Roy Williams (playwright)
Roy Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 January 1968 Fulham, London |
| Occupation | Playwright |
| Nationality | British |
 Literature portal | |
Roy Samuel Williams, OBE (born 5 January 1968), is an English playwright.[1] Williams has many awards including the George Devine Award for Lift Off, the 2001 Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright for his play Clubland, the 2002 BAFTA Award for Best Schools Drama for Offside and 2004 South Bank Show Arts Council Decibel Award. Most recently his play Sucker Punch was nominated for the Evening Standard Award for Best New Play and the Olivier Award for Best New Play 2011. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours[2] and sits on the board of trustees for Theatre Centre.[3]
Early life
Williams was born and brought up in Notting Hill, London, the youngest of four siblings in a single-parent home, with his mother working as a nurse after his father moved to the US. Williams decided to work in theatre after being tutored by the writer Don Kinch when he was failing in school and attended some rehearsals in a black theatrical company Kinch ran. After leaving school at the age of 18 Williams did various jobs, including working in McDonald's and in a props warehouse. He was 25 years old when he took a theatre-writing degree at Rose Bruford College and has worked ever since as a writer.[4]
His first full-length play was The No Boys Cricket Club, which premiered in 1996 at Theatre Royal Stratford East.[5] Williams has done work in television, including adapting his own play Fallout, and also co-wrote the script for the 2014 British film Fast Girls.
Work
His plays include:
- Soul (2016)[6]
- Wildefire (2014)[7]
- Advice for the Young at Heart (2013), Theatre Centre[8]
- The Interrogation (three-play series) (2012), BBC Radio 4
- A contribution to Sixty-Six Books (multi-authored piece) (2011), Bush Theatre[9]
- Sucker Punch (2010), Royal Court Theatre downstairs[10]
- Baby Girl (2007), National Theatre, part of the Connections season[11]
- Days of Significance (2007)
- Joe Guy (2007)
- Fallout (2003), Royal Court Theatre downstairs[12]
- Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads (2002), National Theatre[13]
- Clubland (2001), Royal Court Theatre upstairs[14]
- Souls (2000)
- The Gift (2000)
- Local Boy (2000)
- Lift Off (1999)
- Starstruck (1998)
- No Boys Cricket Club (1996), Theatre Royal Stratford East
References
- ^ Playwright Profile.
- ^ Queen's Birthday Honours List.
- ^ Theatre Centre board members
- ^ Miranda Sawyer, "Taking the stage" (interview), The Guardian, 10 February 2008.
- ^ Simon Hattenstone, "Roy Williams: Confessions of an uncool kid"], The Guardian, 7 June 2010.
- ^ Hannah Ellis-Petersen, "Let's put it on: Roy Williams on Soul, his play about Marvin Gaye", The Guardian, 30 November 2015.
- ^ Johanna Thomas-Corr, "Playwright Roy Williams: 'The time just seemed right to put the Metropolitan Police in the spotlight'", Evening Standard, 28 October 2014.
- ^ Theatre Centre
- ^ Bush Theatre.
- ^ Sucker Punch.
- ^ Baby Girl.
- ^ Fallout.
- ^ Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads.
- ^ Clubland.
