Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett (born May 9, 1934) is an English writer and actor.

Related Topics:
May 9 - 1934

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Born in Leeds, Bennett was schooled at Leeds Modern School (a state grammar school), learnt Russian at the Joint Services School for Linguists during his National Service, and gained a first-class degree in history from Exeter College at The University of Oxford.

Related Topics:
Leeds - Russian - Joint Services School for Linguists - National Service - Exeter College - The University of Oxford

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In August 1960, Bennett, along with Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller, and Peter Cook, achieved instant fame by appearing at the Edinburgh Festival in the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe. After the Festival, the show continued in London and New York. Bennett's first stage play, Forty Years On, was produced in 1968.

Related Topics:
1960 - Dudley Moore - Jonathan Miller - Peter Cook - Edinburgh Festival - Satirical - Beyond the Fringe - London - New York - 1968

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Many of Bennett's characters are unfortunate and downtrodden, as in the Talking Heads series of monologues for television which were later performed at the Comedy Theatre in London in 1992. This was a sextet of poignantly comic pieces, each of which portrayed several stages in the character's decline from their initial state of denial or ignorance of their predicament, through their slow realization of the hopelessness of their situation, to a typically bleak Bennett conclusion. A second set of six followed a decade later.

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Many of his plays draw on his background in Leeds and while he is celebrated for his acute observations of northern speech, the range and daring of his work is often undervalued - his television play The Old Crowd, for example includes shots of the director and technical crew, while his stage play The Lady In The Van includes two characters named Alan Bennett.

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In 1998 Bennett refused an honorary doctorate from his Oxford college, in protest at its links with the press baron Rupert Murdoch.

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1998 - Rupert Murdoch

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In February 2005 his critically-acclaimed The History Boys http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=7785&cc=1 won three Olivier Awards, for Best New Play, Best Actor (Richard Griffiths), and Best Direction (Nicholas Hytner), having previously won Critics' Circle and Evening Standard Awards for Best Actor and Best Play. Bennett himself received an Olivier for Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre. http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/low_res/story.jsp?story=613121&host=5&dir=500

Related Topics:
The History Boys - Olivier Awards - Richard Griffiths - Nicholas Hytner - Critics' Circle - Evening Standard Awards

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In September 2005, Bennett revealed that, in 1997, he underwent treatment for cancer, and described the illness as a "bore". His chances of survival were given as being "much less" than 50%. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4277976.stm

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