Michael John Abbensetts (8 June 1938 – 24 November 2016)Michelle Yaa Asantewa

Way Wive Wordz, 25 November 2016. was a

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

-born British writer who settled in England in the 1960s. He had been described as "the best Black playwright to emerge from his generation, and as having given "Caribbeans a real voice in Britain". He was the first black British playwright commissioned to write a television drama series, ''

Empire Road An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'', which 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 ...

aired from 1978 to 1979.Michael Coveney
"Michael Abbensetts obituary"
''

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 ...

'', 20 November 2016.

Early years

Born in Georgetown,

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

(now

), the son of Neville John (a doctor) and Elaine Abbensetts, Michael Abbensetts attended Queen's College from 1952 to 1956, then

Stanstead College Stanstead College is an English-language independent boarding school in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada, for boys and girls in Grades 7 through 12. The school is located on a campus in Quebec's Eastern Townships – just north of the Canada–Unite ...

, Quebec, Canada, and

Sir George Williams University Sir George Williams University was a university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It merged with Loyola College to create Concordia University on August 24, 1974. History In 1851, the first YMCA in North America was established on Sainte-Hélène S ...

, in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

(1960–61), before moving to England "around 1963".Michelle Stoby, "Black British Drama After ''Empire Road'': An interview with Michael Abbensetts", ''

Wasafiri ''Wasafiri'' is a quarterly British literary magazine covering international contemporary writing. Founded in 1984, the magazine derives its name from a Swahili word meaning "travellers" that is etymologically linked with the Arabic word "safari" ...

'', Issue 35, Spring 2002, pp. 3–8. He became a British citizen in 1974.

Writing career

Abbensetts's work debuted in theatre in 1973 with ''Sweet Talk'', which had a cast including

Mona Hammond Mona Hammond (born Mavis Chin; 1 January 1931 – 4 July 2022) was a Jamaican-British actress and co-founder of the Talawa Theatre Company. Born in Tweedside, Jamaica,

and

Don Warrington Don Warrington MBE (born Donald Williams, 23 May 1951) is a Trinidadian-born British actor. He is best known for playing Philip Smith in the ITV sitcom ''Rising Damp'' (1974–78), and Commissioner Selwyn Patterson in the BBC detective series ...

. It was directed by

Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...

. For television, Abbensetts's 1977 work ''Black Christmas'' aired on

and was also directed by Frears."Michael Abbensetts"

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its long ...

. It has been called by Stephen Bourne "one of the best television dramas of the 1970s". From the 1970s to 1990s, Abbensetts continued his theatre career throughout London. Some of his works during this time period included ''Samba'' (1980), ''Outlaw'' (1983), and ''The Lion'' (1993). Apart from plays, Abbensetts was a screenwriter for ''

'' (BBC, 1978–79), considered British television's first Black soap opera. He has said: "I never really liked it being called a Soap. It was ''

The Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' that called it that. I always thought of it as a drama series, where each episode had a separate story." The second series was directed by

Horace Ové Sir Horace Shango Ové (born 1936) is a Trinidad and Tobago-born British filmmaker, photographer, painter and writer. One of the leading black independent filmmakers to emerge in Britain in the post-war period, Ové holds the ''Guinness World R ...

, "establishing a production unit with a Black director, Black writer and Black actors." The cast featured

Norman Beaton Norman Lugard Beaton (31 October 1934 – 13 December 1994) was a Guyanese actor long resident in the United Kingdom. He became best known for his role as Desmond Ambrose in the Channel Four television comedy series ''Desmond's''. The writer S ...

Corinne Skinner-Carter Corinne Skinner-Carter (born 1931) is a Trinidadian actress, based in the United Kingdom. As Corinne Skinner, she began acting professionally in the 1950s. She has worked in black British film and television, and is possibly best known for her rol ...

Joseph Marcell Joseph Marcell (born 18 August 1948) is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Geoffrey Butler, the butler on the NBC sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' from September 1990 until the show ended in May 1996. Born in S ...

Rudolph Walker Rudolph Malcolm Walker (born 28 September 1939) is a Trinidadian-British actor, known for his sitcom roles as Bill Reynolds in ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1972–76) and Constable Frank Gladstone in '' The Thin Blue Line'' (1995–96). Since 2001, ...

and

Wayne Laryea Wayne Laryea (born 11 April 1952) is a British musician and television actor. Laryea is best known to American audiences for his role as the bumblebee Harmony in ''The Bugaloos'' (1970), and to British viewers as Johnny in ''Pipkins'' (1973). In ...

. Other television projects by Abbensetts include ''Easy Money'' (1981), ''Big George Is Dead'' (

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, 1987), starring Norman Beaton,

Linzi Drew Lindsey Jane Drew (born 11 May 1958), known professionally as Linzi Drew, is an English former glamour model, producer, adult model and pornographic actress. Career Linzi Drew was born on 11 May 1958 in Bristol, England. During a varied career ...

and

Ram John Holder John Wesley Holder (born 1934), known professionally as Ram John Holder, is a Guyanese-British actor and musician, who began his professional career as a singer in New York City, before moving to England in 1962. He has performed on stage, i ...

, and the mini-series ''Little Napoleons'' (1994, Channel 4).

Teaching and fellowships

In 1983–84, Abbensetts was Visiting Professor of Drama at

Carnegie-Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

. From September 2002, he was a Project Fellow in the Caribbean Studies Department of the

University of North London The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...

. He was a Fellow at

City and Guilds of London Art School Founded in 1854 as the Lambeth School of Art, the City and Guilds of London Art School is a small specialist art college located in central London, England. Originally founded as a government art school, it is now an independent, not-for-profit ...

, 2006–09.

Later years and personal life

With Abbensetts' health declining in his latter years as a result of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

, a tribute was organised for his benefit by

Anton Phillips Anton Phillips (born 31 October 1943) is a Jamaican-born British actor who found success appearing in British television. He remains best known for his role as Dr. Bob Mathias in the science fiction series '' Space: 1999''. Also a theatre prod ...

on Sunday, 9 December 2012: a rehearsed reading of ''Sweet Talk'', directed by Phillips and attended by Abbensetts himself, was held at the

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

, with many well known figures in Black theatre and arts in the audience, including

Yvonne Brewster Yvonne Jones Brewster (née Clarke; born 7 October 1938) is a Jamaican actress, theatre director and businesswoman, known for her role as Ruth Harding in the BBC television soap opera ''Doctors''. She co-founded the theatre companies Talawa in ...

, Don Warrington, Rudolph Walker,

Oscar James Oscar James (born 25 July 1942) is a Trinidadian actor, who is based in the United Kingdom. He has had a long and varied career, but is best known for appearing on British television, in particular the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', where he play ...

Allister Bain Allister Bain (born 1 January 1935) is a Grenadian television and film actor and theatre playwright and screenwriter, who moved to the UK in 1958. A veteran of British performing arts, his TV appearances include roles in ''Us Girls'', '' Vanity ...

, and

Errol Lloyd Errol Lloyd (born 1943)"Errol Lloyd. Born 1943 in Jamaica"

.John Gulliver
"Playwright who gave black actors a dramatic entrance"
, ''Camden New Journal'', 13 December 2012. Abbensetts died aged 78 on 24 November 2016, survived by his daughter, Justine, from his relationship with Anne Stewart, and by two grandchildren, Sean and Danielle, as well as a sister Elizabeth. His first wife Connie, a lawyer, had died of cancer towards the end of the 1980s, and in 2005 he was married to Liz Bluett, though they later separated.

Selected works

Stage plays
* ''Sweet Talk'' (two acts), produced at the Theatre at New End, 1973. * ''Alterations'', produced at the New End Theatre, 1978. * ''Samba'' (two acts), produced at the
Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...
, 1980. * ''In the Mood'' (two acts), produced 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 ...
, 1981. * ''The Outlaw'', produced at the
Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamberl ...
, 1983. * ''El Dorado'', produced at the
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 ...
, 1984. * ''The Lion'', produced at the
Cochrane Theatre The Cochrane Theatre, previously known as the Jeanetta Cochrane Theatre, was a receiving and producing theatre situated in Holborn, London, that opened in 1964. It is now used for television filming. History The theatre opened in 1963 and was n ...
, 1993.

Television plays
* ''The Museum Attendant'', BBC2, 1973 * ''Inner City Blues'', 1974; * ''Crime and Passion'', 1975; * ''Roadrunner'', 1977; * ''Black Christmas'', BBC, 1977. * ''Empire Road'', series, BBC, 1978–79. * ''Big George Is Dead'', Channel 4, 1987. * ''Little Napoleons'', mini-series, Channel 4, 1994.

Radio plays
* ''Sweet Talk'',
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
, 1974. * ''Home Again'', BBC Radio, 1975. * ''The Sunny Side of the Street'', BBC Radio, 1977. * ''Brothers of the Sword'', BBC Radio, 1978. * ''Alterations'',
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
, 1980. * ''The Fast Lane'',
Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. I ...
, 1980. * ''The Dark Horse'', BBC Radio, 1981.

Bibliography
* ''Sweet Talk'', London: Methuen, 1974. * ''Empire Road'' (novelisation of TV series), London: Grenada, 1979. * ''Four Plays'' (''Sweet Talk''; ''Alterations''; ''In the Mood''; ''El Dorado''), London:
Oberon Books Oberon Books is a London-based independent publisher of drama texts and books on theatre. The company publishes around 100 titles per year, many of them plays by new writers. In addition, the list contains a range of titles on theatre studies, act ...
, 2001.

References
* Leavy, Suzan. "Abbensetts an Example". ''Television Today'' (London, England), 19 May 1994. * Walters, Margaret. "Taking Race for Granted". ''New Society'' (London, England), 16 November 1978.

External links
* * *
Michael Abbensetts profile at Royal Literary Fund.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbensetts, Michael 1938 births 2016 deaths Guyanese dramatists and playwrights Alumni of Queen's College, Guyana Guyanese emigrants to England Sir George Williams University alumni Academics of the University of North London People from Georgetown, Guyana Black British writers 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights British male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British male writers 20th-century Guyanese writers