Ronald Harwood has been a major force in British dramatic writing for decades. He came to the country in 1951 from South Africa, and after a stint at RADA cut his theatrical teeth as a member of Donald Wolfit's acting-company in the early Fifties. In the next decade he turned to writing, and enjoyed some West End success with A FAMILY (1978) as well as the libretto for the musical based on J. B. Priestley's THE GOOD COMPANIONS (1974). He also presented the television books program READ ALL ABOUT IT when Melvyn (now Lord) Bragg moved on.
Harwood's first real major success was THE DRESSER (1980), which was later filmed and revived on television in 2015. From then on he never looked back, writing a string of successful plays and screenplays, culminating in the Oscar-winning screenplay for THE PIANIST (2002). Still active as a writer in his eighth decade, Harwood believes that most of his new work has now been overlooked by the British theatrical establishment; that he is somehow passé despite his achievements.
This hour-long interview with former Royal National Theatre director Sir Richard Eyre was not without its moments of asperity. It's clear that Harwood has sometimes has spiky relationships with his fellow-workers, especially directors and actors. There were moments when his outwardly genial replies to Eyre's questions were tinged with a certain amount of reproof. It's significant that despite his reputation, Harwood has never had one of his plays produced at the National or the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Harwood also proved a political animal, someone vigorously fighting for equal rights as well as equality for all religions. Although rewarded for his efforts with a knighthood, the honor does not appear to have dimmed his determination to speak out against injustice wherever possible.
Harwood's first real major success was THE DRESSER (1980), which was later filmed and revived on television in 2015. From then on he never looked back, writing a string of successful plays and screenplays, culminating in the Oscar-winning screenplay for THE PIANIST (2002). Still active as a writer in his eighth decade, Harwood believes that most of his new work has now been overlooked by the British theatrical establishment; that he is somehow passé despite his achievements.
This hour-long interview with former Royal National Theatre director Sir Richard Eyre was not without its moments of asperity. It's clear that Harwood has sometimes has spiky relationships with his fellow-workers, especially directors and actors. There were moments when his outwardly genial replies to Eyre's questions were tinged with a certain amount of reproof. It's significant that despite his reputation, Harwood has never had one of his plays produced at the National or the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Harwood also proved a political animal, someone vigorously fighting for equal rights as well as equality for all religions. Although rewarded for his efforts with a knighthood, the honor does not appear to have dimmed his determination to speak out against injustice wherever possible.