John Stephen Gerrard Jeffreys[1] (22 April 1950 – 17 September 2018)[2] was a Britishplaywright and playwriting teacher. He wrote original plays, films and play adaptations and also worked as translator. Jeffreys is best known for his playThe Libertine about theEarl of Rochester, which was performed at theSteppenwolf Theatre Company inChicago withJohn Malkovich as Rochester, and later adapted into afilm starring Malkovich andJohnny Depp.
Jeffreys attended theStationers' Company's School before going toUniversity of Southampton, graduating with an English literature degree in 1972.[3] In 1975 he started working at theRoyal Court Theatre inLondon as assistant electrician.[2] He began writing plays about the same time.[4]
His first play,Like Dolls or Angels (1977), won the Sunday Times Playwriting Award at theNational Student Drama Festival. He helped set up the touring company Pocket Theatre Cumbria, for which he wrote several plays. His 1982 adaptation ofHard Times for four actors was staged all over England and the United States.[4] Between 1987 and 1989 he wasArts Councilwriter-in-residence for thetouring theatre companyPaines Plough. His breakthrough as playwright was in 1989 when his playValued Friends at theHampstead Theatre in London won theEvening Standard Theatre Award andCritics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright. It was based on his experience sharing a basement flat in London's Earls Court with three others who were also working in theatre.
Starting in 1994, he worked as Literary Associate for theRoyal Court Theatre for eleven years, contributing to the development of plays such asMojo byJez Butterworth.[2] Here, he also gave playwriting workshops, which were attended by playwrights such asSimon Stephens,Roy Williams,April De Angelis andPoppy Corbett. Stephens later said about Jeffreys: "Stephen Jeffreys is as important a teacher as he is brilliant a writer. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to write the plays that I have written."[5] Jeffreys was commissioned to write a book on playwriting based on his workshops, which was not yet finished when he died in 2018. Completed by his friends, colleagues and widowAnnabel Arden, the book was published posthumously in 2019 byNick Hern Books.
Besides plays, Jeffreys wrote the filmsThe Libertine andDiana. He co-authored theBeatles musicalBackbeat and translatedThe Magic Flute for theEnglish National Opera.[5]
Jeffreys died on the 17th September, 2018 and his ashes were interred in the east side ofHighgate Cemetery on the 21st July 2021.[6]
His plays and screenplays include:
He was married to theatre and opera directorAnnabel Arden.[12]
