David Eldridge (born 20 September 1973) is a British

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, born in

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre 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. Historically, Romford ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. His plays have been produced in the West End and on Broadway. He has written for stage, screen and radio.

Career

His plays have been performed at major new writing institutions in the UK, including The

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

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 ...

, 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 ...

and the National Theatre. His stage adaptation of the film ''

Festen ''The Celebration'' ( da, Festen) is a 1998 Danish dark comedy-drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and produced by Nimbus Film. The film tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their father's 60th birthday, juggling subjects of ...

'' transferred from the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

to the West End and Broadway. His play ''Market Boy'', informed by his childhood working on a stall at

Market, played at the National Theatre's largest space, the Olivier in June 2006. In July 2008 his play ''Under the Blue Sky'' was revived at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

starring

Chris O'Dowd Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish actor and comedian. He received wide attention as Roy Trenneman, one of the lead characters in the Channel 4 comedy '' The IT Crowd'', which ran for four series between 2006 and 2010. He has ...

Catherine Tate Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), ...

and

Francesca Annis Francesca Annis (born 14 May 1945) is an English actress. She is known for television roles in '' Reckless'' (1998), ''Wives and Daughters'' (1999), ''Deceit'' (2000), and '' Cranford'' (2007). A six-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won the 1979 ...

. In March 2011 his play ''The Knot of the Heart'' played at the Almeida Theatre and starred

Lisa Dillon Lisa Dillon (née Stawiarski; born 1979) is an English actress. Life and career Early life Dillon attended Bournemouth School for Girls and left in 1997. She began a degree in English Literature and Drama at Royal Holloway, University of Londo ...

, for whom the role of Lucy was written and in February 2012 his play ''In Basildon'', played at the

directed by

Dominic Cooke Dominic Cooke (born 1966) is an English director and writer. Early life Born in Wimbledon, south London, Cooke was brought up seeing a lot of theatre as a teenager from free theatre tickets provided by the Inner London Education Authority. ...

starring

Linda Bassett Linda Bassett (born 4 February 1950) is an English actress. Her television credits include Victoria Wood's ''Dinnerladies (TV series), dinnerladies'' (1999), ''Lark Rise to Candleford (TV series), Lark Rise to Candleford'' (2008–11), ''Grandma' ...

and

Ruth Sheen Ruth Sheen is an English actress. From the late 1980s, she has appeared in British television shows, films and plays. A participant in the films of Mike Leigh, she won the European Film Award for Best Actress for her performance as Shirley in Leigh ...

. Both plays opened to critical acclaim. ''The Knot of the Heart'' won the Off-West End Theatre Award for Best New Play and ''In Basildon'' was voted ''The Guardian'' Theatre Critics and Arts Writers No.1 Theatre of 2012. In April 2012 the

Royal Exchange Theatre The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

presented his new version of ''

Miss Julie ''Miss Julie'' ( sv, Fröken Julie) is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg. It is set on Midsummer's Eve and the following morning, which is Midsummer and the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. The setting is an estate of ...

'' by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

, starring

Maxine Peake Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in the BBC One sitcom '' dinnerladies'' (1998–2000), Veronica Ball in the hit Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'' (2004–2007), Mart ...

. In July 2014 his play ''Holy Warriors'' played at

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

. David's screenplay for a ninety-minute single film, ''

The Scandalous Lady W Seymour Dorothy Fleming (5 October 1758 – 9 September 1818), styled Lady Worsley from 1775 to 1805, was a member of the British gentry, notable for her involvement in a high-profile criminal conversation trial. Early life and family Fleming ...

'', based upon

Hallie Rubenhold Hallie Rubenhold (born 1971 in Los Angeles) is an American-born British historian and author. Her work specializes in 18th and 19th century social history and women's history. Her 2019 book '' The Five'', about the lives of the women murdered b ...

's book ''Lady Worsley's Whim'', was broadcast on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

in August 2015 starring

Natalie Dormer Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982)Sheree Folkson Sheree Folkson is a British film and television director. Some of her television credits are ''American Horror Story'', ''The Bill'', '' Band of Gold'', '' Doctor Who'', '' The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star'', ''Casanova'', '' H ...

. In October 2017 The National Theatre presented the world premiere of his play ''

Beginning Beginning may refer to: * ''Beginning'' (album), by Pakho Chau * ''Beginning'' (play), a 2017 play by David Eldridge * ''Beginning'' (film), a Georgian-French drama film *"Beginning", a song by heavy metal band Kotipelto *"Beginning", a 2018 trac ...

'' in the

Dorfman Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. In ...

directed by

Polly Findlay Polly Findlay is a British theatre director, who won the Olivier for Best Entertainment in 2011 for Derren Brown's Svengali. She has directed seven productions for the National Theatre, and four for the Royal Shakespeare Company, where she is ...

. ''

'' transferred from The National Theatre to the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End, opening in January 2018 with both

Sam Troughton Sam John Troughton (born 21 March 1977) is an English actor who has made appearances in ''Robin Hood'', ''Alien vs. Predator'' (2004), as Aleksandr Akimov in ''Chernobyl'' (2019), and as Mr. Wilder in the BBC comedy series '' The Outlaws'' (2021 ...

and

Justine Mitchell Justine may refer to: People * Jean-Lou Justine (born 1955), male French scientist * Saint Justine of Padua (died 304), a Christian martyr * Justine Bateman (born 1966), American film actress * Justine Clarke (born 1971), Australian actress * J ...

reprising their original roles. ''Beginning'' was revived for a tour starting at the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch, Essex in 2021. It became the first in his trilogy of plays about love and relationships for the National Theatre to be premièred in its Dorfman Theatre. The second, '' Middle'', had its first performances rescheduled to start in April 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Eldridge is currently lecturer in Creative Writing at

Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

. He also teaches screenwriting for the

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, Patricia Cumper is Ch ...

Plays

*''Cabbage for Tea, Tea, Tea!'' (Exeter University, 1995) *''Sideways Moving'' (Edinburgh Fringe, 1995) *''Fighting for Breath'' (

, 1995) *''Serving It Up'' (Bush Theatre, 1996) *''Dirty'' (

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

, 1996) *''A Week with Tony'' (

, 1996) *''Summer Begins'' (

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 ...

, 1997) *''Thanks Mum'' (Red Room/

Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a Grade ...

, 1998) *''Falling'' (

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

, 1999) *''

Under the Blue Sky ''Under the Blue Sky'' is a three- act play written by David Eldridge. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 14 September 2000, directed by Rufus Norris. Original West End production The original West End production opened at the ...

'' (Royal Court Theatre, 2000) *''Killers'' (BBC Television, 2000) *''Michael & Me'' (BBC Radio 4, 2001) *''The Nugget Run'' (Short Film, 2002) *''Stratford, Ilford, Romford and All Stations to Shenfield'' (BBC Radio 4, 2003) *''M.A.D.'' (Bush Theatre, 2004) *''Incomplete and Random Acts of Kindness'' (Royal Court Theatre, 2005) *''Market Boy'' (National Theatre, 2006) *''The Picture Man'' (BBC Radio 3, 2008) *''The List'' (

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is an Off West End theatre in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalst ...

, 2009) *''

A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky ''A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky'' is a play collaboratively written by David Eldridge, Robert Holman and Simon Stephens. It premiered at the Lyric Hammersmith on 7 May 2010 and ran until 5 June 2010. Summary The end of the world is app ...

'' (written with

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is an English playwright and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is now an Artistic ...

and

Robert Holman Robert Holman (1952 – 3 December 2021) was a British dramatist whose work has been produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and the Royal Court Theatre, as well as in the West End theatre, West End and elsewhere, since the 1970s. He was ...

), (Lyric Hammersmith, 2010) *''Like Minded People'' (BBC Radio 4, 2011) *''The Knot of the Heart'' (Almeida Theatre, 2011) *''The Secret Grief'' (BBC Radio 3, 2011) *''The Stock Da'wa'' (Hampstead Theatre, 2011) *'' Something, Someone, Somewhere'' (Sixty Six Project/Bush Theatre/Westminster Abbey, 2011; inspired by 1 John) *''In Basildon'' (Royal Court Theatre, 2012) *''Holy Warriors'' (

2014) *''Jenny Lomas'' (BBC Radio 3, 2017) *''

'' ( National Theatre, 2017) *'' Middle'' ( National Theatre, 2022)

Adaptations/Versions

*''Festen'' - adaptation of the

Dogme Dogme 95 is a 1995 avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" ( da, kyskhedsløfter). These were rules to create films ba ...

film (Almeida Theatre/Lyric Theatre, 2004 / Music Box Theatre, New York, 2006) *''Our Hidden Lives'' - television adaptation of a book by

Simon Garfield Simon Frank Garfield (born 19 March 1960) is a British journalist and non-fiction author. Biography Garfield was born in London in 1960.The Wild Duck ''The Wild Duck'' (original Norwegian title: ''Vildanden'') is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is considered the first modern masterpiece in the genre of tragicomedy. ''The Wild Duck'' and ''Rosmersholm'' are "often t ...

'' - new version of a play by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

(Donmar Warehouse, 2006) *''

John Gabriel Borkman ''John Gabriel Borkman'' is a 1896 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was his penultimate work. Plot The Borkman family fortunes have been brought low by the imprisonment of John Gabriel who used his position as a bank manager to ...

'' - new version of a play by Henrik Ibsen (Donmar Warehouse, 2007) *''Babylone'' adaptation of the play ''Rue de Babylone'' by Jean-Marie Besset (

Belgrade Theatre The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built in Britain after the Second World War and is now a Grade II listed building. Background Coventry was the fastest growing city in ...

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, 2009) *''

The Lady from the Sea ''The Lady from the Sea'' ( no, Fruen fra havet, link=no) is a play written in 1888 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen inspired by the ballad '' Agnete og Havmanden''. The drama introduces the character of Hilde Wangel who is again portrayed ...

'' - new version of a play by

(Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, 2010) *''

'' - new version of a play by

(Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, 2012) *''The Scandalous Lady W'' - screenplay based upon

's book ''Lady Worsley's Whim'' (

, 2015)

Bibliography

*''Plays: One (Serving It Up/Summer Begins/Under the Blue Sky/M.A.D'') (Methuen, 2005) *''Plays: Two (Incomplete and Random Acts of Kindness/Market Boy/The Knot of the Heart/The Stock Da'wa'') (Methuen, 2012) *''Short Story: (A Whole New World)'' (Metheun)

References

External links

''Independent on Sunday'' interview''Oh, throw away your stopwatch''''Massive Attack'' David Eldridge on the MonsteristsDavid Eldridge & Rufus Norris ''Guardian'' interview

''Under the Blue Sky'' in the West End
* ttps://www.theguardian.com/stage/2010/may/10/thousand-stars-explode-in-sky David Eldridge, Simon Stephens & Robert Holman ''Guardian'' interviewbr>''Metro'' interview''Guardian'' interview''The Stage'' interview''Exeunt'' interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eldridge, David 1973 births English dramatists and playwrights People from Romford Living people English male dramatists and playwrights People educated at Brentwood School, Essex Screenwriting instructors