James Saunders (8 January 1925 – 29 January 2004) was a prolific

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

playwright 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 ...

born in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His early plays led to him being considered one of the leading British exponents of the

Theatre of the Absurd The Theatre of the Absurd (french: théâtre de l'absurde ) is a post–World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. It is also a term for the style o ...

.''Penguin Plays – Absurd Drama''
(intro),

Martin Esslin , birth_date = , birth_place = Budapest, Austria-Hungary , death_date = , death_place = London, England, UK , education = University of ViennaMax Reinhardt Seminar, ...

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Alperton Community School Alperton Community School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status. It has a specialism in maths, computing and arts and it is located in the Alperton area of the London Borough of Brent, England. It has approximate ...

and

Southampton University , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

. He married Audrey Cross.

Plays

His play ''Next Time I'll Sing To You'', written in 1962, was staged in the West End starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

, Barry Foster and

Liz Fraser Elizabeth Joan Winch (14 August 1930 – 6 September 2018), known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles. Early life Fraser was born in Southwark, London. Her year of bi ...

, at the New Arts and the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began developmen ...

in 1963. It gained him the 1963 ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' award (with Charles Wood) for "Most Promising Playwright". The play was also produced in New York the same year. In 1975 he completed

John Vanbrugh Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restora ...

's four-act fragment, ''A Journey to London'', a play that had been sentimentalised by

Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling ...

in 1728 as ''

The Provoked Husband ''The Provoked Husband'' is a 1728 comedy play by the British writer and actor Colley Cibber, based on a fragment of play written by John Vanbrugh. It is also known by the longer title ''The Provok'd Husband: or, a Journey to London''. Vanbrugh ...

''. Saunders' version was first staged in Greenwich and successfully revived at the

Orange Tree Theatre The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style. T ...

in 1986. ''Bodies'', commissioned and first staged by Sam Walters at the Orange Tree in 1977, was revived by

Robin Lefévre Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

at the

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 ...

in February 1978, and given a West End transfer in April 1979, starring

Dinsdale Landen Dinsdale James Landen (4 September 1932 – 29 December 2003) was an English actor. His television appearances included starring in the shows ''Devenish'' (1977) and ''Pig in the Middle'' (1980). ''The Independent'' named him an "outstanding ac ...

Gwen Watford Gwendoline Watford (10 September 1927 – 6 February 1994), professionally known after the mid-1950s as Gwen Watford, was an English actress. Watford's talent was spotted by John Gielgud while she was still a schoolgirl, and with his help ...

, David Burke and

Angela Down Angela Down (born 15 June 1946) is an English actress. She is known for her role in the BBC drama programme ''Take Three Girls'' portraying cockney art student Avril for the first series before being replaced in the second. Career Down played ...

Television

Saunders' television work included ''Watch Me I'm a Bird'' (1964), and the BBC sitcom ''

Bloomers Bloomers, also called the bloomer, the Turkish dress, the American dress, or simply reform dress, are divided women's garments for the lower body. They were developed in the 19th century as a healthful and comfortable alternative to the heavy, ...

'' (1979), starring

Richard Beckinsale Richard Arthur Beckinsale (6 July 1947 – 19 March 1979) was an English actor. He played Lennie Godber in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge'' (along with its sequel series '' Going Straight'') and Alan Moore in the ITV sitcom ''Rising Damp''. He is t ...

(in the year that he died) playing an unsuccessful actor working in a flower shop. Beckinsale's co-star was

Anna Calder-Marshall Anna Calder-Marshall (born 11 January 1947) is an English stage, film and television actress. Personal life Calder-Marshall was born in Kensington, London, and is the daughter of the novelist and essayist Arthur Calder-Marshall and documentary ...

Works

Stage plays include: *''Moonshine'' (1955) *''The Ark'' (1959) *''A Slight Accident'' (one-act 1961) *''Double Double'' (1962) *''Next Time I'll Sing To You'' (1962) *''Who was Hilary Maconochie?'' (one-act 1963) *''A Scent of Flowers'' (1966) *''The Travails of Sancho Panza'' (1969) *''Games'' (one-act 1970) *''After Liverpool'' (one-act 1970) *''Hans Kolhaus'' (1972) *''A Journey to London'' (co-author, 1975) *''The Island'' (1976) *''

Bodies Bodies may refer to: * The plural of body * ''Bodies'' (2004 TV series), BBC television programme * Bodies (upcoming TV series), an upcoming British crime thriller limited series * "Bodies" (''Law & Order''), 2003 episode of ''Law & Order'' * ...

'' (1977) *''Over the Wall'' (one-act 1977) *''Random Moments in a May Garden'' (1980) *''Retreat'' (1995)

Sources

*''Who's Who in the Theatre'' 14th Jubilee Edition, ed

Freda Gaye Freda may refer to: * Frida (given name), also spelled ''Freda'' * Freda (surname) * Freda (character) from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy * Ford Freda, a motor vehicle introduced in the Japanese market in 1995 * Freda Sandstone, a member of th ...

, Pitman (1967) *''Who's Who in the Theatre'' 17th edition, ed

Ian Herbert Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

, Gale (Vols 1 and 2, 1981) *

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 *''Halliwell's Television Companion'' by

Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Film ...

and

Philip Purser Philip John Purser (28 August 1925 – 1 August 2022) was a British television critic and novelist. Life and career Purser was born in Letchworth, Hertfordshire on 28 August 1925. His mother had been the first female student of an art school ...

, Grafton Books (1986)

References

External links

James Saunders – English playwright
at www.jamessaunders.org
The James Saunders Papers
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

James Saunders' English bibliography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, James 1925 births 2004 deaths Alumni of the University of Southampton Theatre of the Absurd English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers