| AdminHistory | Christopher Fry [1907-2005] was an English playwright. He wrote his first play at the age of eleven, and after working as a schoolteacher until 1932, he founded the Tunbridge Wells Repertory Players. Fry's production 'A Boy with a Barrow' was staged in Steyning in 1938, and after followed 'The Tower', which was seen by T S Eliot. Eliot became a friend and was a considerable influence on him. During the Second World War Fry served as a non-combatant in the Pioneer Corps, and returned to writing plays in 1946. In 1948 the Arts Theatre Club performed his play 'The Lady's not for Burning', which later enjoyed a long run in the West End, starring John Gielgud and Pamela Brown. He wrote 'Venus Observed' and 'A Sleep for Prisoners' to be performed under Laurence Oliviers's management at the St James in the 1950s. Fry also wrote for the screen, including the screenplay for 'The Beggar's Opera' and rewriting parts of 'Ben Hur' by William Wyler. In 1962 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and a poll by the National Theatre voted 'The Lady's not for Burning' one of the hundred best plays of the twentieth century. |