HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cecil Philip Taylor (6 November 1929 – 9 December 1981) usually credited as C. P. Taylor, was a Scottish playwright. He wrote almost 80 plays during his 16 years as a professional playwright, including several for radio and television. He also made a number of documentary programmes for the
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 ...
. His plays tended to draw on his
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
background and his Socialist viewpoint, and to be written in
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
.


Personal life

Taylor was born on 6 November 1929 in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and grew up in the Crosshill district of
Govanhill Govanhill ( gd, Cnoc a' Ghobhainn) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, situated south of the River Clyde between Pollokshields, the Gorbals, Strathbungo, Crosshill, Polmadie and Queen's Park. Historically part of Renfrewshire, Govanhill had the st ...
, in a politically radical
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family with strong ties to the Labour Party. His parents immigrated from Russia. He left school at 14 and began his working life as a radio and television repairman. In 1955, when he was 26, he met his first wife, Irene Diamond, in a drama group. In order for them to afford to marry, he took a job as a
record A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...
salesman in
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
, the city where his mother had grown up. He and Irene lived there, in
Fenham Fenham is an area of the west-end of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It lies to the west of the city centre, and is bounded on the north and east by a large area of open land known as the Town Moor. To the south lies Benwell, West Denton lies ...
, for many years and had two children, Avram and Clare.
/ref> In 1967 he married Elizabeth Screen, with whom he also had two children, David and Catheryn. Shortly after their marriage, he and Elizabeth settled at the village of
Longhorsley Longhorsley is a village in Northumberland, England about northwest of Morpeth, Northumberland, Morpeth, and about south of Alnwick. The A697 road passes through the village linking it with Morpeth, Wooler and Coldstream in Scotland. There are ...
in Northumberland, where he lived until his death on 9 December 1981. He is buried in St. Helen's Church graveyard in the village. His death from
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
has been attributed to his habit of writing in his garden shed.


Plays

His first play ''Mr David'' (1954) won second prize in a playwriting competition organised by the
World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as ...
. Unperformed until 1966, a production was arranged by the Jewish State Theatre in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
. In 1962 ''Aa Went Tae Blaydon Races'' was the first play by Taylor to be premiered by a professional theatre company. A historical drama about a miners' strike on
Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published i ...
in 1862, it opened the new
Flora Robson Dame Flora McKenzie Robson (28 March 19027 July 1984) was an English actress and star of the theatrical stage and cinema, particularly renowned for her performances in plays demanding dramatic and emotional intensity. Her range extended from q ...
Theatre in Newcastle. A long relationship with 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 ...
in Edinburgh began in 1965, enabling Taylor to leave his day job and concentrate on his work as a dramatist. The first play for the Traverse was ''Happy Days Are Here Again'', followed by ''Bread and Butter'' (1966), ''Lies about Vietnam'' (1969), ''The Black and White Minstrels'' (1972), ''Next Year in Tel Aviv'' (1973), ''Schippel'' (1974), ''Gynt'' (1975), ''Walter'' (1975), and ''Withdrawal Symptoms'' (1978). By the late 1970s, Taylor became increasingly involved with the
Live Theatre Company Live Theatre, formerly Live Theatre Company, is a new writing theatre and company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. As well as producing and presenting new plays many of which go on to tour nationally and internationally, it seeks out an ...
in Newcastle, which premiered several of his plays, among them ''Some Enchanted Evening'' (1977), ''Bandits'' (1977), ''
Operation Elvis ''Operation Elvis'' by C.P. Taylor is a play for children, first produced by the Live Theatre Company in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978. Taylor worked as a drama teacher at Morpeth’s Northgate Hospital, and used it as the main setting for the play. ...
'' (1978), ''
And a Nightingale Sang ''And a Nightingale Sang'' is a play by British playwright C.P. Taylor (1977) and commissioned by Newcastle upon Tyne's Live Theatre Company. The play was made into a TV program in 1989 by Jack Rosenthal for Tyne Tees Television. Described as a ...
'' (1978) – a bitter-sweet comedy set on wartime Tyneside – and ''The Saints Go Marching In'' (1980 – later known as ''Bring Me Sunshine, Bring Me Smiles). In ''The Peter Pan Man'' (
Scottish Youth Theatre Scottish Youth Theatre is Scotland's national youth theatre company for ages 3–25. It was established in 1976 and has provided theatre training to young people. The company has a free-to-participate National Artistic Programme that covers ages 14 ...
1978) he transferred
J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...
's play to an Elswick estate. His most successful play is probably ''
Good In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...
'' (1981), in which the liberal German professor Halder (
Alan Howard Alan Howard may refer to: * Alan Howard (actor) (1937–2015), English actor * Alan Howard (cricketer) (1909–1993), English cricketer * Alan Howard (engineer) (1905–1966), American engineer * Alan Howard (hedge fund manager) (born 1963), hedge f ...
) becomes involved with the
Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
war machine and
Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
through moral cowardice and subtle corruption. Halder, however, continues to see himself as a 'good man' even as he is drawn further and further into
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
's nightmare. ''Good'' was first staged by the
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
at the
Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Micha ...
in September 1981, with Alan Howard winning both the
Evening Standard Award The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...
and the ''Plays and Players'' Best Actor awards. The play is frequently revived; in March 1999, also at the Donmar Warehouse,
Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in ''The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in ''A ...
was in the leading role.


Film and television versions of his plays

*In 1989, playwright
Jack Rosenthal Jack Morris Rosenthal (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations. ...
made a posthumous adaptation for television of ''
And a Nightingale Sang ''And a Nightingale Sang'' is a play by British playwright C.P. Taylor (1977) and commissioned by Newcastle upon Tyne's Live Theatre Company. The play was made into a TV program in 1989 by Jack Rosenthal for Tyne Tees Television. Described as a ...
''. This
Tyne Tees Television ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from stud ...
production, starring
Joan Plowright Joan Ann Olivier, Baroness Olivier, (née Plowright; born 28 October 1929), professionally known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English retired actress whose career has spanned over seven decades. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Ton ...
,
Phyllis Logan Phyllis Logan (born 11 January 1956) is a Scottish actress, known for playing Lady Jane Felsham in ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1993) and Mrs Hughes (later Carson) in ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2015). She won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer f ...
,
John Woodvine John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles. Early life Woodvine was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, Englan ...
,
Stephen Tompkinson Stephen Phillip Tompkinson (born 15 October 1965) is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in '' Chancer '' (1990), Damien Day in ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in ''Ballykissangel'' (1996–9 ...
and Tom Watt, won a
Prix Europa {{notability, Events, date=March 2021 PRIX EUROPA – The European Broadcasting Festival – is the Europe's largest annual tri-medial festival and competition. The event takes place in the third week of October in Berlin, Germany. PRIX E ...
in 1990. *In 2008, ''
Good In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...
'' was released as a feature film, with
Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. R (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and multimedia artist. Born and raised in the State of New York to a Danish father and American mother, he also lived in Argentin ...
in the role of Halder and
Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor. Isaac's film roles include Col. Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001), Lucius Malfoy in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2002–2011), C ...
playing his Jewish friend Glückstein.


Awards

* The World Jewish Congress Playwriting Prize (1954) * Arts Council Playwright's bursary (1965) * Scottish Television Theatre Award (1969)


References

*''
Theatre Record ''Theatre Record'' is a periodical that reprints reviews, production photographs, and other information about the British theatre. Overview ''Theatre Record'' was founded in 1981 by Ian Herbert and has been published fortnightly since January 1 ...
'' and its annual Indexes


External links


C.P. Taylor biography in the 1993 ''New Theatre Quarterly 33'' by Susen Friesner
retrieved 2010-09-07
Article about C.P. Taylor in ''The Guardian''
retrieved 2010-09-07

retrieved 2010-09-07

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, C. P. 1929 births 1981 deaths Jewish socialists People from Govanhill and Crosshill Scottish dramatists and playwrights Scottish Jews Scottish radio writers Scottish screenwriters Scottish socialists Jewish dramatists and playwrights Scottish Jewish writers Scottish people of Russian-Jewish descent 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British screenwriters People from Longhorsley