Livings, Henry

Livings, Henry

▪ British author
born Sept. 20, 1929, Prestwich, Lancashire, Eng.
died Feb. 20, 1998, Delph?

      British working-class playwright whose farces convey serious truths. His plays, which resemble parables, exhibit both a dazzling comic flair and an unexpected force and profundity that is heightened by his use of colloquial language.

      After attending the University of Liverpool, Livings was trained as an actor at Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, an experience that was to have a lasting impression on his work. His first stage play, Stop It, Whoever You Are, about a washroom attendant, was performed in 1961. Livings was unique in his dedication to the entertainment of his audiences. Among his other plays are The Quick and the Dead Quick (produced 1961); Big Soft Nellie (produced 1961), whose witless hero creates chaos in a radio repair shop; Nil Carborundum (produced 1962), about life in the Royal Air Force; and Eh? (1965), in which the hero—a teenage night watchman—is put in charge of a huge marine boiler, with disastrous consequences. Livings's later plays were generally less successful, though the Pongo Plays (1971; revised 1976), a collection of 12 short plays featuring the commonsense folk hero Sam Pongo, was performed outside London with some success. His autobiography, The Rough Side of the Boards, appeared in 1994.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Henry Cary (judge) — Henry Cary (12 February 1804 – 30 June 1870) was a barrister, classical scholar, Anglican clergyman, and first District Court Judge in the Colony of New South Wales.Cary was born in Kingsbury, Warwickshire, where his father was vicar. His parents …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Phillpotts — (1778 ndash;1869), Bishop of Exeter or Henry of Exeter, as he was often called, was England s longest serving bishop since the 12th century, (1830 ndash;1869), one of the most striking figures in the English Church of the 19th century and one of… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Chichele —     Henry Chichele     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Henry Chichele     (Or Chicheley)     Archbishop of Canterbury, b. at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, England, 1362; d. at Oxford, 12 April, 1441. He was the son of Thomas Chichele, a yeoman, and …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Henry Barclay Swete — (Bristol, March 141835 Hitchin1917) was an English Biblical scholar. He became Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge in 1890. He is known for his 1906 commentary on the Book of Revelation , and other works of exegesis.He was educated at King… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Compton — (1632 – July 7, 1713), English bishop, was the sixth and youngest son of the second earl of Northampton.He was educated at The Queen s College, Oxford, and then travelled in Europe. After the restoration of Charles II he became cornet in a… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Edward John Howard — (1795–1868), dean of Lichfield.Howard, youngest child of Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle, and brother of George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle, was born at Castle Howard, Yorkshire, on 14 Dec. 1795, and entered at Eton College in 1805. He… …   Wikipedia

  • Livings — This interesting and unusual surname is of Anglo Saxon origin, and derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name Leofing or Lyfing . The given name is the patronymic form of the Olde English personal names Leofa (masculine) and… …   Surnames reference

  • Henry Chichele — Infobox Archbishop of Canterbury Full name = Henry Chichele birth name = began=unknown consecration =translated 28 April 1414 term end = 12 April 1443 predecessor = Thomas Arundel successor = John Stafford birth date = 1363 or 1364 death date =… …   Wikipedia

  • Suppression of English Monasteries Under Henry VIII —     Suppression of English Monasteries under Henry VIII     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Suppression of English Monasteries under Henry VIII     From any point of view the destruction of the English monasteries by Henry VIII must be regarded as one… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Dobcross — Coordinates: 53°33′18″N 2°00′25″W / 53.555°N 2.007°W / 53.555; 2.007 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”