Norman Frederick Simpson (29 January 1919 – 27 August 2011) was an English playwright closely associated with 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 of ...

. To his friends he was known as Wally Simpson, in comic reference to the

abdication crisis In early December 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire arose when King-Emperor Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and was pursuing the divorce of her secon ...

of 1936.

Early years

Born in London, Simpson studied at

Emanuel School Emanuel School is an independent, co-educational day school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded in 1594 by Anne Sackville, Lady Dacre and Queen Elizabeth I and occupies a 12-acre (4.9 ha) site close to Clapham Junction ra ...

before taking a job as a bank clerk. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and Intelligence Corps, travelling to Italy,

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. Following studies at

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public university, public research university, located in Bloomsbury, London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal Universit ...

for a degree in

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

after the war,Louis Barf
"N F Simpson: Absurdist playwright who influenced and inspired Britain's comic surrealists of the 1960s and '70s"
''The Independent'', 12 September 2011 Simpson taught English in

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

for almost 20 years.

Theatre debut

The turning point in Simpson’s life came in 1957 when he won third prize in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' newspaper’s quest for new writers, headed by theatre critic

Kenneth Tynan Kenneth Peacock Tynan (2 April 1927 – 26 July 1980) was an English theatre critic and writer. Making his initial impact as a critic at ''The Observer'', he praised Osborne's ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956), and encouraged the emerging wave of ...

. ''A Resounding Tinkle'' premiered at 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 ...

, London, on 1 December 1957 with

Nigel Davenport Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and ''Chariots of Fir ...

as Bro Paradock and

Wendy Craig Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig (born 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms ''Not in Front of the Children (TV series), Not in Front of the Children'', ''...And Mother Makes Three'', ''...And M ...

as Middie Paradock. Under pressure from

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades. In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film ''Tom Jones (1963 film ...

, Simpson, to his regret, truncated the play to a 50-minute one-act piece. In 1959 the first complete production of the two-act version was performed by the Cambridge Theatre Actors, under the direction of John Bird with

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...

and

Eleanor Bron Eleanor Bron (born 14 March 1938) is an English stage, film and television actress, and an author. Her film roles include Ahme in the Beatles musical ''Help!'' (1965), the Doctor in ''Alfie'' (1966), Margaret Spencer in '' Bedazzled'' (1967), an ...

in the leading roles. The Cambridge production toured briefly to the Royal Court, on 15 March 1960; but the theatre only belatedly staged its own production of the two-act original on 17 January 2006.

Style

''A Resounding Tinkle'' typifies Simpson’s aversion to plot and establishes his talent for memorable one-liners and non-sequiturs. As with all of his subsequent work, the play demands absolutely straight delivery from actors. Such an approach fosters a conviction within the audience that the characters are living in a form of reality, where the formation of a government can be arranged via door-to-door enquiries. The extraordinary and impossible are treated as perfectly rational everyday events. This comic balance is recognised as a major influence on the early work of Peter Cook, particularly the

E. L. Wisty E. L. Wisty was a fictional character created and played by the comedian Peter Cook on and off throughout his career. A bland, monotonal know-it-all, Wisty usually appeared in monologues, or in two-handed sketches in which he bores the other person. ...

monologues. Many comparisons have been drawn to the work of key absurdist playwright

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

. However, Simpson denied any link, adding that he had never even heard of the writer when he commenced a career in nonsense. In his own view, the valid literary parallels are with

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected in ...

and

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeev ...

. Simpson’s early work must also be viewed in its cultural context.

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 ...

's ''The Goon Show'' was widely admired, bringing surrealism to the masses for the first time. Plays such as ''A Resounding Tinkle'' arguably gentrified the idiom for London’s theatregoers, and with them the highbrow elite.

Theatre career

A close relationship between Simpson and the Royal Court continued after ''Tinkle'', encompassing the plays ''The Hole'' (1958), his key work ''One Way Pendulum'' (1959) and ''The Cresta Run'' (1965). He wrote ''The Form'' (1961) for 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 ...

, and contributed to the West End revues ''One To Another'' (1959), ''One Over The Eight'' (1961) and ''On The Avenue'' (1961), which variously involved

John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole. Early life Mortimer was born in Hampstead, London, ...

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

Beryl Reid Beryl Elizabeth Reid, (17 June 1919 – 13 October 1996), was a British actress of stage and screen. She won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for ''The Killing of Sister George'', the 1980 Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performan ...

and

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 Car ...

. Following a long break from substantial theatre writing, Simpson returned to the Royal Court in 1972 with ''Was He Anyone?'', which formed the basis of ''Harry Bleachbaker'', a novel published in 1976. In November 1976, Simpson was appointed Literary Manager of the

English Stage Company 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, England ...

at the Royal Court. Having supported new work by

Barrie Keeffe __NOTOC__ Barrie Colin Keeffe (31 October 1945 – 10 December 2019) was an English dramatist and screenwriter. Best known for his screenplay for the gangster classic, ''The Long Good Friday'' (1980), starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren, Keeff ...

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

and

Snoo Wilson Andrew James Wilson (2 August 1948 – 3 July 2013), better known as Snoo Wilson, was an English playwright, screenwriter and director. His early plays such as ''Blow-Job'' (1971) were overtly political, often combining harsh social comment wit ...

, he left in April 1978, returning to theatre for an

Eduardo De Filippo Eduardo De Filippo (; 24 May 1900 – 31 October 1984), also known simply as ''Eduardo'', was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his Neapolitan works ''Filumena Marturano'' and '' Napoli Milionaria''. Consid ...

translation, ''Inner Voices'', at the National Theatre in 1983.

Radio

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 ...

were at first resistant to the new wave of English

playwrights 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 ...

that emerged in the late 1950s. Simpson’s ''A Resounding Tinkle'' and ''The Hole'' were both rejected by the radio network controller in November 1959. ''Tinkle'' was eventually broadcast on the BBC Third Programme in July 1960, in its one-act form with

Deryck Guyler Deryck Bower Guyler (29 April 1914 – 7 October 1999) was an English actor, best remembered for his portrayal of officious, short-tempered middle-aged men in sitcoms such as ''Please Sir!'' and ''Sykes''. Early life Guyler was born in Wallas ...

and

Alison Leggatt Alison Joy Leggatt (7 February 1904 – 15 July 1990) was an English character actress. Career Born in the Kensington district of London, Leggatt trained under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based in the Royal Alber ...

as the Paradocks. That year saw Simpson’s first radio commission, a sketch for the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

's weekly revue ''Monday Night at Home''. Cold feet amongst the production team caused it to be dropped before transmission. Subsequently, Simpson’s radio work rarely strayed from the confines of the Third Programme, most notably the 1982 monologues ''Snippets'', read by

Richard Vernon Richard Evelyn Vernon (7 March 1925 – 4 December 1997) was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles. Prematurely balding and greying, Vernon settled into playi ...

Film and television

The

arrived on television in 1961, with productions of Simpson plays on both British networks.

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

produced a live performance of ''One Way Pendulum'', now lost, whilst

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

mounted a shortened version of ''A Resounding Tinkle'' for

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. He was invited to contribute to BBC TV’s ''

That Was The Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pre ...

'', although his sketch, 'Televising Parliament', was dropped due to overruns in the live transmission on 16 November 1963, and has never surfaced. Hot on the heels of his '' Summer Holiday'' success, director

Peter Yates Peter James Yates (24 July 1929 – 9 January 2011) was an English film director and producer. Biography Early life Yates was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from ...

agreed to shoot Simpson’s best known stage play, '' One Way Pendulum'' (1964). Starring

Eric Sykes Eric Sykes (4 May 1923 – 4 July 2012) was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor, and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading com ...

, George Cole and a mute

Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 19 ...

, Yates' rendition of the play captured Simpson’s matter-of-fact approach to nonsense but failed at the box office. As the BBC’s Acting Assistant Head of Light Entertainment,

Frank Muir Frank Herbert Muir (5 February 1920 – 2 January 1998) was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wro ...

invited Simpson to write for

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 1965. The central characters of ''Tinkle'' were expanded into seven half-hours of ''Three Rousing Tinkles'' (1966) and ''Four Tall Tinkles'' (1967), featuring Edwin Apps and Pauline Devaney as Bro and Middie. He followed this with ''World in Ferment'' (1969), a six-part parody of current affairs programming with John Bird,

, Jack Shepherd and

Angela Thorne Angela Margaret Leslie Thorne (born 25 January 1939) is an English actress of stage, television and film who is best known for her roles in ''To the Manor Born'', as Audrey fforbes-Hamilton's best friend Marjory Frobisher, and as Margaret Thatch ...

, of which no episodes survive. His final series for television was the unsuccessful '' Charley’s Grants'' (1970), co-written with

John Fortune John Fortune (born John C. Wood; 30 June 1939 – 31 December 2013) was an English satirist, comedian, writer, and actor, best known for his work with John Bird and Rory Bremner on the TV series ''Bremner, Bird and Fortune''. Early life Fortu ...

and John Wells, starring

Hattie Jacques Hattie Jacques (; born Josephine Edwina Jaques; 7 February 1922 – 6 October 1980) was an English comedy actress of stage, radio and screen. She is best known as a regular of the ''Carry On'' films, where she typically played strict, no-non ...

, and produced by

Ian MacNaughton Edward Ian MacNaughton (30 December 1925 – 10 December 2002) was a Scottish actor-turned-television producer and director, best known for his work with the ''Monty Python'' team. MacNaughton was director and producer for all but four of the f ...

(who produced ''

Monty Python’s Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became known a ...

''), which is also entirely lost. Plays followed, including a satire on advertising, ''Thank You Very Much'' (1971), and an effective three-hander for

, ''Silver Wedding'' (1974), directed by Mike Newell. Simpson’s highest-profile production for television was ''Elementary, My Dear Watson'' (1973), a

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

parody for

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

's ''Comedy Playhouse'' starring

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...

and

Willie Rushton William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''. Early life Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in 3 Wilbraham Plac ...

. It has been screened several times at the

National Film Theatre BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. Hist ...

in London. It is frequently argued that Simpson’s work operates better in small doses (Simpson himself described his only novel called ''Man Overboard'' as one which he expected no-one to be able to read to the end), so it is natural that he should have produced so much sketch material for television. ''World in Ferment'' lent towards this strength, and his skilful monologues for women were seen again in ''But Seriously – It’s Sheila Hancock'' (1972). Other vehicles included

Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of ra ...

's ''The Rather Reassuring Programme'' (1977), ''Beryl Reid Says… Good Evening'' (1968) and ''The Dick Emery Show'' (1977–1980).

Later activities

Simpson lived in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

in later life and travelled around England's canals on a narrowboat. A radio documentary about his life and work, ''Reality is an Illusion Caused by Lack of N. F. Simpson'', produced by Curtains For Radio on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

on 5 April 2007, featured contributions from

Jonathan Coe Jonathan Coe (; born 19 August 1961) is an English novelist and writer. His work has an underlying preoccupation with political issues, although this serious engagement is often expressed comically in the form of satire. For example, '' What a ...

, Sir Jonathan Miller,

Sir John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole. Early life Mortimer was born in Hampstead, London, ...

David Nobbs David Gordon Nobbs (13 March 1935 – 8 August 2015"C ...

and Simpson himself. It featured material recorded at a workshop for a new play, ''If So, Then Yes'', his first full-length piece in 30 years. The Royal Court presented a rehearsed reading on 11 July 2007. The script was published in February 2009. The production made its world premiere at the

Jermyn Street Theatre Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated on Jermyn Street, in London's West End. It is an off-west end studio theatre. History Jermyn Street Theatre opened in August 1994. It was formerly the changing rooms for staff at a Spaghetti ...

in September, 2010, featuring actor Roddy Maude-Roxby, who appeared in the 1959 production of Simpson's play, ''One Way Pendulum'', at the Royal Court Theatre. ''Absurdia'', a grouping of short plays by Simpson and Michael Frayn ran 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 ...

from July to September 2007. The short version of ''A Resounding Tinkle'' and the sketch ''Gladly Otherwise'' were directed by

Douglas Hodge Douglas Hodge is an English actor, director, and musician who has had an extensive career in theatre, as well as television and film where he has appeared in ''Robin Hood'' (2010), '' Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return'' and '' Diana'' (2013), ''P ...

and starred

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...

. Both scripts were republished by Faber to mark this revival. A London revival of ''Was He Anyone?'' was staged at the Union Theatre during November 2007 b
Oblique House
A comprehensive season of Simpson's work for the screen – both silver and small – took place at BFI Southbank during May 2008. ''If So, Then Yes'' premiered at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London, running from 7 September to 2 October 2010. Simpson died at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro on 27 August 2011, having lived in Townsend,

Polruan Polruan ( kw, Porthruwan) is a coastal village in the parish of Lanteglos-by-Fowey in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is bounded on three sides by water: to the north by Pont Creek, to the west by the River Fowey and to the south by the ...

since 2005.Death certificate

Theatre

*''A Resounding Tinkle'' (1957) *'' The Hole'' (1958) *''

One To Another "One to Another" is a song by British alternative rock band the Charlatans. It was the first single from their fifth album, '' Tellin' Stories'' (1997), and their first single following the death of the band's keyboardist, Rob Collins. The sin ...

'' ketch writer(1959) *'' One Way Pendulum – A Farce in a New Dimension'' (1959) *'' The Form'' (1961) *''

On The Avenue ''On the Avenue'' is a 1937 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll, Alice Faye, George Barbier, and The Ritz Brothers. Many of the songs were composed by Irving Berlin. Many of the plot deta ...

'' ketch writer(1961) *''

One Over The Eight ''One Over the Eight'' was a comedy revue which opened on April 5, 1961. It was written by Peter Cook and starred Kenneth Williams. The material included a "One Leg Too Few" sketch and "Interesting Facts" sketch with Williams playing an E. L. Wi ...

'' ketch writer(1961) *'' The Cresta Run'' (1965) *'' How Are Your Handles?'' ketches old and new(1970) *'' Playback 625'' ith Leopoldo Maler(1970) *'' The Bear'' by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

daptation(1972) *'' Was He Anyone?'' (1972) *'' Whither the Ancient Burial Mounds of Old New Brunswick'' (1978) *''Inner Voices'' by

daptation(1983) *''One Way Pendulum'' [revival by

] (1988) *''Royal Court 50:'' ''A Resounding Tinkle'' (2006) *''If So, Then Yes'' [reading at

] (2007) *''Absurdia'': ''A Resounding Tinkle'' [revival by

] (2007) *'' Was He Anyone?'' [revival at Union Theatre] (2007) *''If So, Then Yes'' [premiere at Jermyn Street Theatre] (2010)

Radio

*''A Resounding Tinkle'' ne-act play(1960) *''Something Rather Effective''

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

(1972) *''Sketches for Radio''

ketches A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch fr ...

(1974) *''Whither the Ancient Burial Mounds of Old New Brunswick'' (1979) *''The Parrot Cage Inspector'' onologue(1982) *''Snippets'' onologue(1982) *''Snippets Two''

eries The Erie people (also Eriechronon, Riquéronon, Erielhonan, Eriez, Nation du Chat) were Indigenous people historically living on the south shore of Lake Erie. An Iroquoian group, they lived in what is now western New York, northwestern Pennsylvania ...

(1982)

Television

*''One Way Pendulum'' (1961) *''A Resounding Tinkle'' or ''Television Playhouse''(1961) *''Uhu… Huh?'' ketches for Canadian television(1965) *'Make-A-Man, or The Human Being: Is It Obsolete?' or ''New Release''(1966) *''Three Rousing Tinkles''

(1966) *''Four Tall Tinkles''

(1967) *''Beryl Reid Says… Good Evening''

(1968) *''

World in Ferment In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

(1969) *'' Charley’s Grants'' [co-writer, with John Wells and

] (1970) *''Thank You Very Much'' [for ''Play For Today''] (1971) *''But Seriously – It’s Sheila Hancock'' ketch writer(1972) *'People Ltd.' or ''Full House''(1972) *''Elementary, My Dear Watson'' or ''Comedy Playhouse''(1973) *''Silver Wedding'' or ''Late Night Theatre''(1974) *''An Upward Fall'' or ''Crown Court''(1977) * ''The Dick Emery Show'' ketch writer(1977–1980) *'One of Our St Bernard Dogs Is Missing' oem, for ''Closedown''(1977) *''A Rather Reassuring Programme'' ketch writer(1977) *''Wainwright’s Law'' cene writer for educational series(1980)

Films

*''

One Way Pendulum (film) ''One Way Pendulum'' is a 1965 British comedy film directed by Peter Yates and starring Eric Sykes and George Cole. It is an adaptation of the play by N. F. Simpson. Plot Study of absurdity in a suburban family: father rebuilds the Old Bailey ...

'' creenplay(1964) *''

Diamonds for Breakfast ''Diamonds for Breakfast'' is the fourth studio album by French singer Amanda Lear, released in 1980 by the West German label Ariola Records. The album turned out a commercial success and spawned two European hit singles, "Fabulous (Lover, Love M ...

'' ontributing writer(1968)

Recordings

*''He’s Innocent of Watergate'' ketch writer(1974)

Publications

*''A Resounding Tinkle'' ne-act(1958) *''The Hole'' (1958) *''The Observer Plays'' eaturing two-act ''Tinkle''(1958) *''New English Dramatists'' eaturing two-act ''Tinkle''(1960) *''One Way Pendulum: A Farce in a New Dimension'' (1960) *'The Overcoat' Peter Blake">Peter_Blake_(artist).html" ;"title="hort story for ''Man About Town'' magazine, illustrated by Peter Blake (artist)">Peter Blake(1960) *''Sketches from One To Another'' (1960) *'The Strawlined Hydrant' [short story for ''Vogue'' magazine] (1960) *''The Form'' (1961) *''New Directions: Five One-Act Plays in the Modern Idiom'' eaturing one-act ''Tinkle''(1961) *''The Hole, and Other Plays & Sketches'' (1964) *''The Long and the Short and the Tall'' eaturing one-act ''Tinkle''(1964) *''The New British Drama'' eaturing ''One Way Pendulum''(1964) *''The Cresta Run'' (1966) *''A Resounding Tinkle'' wo-act(1968) *''Some Tall Tinkles'' elected television scripts(1968) *''Was He Anyone?'' (1973) *''Harry Bleachbaker: A Novel'' (1976) *''Play Ten'' eaturing two short plays(1977) *''Inner Voices'' by

ranslation(1983) *''Snippets'' (2006) *''A Resounding Tinkle'' wo-act, also featuring 'Gladly Otherwise'(2007) *''If So, Then Yes'' (2009) *''"Most of What Follows is a Complete Waste of Time" - Monologues, Dialogues, Sketches and Other Writings'' (2013) *''Collected Plays'' (2013)

Unproduced or unfinished works

*''Crates'' tage play(1957) *'Out There By All Means But Not in Here If You Don't Mind'

ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch fr ...

(1960) *'Televising Parliament'

(1963) *''A Seasonal Swing'' elevision play(pre-1965) *''The Consultant'' elevision play(1965) *''The Row'' elevision play(1965) *''Afternoon Tea (In A High-Ceilinged Room)'' elevision play(1975), adio play(1978) *''Napoli Milionaria'' by

ranslation, used as basis for Peter Tinniswood's 1991 script produced at the National Theatre]

Notes

References

*N. F. Simpson, ''Snippets'' with afterword by Simon Brett, The Society of Wood Engravers, 2006 *

, ''Tynan on Theatre'', Pelican, 1961

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

N. F. Simpson Collection
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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, N.F. 1919 births 2011 deaths Military personnel from London Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London British Army personnel of World War II People educated at Emanuel School Writers from London Theatre of the Absurd English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers Royal Artillery personnel Intelligence Corps soldiers

Early years

Theatre debut

Style

Theatre career

Radio

Film and television

Later activities

Theatre

Radio

Television

Films

Recordings

Publications

Unproduced or unfinished works

Notes

References

External links