James Martin Charlton
Encyclopedia
James Martin Charlton is an English playwright
, theatre director and filmmaker. He was born in Romford
, Greater London
, United Kingdom
in 1966.
, Croydon
, where it premièred in 1993. Fat Souls and the plays which followed it - Groping in the Dark and Coming Up - use verse dialogue, soliloquies and emblematic characterisation all strapped to contemporary stories. The spiritual/anarchist strain in his writing continued in Divine Vision, a biographical play about the relationship between William Blake
and his patron, William Hayley
, and a stage adaptation of John Bunyan
's The Pilgrim's Progress
.
In 2001, his play ecstasy + GRACE attracted media attention due to its portrait of paedophilia and moral degeneracy. The play went on to receive a mauling by leading critics, although other reviewers were more enthusiastic. Charlton's subsequent plays include I Really Must be Getting Off, a contemporary gay version of the country house play and Fellow Creature, a short play produced by The Miniaturists.
Since 1996, Charlton has been Artistic Director of Friendly Fire Productions. Friendly Fire's productions include Gob by Jim Kenworth
starring ex-Take That
star Jason Orange
at The King's Head Theatre
in 1999, which Charlton directed. He has also directed shows with casts of prisoners at HMP Maidstone
, including The Who
's Tommy
.
His short film Apeth was shown at a number of international film festivals.
He currently lectures in scriptwriting and is Programme Leader on BA Creative & Media Writing at Middlesex University
.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, theatre director and filmmaker. He was born in Romford
Romford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
, Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1966.
Career
His play Fat Souls won the 1992 International Playwriting Festival at Warehouse TheatreWarehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
, Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, where it premièred in 1993. Fat Souls and the plays which followed it - Groping in the Dark and Coming Up - use verse dialogue, soliloquies and emblematic characterisation all strapped to contemporary stories. The spiritual/anarchist strain in his writing continued in Divine Vision, a biographical play about the relationship between William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
and his patron, William Hayley
William Hayley
William Hayley was an English writer, best known as the friend and biographer of William Cowper.-Biography:...
, and a stage adaptation of John Bunyan
John Bunyan
John Bunyan was an English Christian writer and preacher, famous for writing The Pilgrim's Progress. Though he was a Reformed Baptist, in the Church of England he is remembered with a Lesser Festival on 30 August, and on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church on 29 August.-Life:In 1628,...
's The Pilgrim's Progress
The Pilgrim's Progress
The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come is a Christian allegory written by John Bunyan and published in February, 1678. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been...
.
In 2001, his play ecstasy + GRACE attracted media attention due to its portrait of paedophilia and moral degeneracy. The play went on to receive a mauling by leading critics, although other reviewers were more enthusiastic. Charlton's subsequent plays include I Really Must be Getting Off, a contemporary gay version of the country house play and Fellow Creature, a short play produced by The Miniaturists.
Since 1996, Charlton has been Artistic Director of Friendly Fire Productions. Friendly Fire's productions include Gob by Jim Kenworth
Jim Kenworth
-Career:Kenworth made his debut as a playwright with the premiere of Johnny Song at the Warehouse Theatre, Croydon in 1998. His second play, Gob, was presented at The King's Head Theatre, Islington, in 1999, and starred Jason Orange of Take That. The play gained positive reviews from Time Out and...
starring ex-Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
star Jason Orange
Jason Orange
Jason Thomas Orange is an English musician and dancer. He is a member of the pop band Take That who gained popularity in the 1990s and are currently enjoying further success since their reunion in 2005.-Early fame and Take That:...
at The King's Head Theatre
The King's Head Theatre
The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an Off-West End venue in London. It was the first pub theatre in the UK. Adam Spreadbury-Maher became Artistic Director in March 2010 .-Background:...
in 1999, which Charlton directed. He has also directed shows with casts of prisoners at HMP Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
, including The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's Tommy
Tommy (rock opera)
Tommy is the fourth album by English rock band The Who, released by Track Records and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records/MCA in the United States. A double album telling a loose story about a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, Tommy was...
.
His short film Apeth was shown at a number of international film festivals.
He currently lectures in scriptwriting and is Programme Leader on BA Creative & Media Writing at Middlesex University
Middlesex University
Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
.
Plays
- What Are Neighbours For? (Fallen Angel, 1985)
- Straight to the Top (Etcetera Theatre, 1988)
- More About the Language of Love (New Copenhagen, 1991)
- Fat Souls (Warehouse Theatre, 1993)
- The World & his Wife (White Bear Theatre, 1995)
- Groping in the Dark (Warehouse Theatre/Mermaid TheatreMermaid TheatreThe Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
, 1996) - Coming Up (Warehouse Theatre, 1997)
- Divine Vision (Swedenborg Hall, 2000)
- The Pilgrim's Progress (after Bunyan) (Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
commission, 2000) - ecstacy + GRACE (Finborough TheatreFinborough TheatreThe Finborough Theatre is a fifty seat theatre in the Earls Court area of London, United Kingdom , which presents new British writing, UK and premieres of new plays, primarily from the English speaking world including North America, Canada, Scotland and Ireland, music theatre, and rarely seen...
, 2001) - Desires of Frankenstein (Open Air Theatre, 2001/Pleasance Theatre Edinburgh, 2002)
- I Really Must Be Getting Off (White Bear Theatre, 2005)
- Whatever (Soho Theatre workshop, 2005)
- Fellow Creature (Miniaturists at Arcola Theatre, 2009)
Films
- Best Shot (short, co-writer, 2006)
- Apeth (short, director/writer, 2007)
- Academic (short, director/writer/actor, 2009)
External links
- James Martin Charlton at Doollie.com http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsC/charlton-james-martin.html
- Official Website http://www.jamesmartincharlton.co.uk/
- Middlesex University Academic Profile http://www.mdx.ac.uk/aboutus/staffdirectory/James_Charlton.aspx