A. C. H. Smith
Encyclopedia
A C.H. Smith is a British novelist and playwright from Kew
. He was educated at Hampton Grammar School and Cambridge (Corpus Christi College), where he read Modern Languages. Since 1960 his home has been in Bristol. From 1965–69 he was Senior Research Associate at Richard Hoggart’s Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at Birmingham University, and he has held visiting posts at the Universities of Bristol, Bournemouth, and Texas (Austin). From 1964–73 he did literary work for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and later some for the National Theatre. In 1971 Peter Brook invited him to Iran for three months to write a book about the theatre experiment that Brook and Ted Hughes were undertaking. He was a director of the Cheltenham Festival of Literature in 1978, 1979, and 1999. He has two daughters, Imogen and Sophie, and a son, Oliver.
Stories and poems for BBC
radio, Transatlantic Review
, The Listener, et al.
And a dozen shorter plays.
’s 6-part BBC docudrama The Newcomers (1964). Wrote and presented about 200 arts programmes and documentaries for HTV
and BBC
. Six plays televised. Three screenplays.
Kew
Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. Kew is best known for being the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace...
. He was educated at Hampton Grammar School and Cambridge (Corpus Christi College), where he read Modern Languages. Since 1960 his home has been in Bristol. From 1965–69 he was Senior Research Associate at Richard Hoggart’s Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at Birmingham University, and he has held visiting posts at the Universities of Bristol, Bournemouth, and Texas (Austin). From 1964–73 he did literary work for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and later some for the National Theatre. In 1971 Peter Brook invited him to Iran for three months to write a book about the theatre experiment that Brook and Ted Hughes were undertaking. He was a director of the Cheltenham Festival of Literature in 1978, 1979, and 1999. He has two daughters, Imogen and Sophie, and a son, Oliver.
Novels
- The Crowd (1965) ASINAsínAsín is a municipality located in the Cinco Villas comarca of the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, located a few kilometers west of Orés. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 106 inhabitants....
: B0006BWG2S - Zero Summer (1971) ISBN 0-413-44630-1
- Treatment (1976) ISBN 0-297-77073-X
- Sebastian the Navigator (1985) ISBN 0-297-78722-5
- The Dangerous Memoir of Citizen Sade, (2000) ISBN 1-85135-033-0
Thrillers
- The Jericho Gun (1977) ISBN 0-297-77415-8
- Extra Cover (1981) ISBN 0-297-77924-9
Novelizations
- Edward and Mrs. Simpson (British TV series) (1978) ISBN 0-297-77516-2
- The Dark Crystal (movie) (1982) ISBN 0-03-062436-3
- Wagner (movie) (1983) ISBN 3-453-01837-0
- Lady Jane (movie) (1985) ISBN 0-03-006168-7
- Labyrinth (movie) (1986) ISBN 0-03-007322-7
Non-fiction
- Orghast at Persepolis: An account of the experiment in theatre directed by Peter BrookPeter BrookPeter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
and written by Ted HughesTed HughesEdward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
(1972) ISBN 0-413-28830-7 and (1973) ISBN 0-670-52835-8 - Paper voices: The popular press and social change, 1935–1965 (with Elizabeth Immirzi and Trevor Blackwell) (1975) ISBN 0-7011-2062-2
- Dickens of London (biography, ghosted for Wolf MankowitzWolf MankowitzCyril Wolf Mankowitz was an English writer, playwright and screenwriter of Russian Jewish descent.-Early life:...
)(1976) ISBN 0-297-77159-0 - Poems, selected with a foreword by Tom StoppardTom StoppardSir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
(2009) ISBN 978-0-9560222-3-3
Stories and poems for BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio, Transatlantic Review
Transatlantic Review
Transatlantic Review was a literary journal founded and edited by Joseph F. McCrindle in 1959, and published at first in Rome, then London and New York...
, The Listener, et al.
Selected plays
- Albert’s Bridge Extended (co-written with Tom StoppardTom StoppardSir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
), Edinburgh Festival (1978) - Master of Letters, The Playwrights Company at the New Vic, Bristol (1979)
- God's Wonderful Railway, Bristol Old VicBristol Old VicThe Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
(1985) - Pericles (reconstruction of Shakespeare’s), Theater Emory, Atlanta (1987); Show of Strength Theatre CompanyShow of Strength Theatre CompanySheila Hannon and Nick Thomas co-founded the company in Bristol in 1986, and it began as a two-handed company performing in small touring venues. In 1989 the company moved into an upstairs reception room above the Hen and Chicken pub in Bedminster. In the succeeding years they produced five...
, Bristol (1990) - Up The Feeder, Down The Mouth, Bristol Old VicBristol Old VicThe Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
(1997, 2001) - Albert’s Bridge – the Musical (composer David LyonDavid LyonDavid Lyon directs the Surveillance Studies Centre, is a Professor of Sociology, holds a Queen’s Research Chair and is cross-appointed as a Professor in the Faculty of Law at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario....
), Shaftesbury Community Theatre (1999) - The Redcliffe Hermit, Head Heart + 2 Fingers, Bristol (2005)
- Doctor Love (Molière-based musical, composer David LyonDavid LyonDavid Lyon directs the Surveillance Studies Centre, is a Professor of Sociology, holds a Queen’s Research Chair and is cross-appointed as a Professor in the Faculty of Law at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario....
), Tobacco Factory, Bristol (2008)
And a dozen shorter plays.
TV and cinema
With wife, subject of John BoormanJohn Boorman
John Boorman is a British filmmaker who is a long time resident of Ireland and is best known for his feature films such as Point Blank, Deliverance, Zardoz, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, The General and The Tailor of Panama.-Early life:Boorman was born in Shepperton, Surrey,...
’s 6-part BBC docudrama The Newcomers (1964). Wrote and presented about 200 arts programmes and documentaries for HTV
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. Six plays televised. Three screenplays.