Robert Holman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952 (1952) Guisborough, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | (aged 69) |
| Occupation | Playwright |
| Language | English |
Robert Holman (1952 – 3 December 2021) was a British dramatist whose work has been produced by theRoyal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and theRoyal Court Theatre, as well as in theWest End and elsewhere, since the 1970s.[1] He was a resident dramatist at both the RSC and theNational Theatre.[2][3]
Holman was brought up on a farm in North Yorkshire and worked as a bookshop assistant atPaddington station for three years after leaving school before receiving anArts Council bursary in 1974.[2] From then on, he wrote plays which have impressed critics, directors and actors,[4] without ever becoming what might be termed a fashionable writer.[1][4] His plays tend to concentrate on the emotional lives of seemingly ordinary people,[4] although he writes in his 1992 novelThe Amish Landscape that "Most people think they live ordinary lives, but nobody's life is ordinary, is it?"[5] Unlike more obviously politically committed writers – for exampleEdward Bond,Caryl Churchill orDavid Hare – Holman writes neither issue plays nor ones which lead audiences to predetermined ideological ends.[6] His plays are often set in specific landscapes, with scenes set out of doors preferred over domestic interiors.[7] Recurring tropes in his plays include the family, intergenerational relationships and meetings between strangers.[8] Academic commentary on Holman's work is scarce.[9] Critical reaction has wavered from the enthusiastic and respectful to the bemused,[9] the latter especially when his 1984 playOther Worlds featured a talking monkey.[1]
Holman's work has been produced at a variety of venues since the 1970s. The venues for the premieres of these plays tended to be subsidised new writing theatres such as the Royal Court and theBush Theatre, as well as the studio spaces of theRoyal Shakespeare Company.[1] In 1999, his trilogy of short playsMaking Noise Quietly was revived by theOxford Stage Company in theWest End at theWhitehall Theatre.[1] In 2003, as well as the premiere of a new play atChichester, there was a major retrospective of his work at theRoyal Exchange Theatre.[1] In 2008,Jonah and Otto premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre withIan McDiarmid and Andrew Sheridan. In 2012,Making Noise Quietly was revived at theDonmar Warehouse, directed byPeter Gill. In 2014,Jonah and Otto was revived at London'sPark Theatre, in a production directed by Tim Stark. In 2016,German Skerries was revived at theOrange Tree Theatre, in a production directed by Alice Hamilton.
Holman was an acknowledged inspiration for some of the younger generation of British playwrights, includingDavid Eldridge andSimon Stephens.[1] In 2010, the three men collaborated onThe Thousand Stars in the Sky,[10] performed at theLyric Hammersmith.[11] A documentary,Robert Holman, A Writer's Writer was made by the Donmar Warehouse, celebrating Holman's influence on younger writers includingDavid Eldridge,Simon Stephens,Samantha Ellis, andDuncan Macmillan.[12]
Holman died on 3 December 2021, at the age of 69.[13]
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