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{{for|the 16th-century politician|Robert Farrar (MP)}}
{{for|the 16th-century politician|Robert Farrar (MP)}}


'''Robert Farrar''' (born {{circa}} 1960; also known by the pseudonyms '''Robert Girl''', '''Anatole Gribsby''', and '''Merlin Dietrich''') is a British writer and musician.
'''Robert Farrar''' (born {{circa}} 1960;) is a British writer and musician.


==Biography==
==Biography==
Farrar was born in London {{circa}} 1960. The grandson of playwright [[Kenneth Horne (writer)|Kenneth Horne]] through his mother, Judith, Farrar read the older man's oeuvre while still a teenager. This inspired him to write his first stage play, entitled ''Drawing-Room Tragedy'', which Farrar and some friends performed at school in 1975 (shortly after Horne's death).<ref name="Horne"/> Another stage play was performed the following year, on the [[BBC]] television series ''It's Child's Play''.<ref name="Contact Me"/> In the early 1980s he spent time living in [[Berlin]],<ref name="Contact Me"/> and in 1981 he directed the musical ''Comfort and Hygiene'' with Adrian Hope. M. G. Myer of ''[[The Guardian]]'' described it as "''[[Cabaret (1972 film)|Cabaret]]'' and ''[[The Rocky Horror Show]]'' rewritten by [[Bertolt Brecht|Brecht]] and [[Kurt Weill|Weill]] after they had been watching ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series)|Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''."<ref name="Myer"/>
Farrar was born in London {{circa}} 1960. The grandson of playwright [[Kenneth Horne (writer)|Kenneth Horne]] through his mother, Judith, Farrar read the older man's oeuvre while still a teenager. This inspired him to write his first stage play, entitled ''Drawing-Room Tragedy'', which Farrar and some friends performed at school in 1975 (shortly after Horne's death).<ref name="Horne"/> Another stage play was performed the following year, on the [[BBC]] television series ''It's Child's Play''.<ref name="Contact Me"/> In the early 1980s he spent time living in [[Berlin]],<ref name="Contact Me"/> and in 1981 he directed the musical ''Comfort and Hygiene'' with Adrian Hope. M. G. Myer of ''[[The Guardian]]'' described it as "''[[Cabaret (1972 film)|Cabaret]]'' and ''[[The Rocky Horror Show]]'' rewritten by [[Bertolt Brecht|Brecht]] and [[Kurt Weill|Weill]] after they had been watching ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series)|Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''."<ref name="Myer"/>


In 1983 Farrar established a band known as The Mystery Girls, using the pseudonym Robert Girl. Wearing women's make-up with men's clothing that was "glammed up to the point of surreality", the band performed live in various venues and released a single, "Ash In Drag", with [[A&M Records]]; they also performed on ''[[The Old Grey Whistle Test]]''. However, the band's single underperformed, and they were written off by A&M. In 1986, "traumatised" by A&M's management, Farrar began to focus on his writing career, though The Mystery Girls did not formally disband until 1991.<ref name="The Mystery Girls"/>
In 1983 Farrar established a band called The Mystery Girls. Wearing women's make-up with men's clothing that was "glammed up to the point of surreality", the band performed live in various venues and released a single, "Ash In Drag", with [[A&M Records]]; they also performed on ''[[The Old Grey Whistle Test]]''. However, the single did not satisfy the commercial expectations, so A&M ended it's relationship with the band. In 1986, "traumatised" by A&M's management, Farrar returned his attentions to his writing career. The Mystery Girls did not formally disband until 1991.<ref name="The Mystery Girls"/>


Farrar wrote his first full-length novel, ''State of Independence'', while the Mystery Girls were still a group; he had previously written several novellas. Published in 1993 by [[Gay Men's Press]], ''State of Independence'' was Farrar's successful attempt to force himself to [[coming out|come out of the closet]] and followed a young man in his attempts to come out. A novella, ''Watch That Man'', was written in 1989 and published in German as ''Der Coolste Killer'' in 1997;<ref name="Novels"/> that year it was also adapted by [[Jon Amiel]] as ''[[The Man Who Knew Too Little]]'',<ref name="Filmography"/> in which an American tourist in London is inadverdently dragged into an attempt to reignite the [[Cold War]].<ref name="The Guardian"/> Farrar describes it as his greatest commercial success owing to the film adaptation.<ref name="Novels"/>
Farrar wrote his first full-length novel, ''State of Independence'', while the Mystery Girls were still a group; he had previously written several novellas. Published in 1993 by [[Gay Men's Press]], ''State of Independence'' was Farrar's successful attempt to force himself to [[coming out|come out of the closet]] and followed a young man in his attempts to come out. A novella, ''Watch That Man'', was written in 1989 and published in German as ''Der Coolste Killer'' in 1997.<ref name="Novels"/> In 1997 the novella was adapted by Farrar and [[Howard Franklin]] into a film directed by [[Jon Amiel]] entitled ''[[The Man Who Knew Too Little]]'',<ref name="Filmography"/> in which an American tourist in London is inadvertently dragged into an attempt to reignite the [[Cold War]].<ref name="The Guardian"/> Farrar describes it as his greatest commercial success to date.<ref name="Novels"/>


One of Farrar's screenplays was filmed by [[Rose Troche]] in 1998. Entitled ''[[Bedrooms and Hallways]]'' and starring [[Kevin McKidd]] as an openly gay man who encounters trials and tribulations after attending group sessions for straight men, the film also featured Farrar in a cameo as a man at a bus stop.<ref name="Filmography"/> The film received mixed reviews. [[Nigel Andrews]] of ''[[Financial Times]]'' wrote a scathing review, summarizing the film as "A loves B loves C loves D until the audience, slipping towards coma, goes zzz" owing to the script being unable to "convert flippancy to wit".<ref name="Andrews"/> [[Stephen Holden]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that the film kept its plotlines "in the air" well and praised its exploration of sexuality, but found that it "lost its nerve" towards the end, "mechanically" matchmaking the characters at the climax.<ref name="Holden"/> Hannah Patterson in ''Contemporary North American Film Directors'' reviewed it more positively, describing ''Bedrooms and Hallways'' as "a pacey, quirky film that explores the shifting boundaries of sexuality in an attempt to shatter any preconceived notions or prejudices".<ref name="Patterson"/>
One of Farrar's screenplays was filmed by [[Rose Troche]] in 1998. Entitled ''[[Bedrooms and Hallways]]'' and starring [[Kevin McKidd]] as an openly gay man who is an unexpected source of conflict and confusion in a group of nominally heterosexual men, the film also featured Farrar in a cameo as a man at a bus stop.<ref name="Filmography"/> The film received mixed reviews. [[Nigel Andrews]] of ''[[Financial Times]]'' summarised the film as "A loves B loves C loves D until the audience, slipping towards coma, goes zzz" owing to the script being unable to "convert flippancy to wit".<ref name="Andrews"/> [[Stephen Holden]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that the film kept its plot lines "in the air" well and praised its exploration of sexuality, but claimed that it "lost its nerve" towards the end, "mechanically" matchmaking the characters at the climax.<ref name="Holden"/> Hannah Patterson in ''Contemporary North American Film Directors'' reviewed it more positively, describing ''Bedrooms and Hallways'' as "a pacey, quirky film that explores the shifting boundaries of sexuality in an attempt to shatter any preconceived notions or prejudices".<ref name="Patterson"/>


Farrar wrote and directed a short film, ''Sunday Morning'', in 2001.<ref name="Filmography"/> In ''Dictionnaire des codes homosexuels'', Philippe Arino describes the film's gay couple as "a parody of a heterosexual couple pushed to the extreme" in the [[Top, bottom and versatile|top]]'s [[machismo]] and the bottom's submissiveness.<ref name="Ariño"/> Farrar writes that the film allowed him to
Farrar wrote and directed a short film, ''Sunday Morning'', in 2001.<ref name="Filmography"/> In ''Dictionnaire des codes homosexuels'', Philippe Arino describes the film's gay couple as "a parody of a heterosexual couple pushed to the extreme" in the [[Top, bottom and versatile|top]]'s [[machismo]] and the bottom's submissiveness.<ref name="Ariño"/> Farrar writes that the film allowed him to
"reconnect with my underground roots and to let go of good taste".<ref name="Films"/> In 2005 Farrar directed his second film, ''Donut'', based on an anecdote from Phil Setren and starring [[Annabelle Apsion]] and Vincenzo Nicoli. The film was later adapted for the stage as part of ''Lovers From Hell'', which also included ''Complex'' and ''Get The Guest''. The story involves a sexual encounter (heterosexual in the film, homosexual in the play) in which one partner attempts to convince the other to eat a donut during sex.<ref name="Films"/><ref name="Playography"/> Between 2004 and 2005 he wrote a variety of stage plays with sexual themes, both gay and straight.<ref name="Films"/><ref name="Playography"/>
"reconnect with my underground roots and to let go of good taste".<ref name="Films"/> In 2005 Farrar directed his second film, ''Donut'', based on an anecdote from Phil Setren and starring [[Annabelle Apsion]] and Vincenzo Nicoli. The film was later adapted for the stage as part of ''Lovers From Hell'', which also included ''Complex'' and ''Get The Guest''. The story involves a sexual encounter (heterosexual in the film, homosexual in the play) in which one partner attempts to convince the other to eat a donut during sex.<ref name="Films"/><ref name="Playography"/> Between 2004 and 2005 Farrar wrote two full length plays exploring aspects of Gay sexuality.<ref name="Films"/><ref name="Playography"/>


⚫
In 2010 Farrar's play ''Relax'' was performed at the [[Warehouse Theatre]], [[Croydon]]. "Relax" centred upon a "repressed" [[bed and breakfast]] proprietor who seduces a guest before claiming a disturbed twin brother was to blame.<ref name="Relax"/> Matt Boothman, writing for [[The British Theatre Guide]], alleged that the play lacked the "sensitivity" necessary to address themes of [[sexual predation]] and [[mental illness]], but .<ref name="Relax Review"/> Afterwards Farrar redirected his efforts toward his musical career, working on a [[mini-LP]] with Dominik Strutzenberger in late 2010 before moving to Germany and debuting a new artistic persona, Merlin Dietrich.
For a year starting in 2009 Farrar attended training with the German group Gay Love Spirit. During this time he became an [[erotic massage|erotic masseur]] and conceptual artist, taking the name Anatole Gribsby.<ref name="Contact Me"/> Hoping to create a scandal to further his career, he produced alternative souvenir plates for the [[Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton|royal wedding]] of [[Prince William]] and [[Kate Middleton]], which featured the would-be Duchess of Cambridge [[Pegging (sexual practice)|pegging]] her groom.<ref name="Anatole"/>

⚫
In 2010 Farrar's play ''Relax'' was performed at the [[Warehouse Theatre]], [[Croydon]]. It followed a [[bed and breakfast]] proprietor who gets his guests drunk and then rapes them. Matt Boothman, writing for [[The British Theatre Guide]], wrote that the play lacked the "sensitivity" necessary to address the play's themes of [[sexual predation]] and [[mental illness]].<ref name="Relax"/> Afterwards Farrar began to concentrate on reviving his musical career, working on a [[mini-LP]] with Dominik Strutzenberger in late 2010 before moving to Germany and taking the persona Merlin Dietrich.<ref name="Contact Me"/>


==References==
==References==
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<ref name="Contact Me">{{cite web|title=Contact Me |url=http://www.psychodrome.co.uk/Robert-Farrar-s-biog-Contact-me |last=Farrar|first=Robert |accessdate=24 January 2014|archivedate=24 January 2014 |work=Psychodrome.co.uk |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6Mrrz4akT}}</ref>
<ref name="Contact Me">{{cite web|title=Contact Me |url=http://www.psychodrome.co.uk/Robert-Farrar-s-biog-Contact-me |last=Farrar|first=Robert |accessdate=24 January 2014|archivedate=24 January 2014 |work=Psychodrome.co.uk |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6Mrrz4akT}}</ref>

<ref name="Anatole">{{cite web|title=Anatole Gribsby |url=http://www.psychodrome.co.uk/Anatole-Gribsby |last=Farrar|first=Robert |accessdate=24 January 2014|archivedate=24 January 2014 |work=Psychodrome.co.uk |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6Mrsahl7P}}</ref>


<ref name="Andrews">{{cite news|title=The Arts: Yah, boo, hiss to the evil toxic wastrels: Cinema: Nigel Andrews enjoys getting all steamed up as personal injuries lawyer John Travolta finds his soul |work=Financial Times |location=London |date=8 April 1999 |page=24 |last=Andrews |first=Nigel}}</ref>
<ref name="Andrews">{{cite news|title=The Arts: Yah, boo, hiss to the evil toxic wastrels: Cinema: Nigel Andrews enjoys getting all steamed up as personal injuries lawyer John Travolta finds his soul |work=Financial Times |location=London |date=8 April 1999 |page=24 |last=Andrews |first=Nigel}}</ref>
Line 50: Line 46:
<ref name="Patterson">{{cite book|title=Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide |chapter=Rose Troche |url=http://books.google.co.id/books?id=ifl0AkO-KeIC |last=Patterson |first=Hannah |publisher=Wallflower |year=2002 |isbn=9781903364529 |page=540}}</ref>
<ref name="Patterson">{{cite book|title=Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide |chapter=Rose Troche |url=http://books.google.co.id/books?id=ifl0AkO-KeIC |last=Patterson |first=Hannah |publisher=Wallflower |year=2002 |isbn=9781903364529 |page=540}}</ref>


<ref name="Relax">{{cite web|title=Relax |url=http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/relax-rev |last=Boothman|first=Matt |work=British Theatre Guide |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6MrjFvTnh |archivedate=24 January 2014 |accessdate=24 January 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="Relax">{{cite web|title=Relax |url= http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsF/farrar-robert.html </ref>
<ref name="Relax Review">{{cite web|title=Relax |url=http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/relax-rev |last=Boothman|first=Matt |work=British Theatre Guide |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6MrjFvTnh |archivedate=24 January 2014 |accessdate=24 January 2014}}</ref>


<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite news|title=Wild and Wet |work=The Guardian |date=15 May 1998 |page=B9}}</ref>
<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite news|title=Wild and Wet |work=The Guardian |date=15 May 1998 |page=B9}}</ref>
Line 56: Line 54:
}}
}}
==External links==
==External links==

*[http://psychodrome.co.uk/ Personal web site]
*{{IMDb name|0268138}}
*{{IMDb name|0268138}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2010}}

Revision as of 16:19, 11 March 2014

For the 16th-century politician, see Robert Farrar (MP).

Robert Farrar (born c. 1960;) is a British writer and musician.

Biography

Farrar was born in London c. 1960. The grandson of playwright Kenneth Horne through his mother, Judith, Farrar read the older man's oeuvre while still a teenager. This inspired him to write his first stage play, entitled Drawing-Room Tragedy, which Farrar and some friends performed at school in 1975 (shortly after Horne's death).[1] Another stage play was performed the following year, on the BBC television series It's Child's Play.[2] In the early 1980s he spent time living in Berlin,[2] and in 1981 he directed the musical Comfort and Hygiene with Adrian Hope. M. G. Myer of The Guardian described it as "Cabaret and The Rocky Horror Show rewritten by Brecht and Weill after they had been watching Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy."[3]

In 1983 Farrar established a band called The Mystery Girls. Wearing women's make-up with men's clothing that was "glammed up to the point of surreality", the band performed live in various venues and released a single, "Ash In Drag", with A&M Records; they also performed on The Old Grey Whistle Test. However, the single did not satisfy the commercial expectations, so A&M ended it's relationship with the band. In 1986, "traumatised" by A&M's management, Farrar returned his attentions to his writing career. The Mystery Girls did not formally disband until 1991.[4]

Farrar wrote his first full-length novel, State of Independence, while the Mystery Girls were still a group; he had previously written several novellas. Published in 1993 by Gay Men's Press, State of Independence was Farrar's successful attempt to force himself to come out of the closet and followed a young man in his attempts to come out. A novella, Watch That Man, was written in 1989 and published in German as Der Coolste Killer in 1997.[5] In 1997 the novella was adapted by Farrar and Howard Franklin into a film directed by Jon Amiel entitled The Man Who Knew Too Little,[6] in which an American tourist in London is inadvertently dragged into an attempt to reignite the Cold War.[7] Farrar describes it as his greatest commercial success to date.[5]

One of Farrar's screenplays was filmed by Rose Troche in 1998. Entitled Bedrooms and Hallways and starring Kevin McKidd as an openly gay man who is an unexpected source of conflict and confusion in a group of nominally heterosexual men, the film also featured Farrar in a cameo as a man at a bus stop.[6] The film received mixed reviews. Nigel Andrews of Financial Times summarised the film as "A loves B loves C loves D until the audience, slipping towards coma, goes zzz" owing to the script being unable to "convert flippancy to wit".[8] Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that the film kept its plot lines "in the air" well and praised its exploration of sexuality, but claimed that it "lost its nerve" towards the end, "mechanically" matchmaking the characters at the climax.[9] Hannah Patterson in Contemporary North American Film Directors reviewed it more positively, describing Bedrooms and Hallways as "a pacey, quirky film that explores the shifting boundaries of sexuality in an attempt to shatter any preconceived notions or prejudices".[10]

Farrar wrote and directed a short film, Sunday Morning, in 2001.[6] In Dictionnaire des codes homosexuels, Philippe Arino describes the film's gay couple as "a parody of a heterosexual couple pushed to the extreme" in the top's machismo and the bottom's submissiveness.[11] Farrar writes that the film allowed him to "reconnect with my underground roots and to let go of good taste".[12] In 2005 Farrar directed his second film, Donut, based on an anecdote from Phil Setren and starring Annabelle Apsion and Vincenzo Nicoli. The film was later adapted for the stage as part of Lovers From Hell, which also included Complex and Get The Guest. The story involves a sexual encounter (heterosexual in the film, homosexual in the play) in which one partner attempts to convince the other to eat a donut during sex.[12][13] Between 2004 and 2005 Farrar wrote two full length plays exploring aspects of Gay sexuality.[12][13]

In 2010 Farrar's play Relax was performed at the Warehouse Theatre, Croydon. "Relax" centred upon a "repressed" bed and breakfast proprietor who seduces a guest before claiming a disturbed twin brother was to blame.[14] Matt Boothman, writing for The British Theatre Guide, alleged that the play lacked the "sensitivity" necessary to address themes of sexual predation and mental illness, but .[15] Afterwards Farrar redirected his efforts toward his musical career, working on a mini-LP with Dominik Strutzenberger in late 2010 before moving to Germany and debuting a new artistic persona, Merlin Dietrich.

References

  1. ^ Farrar, Robert (2009). "Article: My grandfather Kenneth Horne, playwright". Psychodrome.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b Farrar, Robert. "Contact Me". Psychodrome.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  3. ^ Myer, M.G. (10 February 1981). "Comfort and Hygiene". The Guardian. p. 10.
  4. ^ Farrar, Robert. "The Mystery Girls, 1983-1991". Psychodrome.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  5. ^ a b Farrar, Robert. "Novels". Psychodrome.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "Filmography: Farrar, Robert". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  7. ^ "Wild and Wet". The Guardian. 15 May 1998. p. B9.
  8. ^ Andrews, Nigel (8 April 1999). "The Arts: Yah, boo, hiss to the evil toxic wastrels: Cinema: Nigel Andrews enjoys getting all steamed up as personal injuries lawyer John Travolta finds his soul". Financial Times. London. p. 24.
  9. ^ Holden, Stephen (2002). "Bedrooms and Hallways". The New York Times Film Reviews 1999-2000. Routledge. pp. 127–28. ISBN 9780415936965.
  10. ^ Patterson, Hannah (2002). "Rose Troche". Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide. Wallflower. p. 540. ISBN 9781903364529.
  11. ^ Ariño, Philippe (2008). Dictionnaire des codes homosexuels: ptie. I à W (in French). L'Harmattan. p. 38. ISBN 978-2-296-06677-9.
  12. ^ a b c Farrar, Robert. "Films". Psychodrome.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  13. ^ a b Farrar, Robert. "Playography". Psychodrome.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  14. ^ {{cite web|title=Relax |url= http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsF/farrar-robert.html
  15. ^ Boothman, Matt. "Relax". British Theatre Guide. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.

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