Olwen Margaret Wymark (née Buck, 14 February 1932 – 14 June 2013) was an American writer and playwright.

Biography

Olwen Margaret Buck was born on 14 February 1932 in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, the daughter of Philip W. (a professor of political science) and Barbara (Jacobs) Buck, and the granddaughter of English author W. W. Jacobs. She attended

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

from 1949–51 and

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

from 1951–52. Her most successful play was ''Find Me'' (1977), about mental illness, which is still used as a set text for drama qualifications in UK schools. Others included ''Gymnasium'' (1972), ''Loved'' (1980), ''Best Friends'' (1984), ''Strike Up The Banns'' (1990), and ''Mirror Mirror'' (1992). She also wrote dozens of BBC radio play adaptations, including her 2001 version of Thomas Mann's ''

The Magic Mountain ''The Magic Mountain'' (german: Der Zauberberg, links=no, ) is a novel by Thomas Mann, first published in German in November 1924. It is widely considered to be one of the most influential works of twentieth-century German literature. Mann s ...

''; one of her last works, it starred

Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, Emmy, and Tony for his work. He won the three awards in a seve ...

in one of his greatest radio roles.

Personal life

She was married to British actor

Patrick Wymark Patrick Wymark (11 July 192620 October 1970) was an English stage, film and television actor. Early life Wymark was born Patrick Carl Cheeseman in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. He was brought up in neighbouring Grimsby and frequently revisited th ...

, whom she met at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, from 1953 until his death in 1970. Patrick, whose birth surname was Cheeseman, took his acting name from the middle name of Olwen's paternal grandfather. They had four children: Jane (an actress), Rowan, Dominic, and Tristram. Wymark resided for most of her life in London.

Bibliography

Plays * ''Lunchtime Concert'' (one-act), first produced in Glasgow, Scotland, at

Citizens Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and is based in Glasgow, Scotland as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various ...

, (1966) * ''Triple Image'' (three one-act plays) (1967) **''Coda'' **''Lunchtime Concert'' **''The Inhabitants'' (1967) *''The Gymnasium'' (one-act) (1967) * "The Techniciaheheheheehns" (one-act) (1969) *''Stay Where You Are'' (one-act) (1969) *''Neither Here Nor There'' (one-act) (1971) *''Speak Now'' (two-act) (1971) *''The Committee'' (one-act) (1971) *''Jack the Giant Killer'' (one-act) (1972) *''Tales From Whitechapel'' (one-act) (1972) *''Watch the Woman'' (two-act), (1973) with Brian Phelan *''The Twenty-Second Day'' (one-act) (1975) *''We Three'' (one-act) (1977) *''After Nature, Art'' (one-act) (1977) *''Find Me'' (two-act) (1977) *''Loved'' (two-act) (1979) *''Please Shim Down on Me'' (1980) *''Best Friends'' (1981) *''One Woman Plays'' (adapted from three plays by Dario Fo and Franca Rame) (1981) *''Lessons and Lovers: D.H. Lawrence in New Mexico: a Play'' (1986)

Quotes

In an interview with Contemporary Authors: "From the fifties until my husband died in 1970 I wrote plays because I wanted to; now I write them for a living. Although I have never written 'a commercial' play, I have to sell my work. Consequently I think my plays have become less obscure (and pretentious), and I find myself more drawn to comedy. The theatre is my first passion, but I love to write for radio and would like to write more for TV and would really like to write a film."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wymark, Olwen 1932 births Alumni of University College London American expatriates in the United Kingdom American people of English descent Pomona College alumni 2013 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights