Peter Flannery
Encyclopedia
Peter Flannery is a British
playwright
and screenwriter
. He was educated at Bath Spa University
and is best known for his work while a resident playwright at the Royal Shakespeare Company
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Notable plays during his tenure include: Savage Amusement (1978), Awful Knawful (1978), and Our Friends in the North
(1982). Other theatre work has included Singer (1989).
He is perhaps best known to a wider audience for his highly-acclaimed television
adaptation of Our Friends in the North, produced by the BBC
and screened on BBC2
in 1996. The epic nine-part serial, charting the course of the lives of four friends from Newcastle
from 1964 to 1995, was in 2000 voted by the British Film Institute
as one of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes
of the 20th century. Flannery's other television work has included Blind Justice (1988), a series about the work of radical lawyers. At the 1997 British Academy Television Awards
, Flannery was given the honorary Dennis Potter
Award for outstanding achievement in television writing.
In January 2007, he scripted an adaptation of Alan Hunter's Inspector Gently novels, entitled George Gently, for BBC One to be broadcast later in the year. George Gently is produced by Company Pictures
, reuniting Flannery with Our Friends in the North producer Charles Pattinson
, who co-runs Company and is an executive producer
on the series alongside Flannery. The drama was eventually shown on 8 April 2007.
Flannery has also worked in film
, although with less success than in other media. He wrote the screenplay
s for films such as Funny Bones
(1995) and The One and Only (2002).
In 2008 Channel 4 transmitted Flannery's most recent project, on which he worked for more than a decade. This was The Devil's Whore
, about the English Civil War
.
Flannery's stage adaptation of Nikita Mikhalkov
's film Burnt by the Sun
opened at the National Theatre
, London, in March 2009. The cast included Irish
actor Ciarán Hinds
as General Kotov, Rory Kinnear
as Mitya, and Michelle Dockery
as Maroussia.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO5Ou0u9kBE.
Flannery lives in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
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...
playwright
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...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He was educated at Bath Spa University
Bath Spa University
Bath Spa University is a university based in, and around, Bath, England. The institution was previously known as Bath College of Higher Education, and later Bath Spa University College...
and is best known for his work while a resident playwright at the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The 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...
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Notable plays during his tenure include: Savage Amusement (1978), Awful Knawful (1978), and Our Friends in the North
Our Friends in the North
Our Friends in the North is a British television drama serial, produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC Two in early 1996...
(1982). Other theatre work has included Singer (1989).
He is perhaps best known to a wider audience for his highly-acclaimed television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
adaptation of Our Friends in the North, produced by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and screened on BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in 1996. The epic nine-part serial, charting the course of the lives of four friends from Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
from 1964 to 1995, was in 2000 voted by the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
as one of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes
100 Greatest British Television Programmes
The BFI TV 100 is a list compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute , chosen by a poll of industry professionals, to determine what were the greatest British television programmes of any genre ever to have been screened....
of the 20th century. Flannery's other television work has included Blind Justice (1988), a series about the work of radical lawyers. At the 1997 British Academy Television Awards
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
, Flannery was given the honorary Dennis Potter
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
Award for outstanding achievement in television writing.
In January 2007, he scripted an adaptation of Alan Hunter's Inspector Gently novels, entitled George Gently, for BBC One to be broadcast later in the year. George Gently is produced by Company Pictures
Company Pictures
Company Pictures is an independent British television production company which has produced drama programming for many broadcasters. Their productions have included:*drama series Wild at Heart for ITV1, written by Ashley Pharoah....
, reuniting Flannery with Our Friends in the North producer Charles Pattinson
Charles Pattinson
Charles Pattinson is a British television producer. His initial career was in the theatre, where he was an assistant director at the Royal Court Theatre in the mid-1980s...
, who co-runs Company and is an executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
on the series alongside Flannery. The drama was eventually shown on 8 April 2007.
Flannery has also worked in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, although with less success than in other media. He wrote the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s for films such as Funny Bones
Funny Bones
Funny Bones is a 1995 comedy-drama film from Disney's Hollywood Pictures. It was written, directed and produced by Peter Chelsom, co-produced by Simon Fields, and co-written by Peter Flannery. The music score was by John Altman and the cinematography by Eduardo Serra...
(1995) and The One and Only (2002).
In 2008 Channel 4 transmitted Flannery's most recent project, on which he worked for more than a decade. This was The Devil's Whore
The Devil's Whore
The Devil's Whore is a four-part television series set during the English Civil War, produced by Company Pictures for Channel 4 in 2008. It centres on the adventures of the fictional Angelica Fanshawe, and the historical Leveller soldier Edward Sexby...
, about the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
.
Flannery's stage adaptation of Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union.Mikhalkov was born in Moscow into the distinguished, artistic Mikhalkov family. His great grandfather was the imperial governor of Yaroslavl, whose mother was a Galitzine princess...
's film Burnt by the Sun
Burnt by the Sun
Burnt by the Sun is a 1994 film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film depicts the story of a senior Red Army officer and his family during the Great Purge of the late 1930s in the Stalinist Soviet Union...
opened at 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...
, London, in March 2009. The cast included Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
actor Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...
as General Kotov, Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear is an award-winning English actor who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.-Early life:...
as Mitya, and Michelle Dockery
Michelle Dockery
Michelle Dockery is an English actress of stage and screen. She has become best known for her role as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV drama series Downton Abbey...
as Maroussia.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO5Ou0u9kBE.
Flannery lives in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
External links
- Peter Flannery at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
. - http://www.ejumpcut.org/currentissue/GrunertBurntBySun/index.html Article on Burnt by the Sun by [Andrea Grunert] in [http://www.ejumpcut.org] June 2010.