Stephen Wyatt
Encyclopedia
Stephen Wyatt, born in 1948 in Beckenham
, Kent
(now Greater London
), and brought up in Ealing
, west London
, is a British
writer.
and then Cambridge University. After a brief spell as Lecturer in Drama at Glasgow University, he began his career as a freelance playwright
in 1975 as writer/researcher with the Belgrade Theatre
Coventry in Education team.
In 1982 and 1983 he was Resident Writer with the Bubble Theatre for whom he wrote Glitterballs and The Rogue's Progress.
Other theatre work includes After Shave (Apollo Theatre 1978), R.I.P Maria Callas (Edinburgh Festival / Hen and Chickens 1992), A working woman (from Zola's L'Assommoir) (West Yorkshire Playhouse 1992) and The Standard Bearer (Man in the Moon 2001). He also collaborated with Jeff Clarke on The Burglar's Opera for Opera della Luna
(2004) "stolen from an idea by WS Gilbert with music nicked from Sir Arthur Sullivan
".
and Brenda Blethyn. Wyatt then went on to write two scripts for the science fiction series Doctor Who
— these were Paradise Towers
and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
. Both of those serials featured Sylvester McCoy
as the Seventh Doctor
.His other television credits include scripts for The House of Eliott
and Casualty.
since 1985 as both an adapter and an original playwright.
for best original radio script of 2007 and Silver in the Best Drama category of the 2008 Sony Radio Academy Awards
.
Beckenham
Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
(now 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...
), and brought up in Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
, west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, is a British
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...
writer.
Education
He was educated at Latymer Upper SchoolLatymer Upper School
Latymer Upper School, founded by Edward Latymer in 1624, is a selective independent school in Hammersmith, West London, England, lying between King Street and the Thames. It is a day school for 1,130 pupils – boys and girls aged 11–18; there is also the Latymer Preparatory School for boys and girls...
and then Cambridge University. After a brief spell as Lecturer in Drama at Glasgow University, he began his career as a freelance 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...
in 1975 as writer/researcher with the Belgrade Theatre
Belgrade Theatre
The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue seating 858 and situated in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built after the Second World War in Britain and as such was more than a place of entertainment...
Coventry in Education team.
Theatre work
His subsequent young people's theatre work includes The Magic Cabbage (Unicorn 1978), Monster (York Theatre Royal 1979) and The Witch of Wapping (Half Moon 1980).In 1982 and 1983 he was Resident Writer with the Bubble Theatre for whom he wrote Glitterballs and The Rogue's Progress.
Other theatre work includes After Shave (Apollo Theatre 1978), R.I.P Maria Callas (Edinburgh Festival / Hen and Chickens 1992), A working woman (from Zola's L'Assommoir) (West Yorkshire Playhouse 1992) and The Standard Bearer (Man in the Moon 2001). He also collaborated with Jeff Clarke on The Burglar's Opera for Opera della Luna
Opera della Luna
Opera della Luna, founded in 1994, is a British touring theatre troupe of actor-singers focusing on comic works. Led by artistic director Jeff Clarke, it takes its name from Haydn's operatic setting of Goldoni's farce Il mondo della luna...
(2004) "stolen from an idea by WS Gilbert with music nicked from Sir Arthur Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
".
Television work
His first work for television was Claws, filmed by the BBC in 1987, starring Simon JonesSimon Jones (actor)
Simon Jones is an English actor, most famous for his appearances in the television and radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which he played the lead role of Arthur Dent from 1978 to 2005...
and Brenda Blethyn. Wyatt then went on to write two scripts for the science fiction series 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...
— these were Paradise Towers
Paradise Towers
Paradise Towers is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1987.-Plot:...
and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 14 December 1988 to 4 January 1989.-Plot:...
. Both of those serials featured Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy is a Scottish actor. As a comic act and busker he appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s, but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to...
as the Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
.His other television credits include scripts for The House of Eliott
The House of Eliott
The House of Eliott is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 1991 and 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard as two sisters in 1920s London who establish a dressmaking business and eventually their own haute couture fashion house...
and Casualty.
Radio work
He has worked for BBC RadioBBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
since 1985 as both an adapter and an original playwright.
Radio adaptations
- Sketches by Boz (1998–1999)
- The old wives' tale (2003)
- Gilbert without Sullivan (2003–2004)
- Vanity Fair (2004)
- Tom Jones (2007)
- The Talented Mr Ripley (2009)
Original plays
- Fairest Isle (1995,Sony Award Winner)
- Gray's Elegy (2000)
- Party Animal (2003)
- Dr Brighton and Mr Harding (2006)
- Memorials to the Missing (2007)
Publications
- Three plays by Pinero - Introduced by Stephen Wyatt (Methuen, 1985)
- Paradise Towers (Target Books, 1988)
- The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (Target Books, 1989)
- Memorials to the Missing (London, 2007)
- R.I.P, Maria Callas and other monologues for stage and radio (London, 2007)
- Gilbert without Sullivan (London, 2007)
- L'Assommoir (London, 2007)
- The Speculator (London,2009)
Awards
His play Memorials to the Missing (2007) won the Tinniswood AwardPeter Tinniswood
Peter Tinniswood was an English radio and TV comedy scriptwriter, and author of a series of popular cricketing novels...
for best original radio script of 2007 and Silver in the Best Drama category of the 2008 Sony Radio Academy Awards
Sony Radio Academy Awards
The Sony Radio Academy Awards , started in 1983, are some of the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. They are run by ZAFER Associates in association with the Radio Academy...
.