Chris Ward (playwright)
Encyclopedia
Chris Ward is an English/Canadian playwright
, born in 1958.
From 1979-82 attended the London International Film School.
His play Demonstration of Affection was produced at the Arts Theatre
in 1981, starring Richard Jobson
of The Skids
.
From 1982 until 1996, he produced and directed his own work for Wet Paint Theatre Company, in various fringe and pub theatre venues in London, as well as performing dramatic scenes at punk
concerts. The company was distinguished by its mixing of professional trained actors with musicians (often from punk bands) and non-professional artistes. Amongst the performers who passed through the ranks of Wet Paint were, Simon Tedd (Simon Scardanelli), Honey Bane
, Beki Bondage
, Max Splodge
, Michelle Brigandage, Frank Schofield, George Cheex from !Action Pact! and Jenny Runacre
.
His play about Jean Vigo
, Love's A Revolution, was the basis of the 1998 film Vigo, directed by Julien Temple
. Previously, Ward had collaborated with Derek Jarman
on a number of unrealised film projects, including a film of Ward's play Camberwell Beauty.
Plastic Zion was revived at the White Bear Theatre in London in 2006.
In 2008 wrote and directed short film What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor (based on the life of artist/model Nina Hamnett
, self-styled Queen of Bohemia starring Siobhan Fahey
(ex singer with Bananarama
and Shakespeare's Sister
),the actor Clive Arrindel, Donny Tourette
(frontman with punk band Towers of London
) and Honey Bane
(former vocalist of the punk band Fatal Microbes
). The same year saw a revival of Demonstration of Affection at The Foundry in London.
FILMS (Shorts)
'Vosper's Boys ( 1981)
'What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor' (2008)
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, born in 1958.
From 1979-82 attended the London International Film School.
His play Demonstration of Affection was produced at the Arts Theatre
Arts Theatre
The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It now operates as the West End's smallest commercial receiving house.-History:...
in 1981, starring Richard Jobson
Richard Jobson (television presenter)
Richard Jobson is a Scottish singer-songwriter and film-maker, best known as a television presenter, film director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:...
of The Skids
The Skids
Skids were an art-punk/punk rock and new wave band from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, founded in 1977 by Stuart Adamson , William Simpson , Thomas Kellichan and Richard Jobson...
.
From 1982 until 1996, he produced and directed his own work for Wet Paint Theatre Company, in various fringe and pub theatre venues in London, as well as performing dramatic scenes at punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
concerts. The company was distinguished by its mixing of professional trained actors with musicians (often from punk bands) and non-professional artistes. Amongst the performers who passed through the ranks of Wet Paint were, Simon Tedd (Simon Scardanelli), Honey Bane
Honey Bane
Honey Bane is an English singer and actress, possibly best known for her 1981 UK Top 40 single "Turn Me On Turn Me Off"....
, Beki Bondage
Beki Bondage
Beki Bondage is a musician in the punk band, Vice Squad and was one of its founder members in 1978.She featured on the front cover of a number of influential music tabloids such as Melody Maker, NME, Smash Hits and Sounds.In 1983, she left Vice Squad to form the band Ligotage with Steve Roberts of...
, Max Splodge
Splodgenessabounds
Splodgenessabounds are an English punk rock band formed in Keston, Bromley, South London. The band is associated with the Oi! and Punk Pathetique genres. Their frontman is Max Splodge.-Career:...
, Michelle Brigandage, Frank Schofield, George Cheex from !Action Pact! and Jenny Runacre
Jenny Runacre
Jenny Runacre is an actress.Runacre was born in Cape Town, South Africa. She relocated to London as a child, attended The Actor's Workshop there, and trained in the Stanislavski System....
.
His play about Jean Vigo
Jean Vigo
Jean Vigo was a French film director, who helped establish poetic realism in film in the 1930s and was a posthumous influence on the French New Wave of the late 1950s and early 1960s.-Biography:...
, Love's A Revolution, was the basis of the 1998 film Vigo, directed by Julien Temple
Julien Temple
Julien Temple is an English film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including The Great Rock And Roll Swindle, Absolute Beginners and a documentary film about Glastonbury.-Temple...
. Previously, Ward had collaborated with Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman
Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman was an English film director, stage designer, diarist, artist, gardener and author.-Life:...
on a number of unrealised film projects, including a film of Ward's play Camberwell Beauty.
Plastic Zion was revived at the White Bear Theatre in London in 2006.
In 2008 wrote and directed short film What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor (based on the life of artist/model Nina Hamnett
Nina Hamnett
Nina Hamnett was a Welsh artist and writer, and an expert on sailors' chanteys, who became known as the Queen of Bohemia.- Early life :...
, self-styled Queen of Bohemia starring Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Fahey is an Irish musician and founding member of the 1980s British girl group Bananarama, and later formed the BRIT Award and Ivor Novello award winning musical outfit Shakespears Sister.-Career:Fahey was born the eldest of three daughters to Helen and...
(ex singer with Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
and Shakespeare's Sister
Shakespeare's Sister
Shakespeare's Sister can refer to:*Shakespears Sister, an alternative pop group featuring Siobhan Fahey*Shakespeare's Sister , a song by The Smiths*A section of the essay A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf...
),the actor Clive Arrindel, Donny Tourette
Donny Tourette
Donny Tourette is an English singer-songwriter best known for his work with the pop rock band Towers of London...
(frontman with punk band Towers of London
Towers of London
Towers of London are a Punk Rock n Roll band, fromLondon, England, who formed in 2004. Their music mixes elements of rock and heavy metal music with 1977 style British punk...
) and Honey Bane
Honey Bane
Honey Bane is an English singer and actress, possibly best known for her 1981 UK Top 40 single "Turn Me On Turn Me Off"....
(former vocalist of the punk band Fatal Microbes
Fatal Microbes
Fatal Microbes were a UK punk group that existed in the late 1970s. Honey Bane was the lead singer. Other band members were Gem Stone on drums, Pete Fender on guitar, and Scotty Boy Barker who was briefly replaced as bassist by It .In 1979, Small Wonder and XNTRIX Records co-released a split...
). The same year saw a revival of Demonstration of Affection at The Foundry in London.
Plays
- Vermouth (Pentameters TheatrePentameters TheatreThe Pentameters Theatre was founded in 1968 and is still run by artistic director Leonie Scott-Matthews, a well known Hampstead resident. It is a 60-seat venue and is a fringe theatre in the London Borough of Camden, located above the Three Horseshoes public house in Hampstead...
, 1980) - Demonstration of Affection (Cockpit/Arts Theatre, 1981)
- Castles in Spain (New End Theatre, 1981)
- Plastic Zion (Wet Paint, 1982)
- Camberwell Beauty (Wet Paint, 1982)
- Love's A Revolution, the life of Jean Vigo (Wet Paint, 1983)
- Amphibious Babies (Wet Paint, 1983)
- Cat Food (Wet Paint, 1984)
- Planet Suicide (Wet Paint, 1985)
- Furious Holiday (Wet Paint, 1987)
- Gods Drumming (Wet Paint, 1994)
- Ethel Lee and Grabs (Wet Paint, 1996)
FILMS (Shorts)
'Vosper's Boys ( 1981)
'What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor' (2008)