John Whiting
John Whiting (born November 15, 1917 in Salisbury , † June 16, 1963 in London ) was a British playwright .
life and work
John Whiting initially wanted to be an actor and attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. However, his career came to an end with the outbreak of World War II and Whiting became a soldier for five years. After the war he began to write plays. The comedy A Penny for a Song came out in 1951. With Saint's Day he won the playwright competition at the Festival of Britain in the same year . But despite this first recognition, he was denied success on the British stages. The other pieces also saw only a few performances. Whiting began writing for television and film.
In 1960 theater director and director Peter Hall commissioned him for the historical play Die Teufel . It premiered at Hall's Royal Shakespeare Company and finally brought Whiting the desired success. Whiting had prevailed as a playwright, but his early death did not allow further successes.
It was only after his death that he was assigned his place in theater history as the successor to TS Eliot and forerunner of Harold Pinter . The very symbolistic pieces, which break with the original stage realism, are now considered to pave the way for the absurd theater of Samuel Beckett .
In 1965 the John Whiting Award was established in honor of the playwright's life achievement, which is still awarded today.
Web links
- John Whiting in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Literature by and about John Whiting in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Whiting, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British playwright |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 15, 1917 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Salisbury |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 16, 1963 |
| Place of death | London |