Peter Barnes

Peter Barnes, (January 10 1931–July 1 2004), was an English playwright and screenwriter. His most famous work is the play The Ruling Class, which was made into the 1972 film for which Peter O'Toole was nominated for the Oscar for best actor,

Mature works

Following his initial success Barnes wrote a series of plays offering apocalyptic visions of some of the most important moments of history:

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• Leonardo's Last Supper (1969) portrayed Leonardo da Vinci being prematurely declared dead, and his subsequent "resurrection" in a filthy charnel-house.
• The Bewitched (1974), which he produced with the RSC, showed the Spanish state attempting to produce an heir for Philip IV, who Barnes portrayed as impotent and an imbecile.
• Laughter! (1978) was his most controversial work, a double-bill that jumped from the reign of Ivan the Terrible to a satire based on the tedious bureaucracy required to sustain Auschwitz.
• Red Noses (1985), was perhaps his greatest play. It depicted a sprightly priest, originally played by Anthony Sher, who travelled around the plague-affected villages of 14th century France with a band of fools, known as God's Zanies, offering holy assistance. It was for this play that Barnes won his Olivier award.