Christopher Fry
Christopher Fry (born December 18, 1907 in Bristol as Christopher Harris , † June 30, 2005 in Chichester ) was a British writer and playwright .
Life
The son of a mission preacher and architect initially worked as a teacher. In 1927 he joined a theater company in Bath as an actor and director . Although he took up teaching again a short time later, the theater never let go of him. In the early 1930s he again directed a small theater group and was a theater critic. At the same time he began to write his own pieces. He has also translated pieces by Jean Anouilh and Jean Giraudoux .
Fry is best known for his witty verse comedies, in which, like Anouilh and TS Eliot, he combines playful lightness with a discerning observation of human existence. One of his most famous works is A Phoenix Too Many , a modern reception of the wandering legend about the widow of Ephesus , The Lady is not for Fire and Venus in the Light .
Fry also worked as a screenwriter and wrote the script for the adaptation of Lewis Wallace ' Ben Hur (1959, directed by William Wyler ) together with Karl Tunberg , Maxwell Anderson and Gore Vidal . In contrast to Tunberg, Anderson, Vidal and Fry were not mentioned in the opening credits. Fry was also jointly responsible for the scripts of the epic production Barabbas (director: Richard Fleischer ) and John Huston's lavish Bible adaptation.
During his visit to London in 1951, the poet Paul Celan saw a performance of Fry's play Sleep of Prisoners .
Bibliography (selection)
- 1946: A Phoenix Too Frequent
- 1946: The Firstborn
- 1949: The Lady's not for Burning
- 1949: Thor, with Angels
- 1950: Venus in the light (Venus Observed)
- 1954: The Dark is Light Enough
- 1970: A Yard of Sun
- Paradise Lost . Sacra rappresentatione (opera). Music (1976-78): Krzysztof Penderecki . Premiere 1978
Filmography (selection)
- 1953: The Beggar's Opera (The Beggar's Opera)
- 1959: Ben Hur
- 1961: Barabbas
Web links
- Literature by and about Christopher Fry in the catalog of the German National Library
- Christopher Fry in the Internet Broadway Database (English)
- Christopher Fry in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paul Celan, "Something utterly Personal". Letters 1934–1970. Selected, edited and commented by Barbara Wiedemann. Berlin 2019. p. 87.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Fry, Christopher |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Harris, Christopher (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British novelist and playwright |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 18, 1907 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bristol |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 30, 2005 |
| Place of death | Chichester |