.
He wrote a number of books relating to British and French theatre, including his autobiography entitled Indirect Journey (1978) and a personal history based on his work as a drama critic Theatre in Britain (1984).
Harold Hobson received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1977.