Michael Gerald Hastings (2 September 1938 – 19 November 2011) was a British playwright, screenwriter, and occasional novelist and poet. He is best known for his 1984 stage play and 1994 screenplay '' Tom & Viv'', about the poet T.S. Eliot and his wife

Vivienne Haigh-Wood Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot, also spelt Vivien (28 May 1888 – 22 January 1947), was the first wife of American-British poet T. S. Eliot, whom she married in 1915, less than three months after their introduction by mutual friends, when Vivienne ...

Biography

Hastings was born in London, UK. His early plays – ''Don't Destroy Me'' (1956), ''Yes And After'' (1957) – reflected the influence of the Angry Young Men movement and his brief involvement with the circle surrounding Colin Wilson. Hastings later enjoyed mainstream West End success with ''Gloo Joo'' (1978), a farce about a West Indian threatened with deportation from the United Kingdom, which won the '' Evening Standard'' Comedy of the Year Award in 1979. He wrote numerous stage plays, television screen plays, and in addition to the ''Tom & Viv'' film, scripts for two motion pictures, '' The American'' (1998) and '' The Nightcomers'' (1971, based on the Henry James novella '' The Turn of the Screw'' and starring

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

). Hastings also wrote two libretti for

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his length ...

: '' Man and Boy: Dada'' (2003, assisted by Victoria Hardie) and ''

Love Counts ''Love Counts'' is a 2005 opera in two acts by Michael Nyman to a libretto by Michael Hastings. Performance history The opera premiered 12 March 2005 at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Germany, directed by Robert Tannenbaum. It was perfo ...

'' (2005). Hastings' 1950's play ''The Cutting of the Cloth'' saw its world premiere at the Southwark Playhouse in London, from 11 March till 4 April 2015. The cast were Alexis Caley, Andy de la Tour, James El-Sharawy, Paul Rider and

Abigail Thaw Abigail J. Thaw (born 1 October 1965) is an English actress. Early life Abigail Thaw was born in London to actor John Thaw and his first wife, Sally Alexander, an academic/feminist activist who taught modern history at Goldsmiths College. Her ...

, directed by Tricia Thorns. Hastings published his first novel, ''The Game'' in 1957, followed by ''The Frauds''. His 1970 novel ''Tussy Is Me'' – about Eleanor Marx – won him the Somerset Maugham Award. As a poet, he published one collection, ''Love Me, Lambeth, and Other Poems'', in 1961, and his work appeared in Michael Horovitz's 1969 anthology '' Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain''.Robert Sheppard
''The Poetry of Saying: British Poetry and Its Discontents 1950-2000''
Liverpool University Press, 2005, p. 42. Hastings died aged 73 on 19 November 2011.

Selected works

Theatre

*''Don't Destroy Me'' (1956) *''Yes And After'' (1957) *''The World's Baby'' (1964) *''For the West (Congo)'' (1965) *''Blue as His Eyes the Tin Helmet He Wore'' (1966) *''Lee Harvey Oswald: A Far Mean Streak of Independence Brought on by Negleck'' (also known as ''The Silence of Lee Harvey Oswald'') (1967) *''The Silence of Saint-Just'' (1972) *''The Cutting of the Cloth'' (written 1973) *''For the West (Uganda)'' (1977) *''Gloo Joo'' (1978) *'' Full Frontal'' (1979) *''Carnival War a Go Hot'' (1979) *''Murder Rap'' (1980) *''Midnight at the Starlight'' (1980) *'' Tom & Viv'' (1984) *''Calico'' (2004)

Television

*''Gloo Joo'' (1979)

Books

;Fiction *''The Game'' (1957) *''The Frauds'' (1960) *''Tussy Is Me'' (1970) *'' The Nightcomers'' (1971; based on his own screenplay) *''And in the Forest the Indians'' (1975) *''Bart's Mornings and Other Tales of Modern Brazil'' (1975) (short stories) ;Non-fiction *''

Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915)The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. was an En ...

: The Handsomest Young Man in England'' (1967) *''

Sir Richard Burton Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...

: A Biography'' (1978) ;Poetry * ''Love Me, Lambeth, and Other Poems'' (1961)

References

External links

*
Michael Hastings Papers
at the Harry Ransom Center
Profile at Doollee.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, Michael 1938 births 2011 deaths 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers People educated at Alleyn's School English screenwriters English male screenwriters People from Brixton English male dramatists and playwrights