Anthony Neilson (born 1967,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

) is a Scottish playwright and director. He is known for his collaborative way of writing and workshopping his plays. Much of his work is characterised by the exploration of sex and violence. Neilson has been cited as a key figure of

In-yer-face theatre In-yer-face theatre is a term used to describe a confrontational style and sensibility of drama that emerged in Great Britain in the 1990s. This term was borrowed by British theatre critic Aleks Sierz as the title of his book, ''In-Yer-Face Theat ...

, a term used to characterise new plays with a confrontational style and sensibility that emerged in British theatre during the 1990s. He has been credited with coining the phrase "in-your-face theatre"Blog post: A brief history of in-yer-face theatre on Alek Sierz's website
/ref> but has rejected the label and instead describes his work in this style as “'experiential' theatre”. Experimenting with various other forms of theatre, Neilson is also recognised for creating non-naturalistic plays that utilise elements of absurdist and

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

storytelling to depict the interior landscape of their characters. He has described such theatre as "psycho-absurdism".

Career

Writing

Neilson studied at the

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but expelled for "insubordination", now unoccupied he entered a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

young writers' competition and won which started him on the path of becoming a writer. He also participated in the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. The Bush Theatre strives to create a spa ...

's 2011 project ''

Sixty Six Books ''Sixty-Six Books'' was a set of plays premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2011, to mark the theatre's reopening on a new site and the 400th anniversary of the King James Version. It drew its title from the 66 books of the Protestant Bible ...

'', writing a piece based upon a book of the

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

. He has also written for the television series ''Spooks''.

Directing

Neilson has more recently moved into directing with his first feature film '' The Debt Collector'' in 1999 which won the Fipresci (International Critics) Award at the Troia International Film Festival. As his writing work involves collaborations he has a massive directorial role in the creation of his plays but in 2007 he was credited as director of his play ''God in Ruins'' at the

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

. At the

RSC RSC may refer to: Arts * Royal Shakespeare Company, a British theatre company * Reduced Shakespeare Company, a touring American acting troupe * Richmondshire Subscription Concerts, a music society in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England * Rock Ste ...

he directed the world premiere of ''The Drunks'' by the Durnenkov Brothers in 2009. In 2010 he directed ''Caledonia'' by

Alistair Beaton Alistair Beaton (born 1947) is a playwright and satirist, journalist, radio presenter, novelist and television writer. At one point in his career he was also a speechwriter for Gordon Brown. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Beaton was educated at the u ...

at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

Association with in-yer-face theatre

is a label used to characterise a confrontational style and sensibility of drama that emerged in new plays (primarily written by young writers) that were performed in Great Britain during the 1990s. This label was popularised by critic Aleks Sierz in his 2001 book ''In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today'', where he analysed and celebrated this style of drama. In the book Sierz wrote an entire chapter examining Neilson's work and three of his plays: ''

Normal Normal(s) or The Normal(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Normal'' (2003 film), starring Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson * ''Normal'' (2007 film), starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Kevin Zegers, Callum Keith Rennie, and Andrew Airlie * ''Norma ...

'', '' Penetrator'' and ''The Censor''.

Reputation

Sierz has dubbed Neilson as one of "the big three" playwrights (along with

Sarah Kane Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological� ...

and

Mark Ravenhill Mark Ravenhill (born 7 June 1966) is an English playwright, actor and journalist. Ravenhill is one of the most widely performed playwrights in British theatre of the late-twentieth and twenty-first centuries. His major plays include ''Shoppin ...

) associated with In-yer-face theatre, whom Sierz has referred to as "the most provocative new writers of the ineties who also "had an influence that far outweighed the number of plays they wrote at the time... What they did was transform the language of theatre, making it more direct, raw and explicit. They not only introduced a new dramatic vocabulary, they also pushed theatre into being more experiential, more aggressively aimed at making audiences feel and respond." Sierz has highlighted Neilson as "one of the first to exploit the new freedoms of nineties drama" and "one of the first writers of the decade to create an experiential theatre of extreme sensations", adding that "Although often underrated, Neilson's significance lies less in his skill as a writer than in his pioneering of a form of confrontational theatre that became central to the new aesthetic of British drama in the nineties."

Coining "In-your-face theatre"

Sierz has been mistakenly cited as coining the phrase “In-yer-face theatre”, writing that “Although I certainly was the first to describe, celebrate and theorise this kind of new writing, which emerged decisively in the mid-1990s, I certainly did not invent the phrase.” In his piece �
A brief history of in-yer-face theatre
�� Sierz cites an interview with ''

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikk ...

s critic Sraha Hemming in November 1995, where Neilson remarked “I think that in-your-face theatre is coming back — and that is good.” Sierz has stated that “As far as I know, this seems to be the very first coinage of the term “in-your-face theatre”.”

'Experiential Theatre' and rejection of the 'In-yer-face' label

Although Sierz credits Neilson for coining the term "In-your-face theatre", Neilson has rejected the label to describe his own work and instead prefers to describe it as "experiential" theatre: Neilson has also stated "As far as I can tell, In-Yer-Face was all about being horrid and writing about shit and buggery. I thought I was writing love stories."
Sierz has defined 'experiential theatre' as describing:

Censorship of ''Stitching'' in Malta

In 2009 Neilson's play ''Stitching'' was planned to be staged in Malta by Unifaun Theatre but was banned by the Maltese Board of Film and Stage Classification. Initially no reason for the ban was given to the Unifaun Theatre. After chasing up for an explanation for the board's decision Unifaun Theatre received a letter from the police commissioner outlining the reason for the ban:

“1. Blasphemy against the State Religion – pages 10 and 17 2. Obscene contempt for the victims of Auschwitz – page 29 3. An encyclopaedic review of dangerous sexual perversions leading to sexual servitude – pages 33, 34 and several others 4. Abby’s eulogy to the child murderers Fred and Rosemary West – page 3 5. Reference to the abduction, sexual assault and murder of children – page 36 In conclusion, the play is a sinister tapestry of violence and perversion where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. The Board feels that in this case the envelope has been pushed beyond the limits of public decency.”

Responding to the board's decision the play's producers stated that they planned to stage the play in defiance of the ban. At a press conference the production's director, Chris Gatt, explained that the creative team were looking for a suitable venue to stage the play but that the Maltese police could take action against them by "present ngthe charges under the Film and Stage Classification legislation, then we would risk a fine of €11.65 for a first-time offence. However, if they prosecute us under the Criminal Code for violating obscenity and public decency, we risk a prison term of between 1 to 6 months." In response Friggiri issued a statement saying that “The play cannot be staged. The producers know they are breaking the law, but that’s their business. ... The play is an insult against human dignity from beginning to end ... The board’s remit is not to defend the law. Our obligation is to follow it.” In response to the ban the British theatre critics Andrew Hayden and

Aleks Sierz Aleks Sierz is a British theatre critic. He is known for coining the term "In-yer-face theatre", which was the title of a book he published in 2001. Sierz was educated at Manchester University and holds a PhD from Westminster University. He wor ...

condemned the board's decision. It took a Court Case 9 years to finally reverse the decision. In May 2018, the ECHR ruled that the ban was unlawful. However, the outcry following the case led to the dismantling of Censorship Laws in Malta and to the new Labour Government proposing to remove Obscenity and Blasphemy laws for works of Art

Work

Plays

*''The Tell-Tale Heart'' (adapted from Edgar Allan Poe short story) 2018 National Theatre *''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' 2016 (adaptation of Lewis Carroll's works)

Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...

*''Unreachable'' 2016

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

*''The Haunting of Hill House'' 2015 Everyman and Playhouse *''Narrative'' 2013

*''Sixty Six'' 2011

(short piece) *''Get Santa!'' 2010 at the Royal Court Theatre *''The Seance'' 2009 at the National Theatre as part of Connections *''Relocated'' 2008 at the Royal Court Theatre *''The Big Lie'' 2008 at Latitude

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

Jul 24, 2008 - I had the opposite experience to Lyn Gardner of Anthony Neilson's zombie play The Big Lie at Latitude. This was one of my theatrical highlights ... *''God in Ruins'' 2007 at the

*''Realism'' 2006 at the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially classical music) and the performing arts are i ...

*''

The Wonderful World of Dissocia ''The Wonderful World of Dissocia'' is a play written and directed by Anthony Neilson about a young woman suffering from dissociative disorder. The idea was originally workshopped with a group of students at LAMDA in 2002 but was later re-written ...

'' 2004 at the

*''Twisted'' 2003 at the

Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West En ...

at the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

*''The Lying Kind'' 2002 at the Royal Court Theatre; also adapted in France in 2013 by as ', starring comedy duo in the role of the policemen. *''Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness'' 2002 at the Drum Theatre *'' Stitching (play)'' 2002 at the

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary pla ...

*''The Censor'' 1997 at the

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...

*''Hoover Bag'' 1996 at the

Young Vic Theatre The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 2018 ...

*''Hereditary'' 1995 at the Royal Court Theatre *''The Night Before Christmas'' 1995 at The Red Room *''The Year of the Family'' 1994 at the

*'' Penetrator'' 1993 at the

*'' Normal: The Düsseldorf Ripper'' 1991 at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival made into a film '' Angels Gone'' *''Welfare My Lovely'' 1990 at the

Radio Plays

*''The Colours of the King's Rose'' (radio play) *''A Fluttering of Wings'' (radio play) *''Twisted'' (radio play)

Filmography

*''Deeper Still'' (short film) *'' The Debt Collector'' (1999) - writer and director *''Normal the Düsseldorf Ripper'' (from the play "Normal: The Düsseldorf Ripper") (2009) *'' Spooks'' (writer - 1 episode) (2010) *''De Komedie Compagnie'' (writer - 1 episode) (2011)

References

External links

*
"Everyday Madness"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neilson, Anthony Living people 1967 births British television writers British male screenwriters British dramatists and playwrights British male dramatists and playwrights Scottish dramatists and playwrights Scottish radio writers British male television writers