David Campton
Encyclopedia
David Campton was a prolific British
dramatist who wrote plays for the stage, radio, and cinema for thirty-five years. "He was one of the first British dramatists to write in the style of the Theatre of the Absurd
".
In performance reviews of productions of Campton's play The Lunatic View: A Comedy of Menace and The Birthday Party
, by Harold Pinter
, published in the short-lived British drama magazine Encore, drama critic Irving Wardle
borrowed the term "comedy of menace
" from the subtitle of Campton's play, popularizing the term "comedies of menace".
Campton addressed the matter of critics' "pigeonholing" his work:
, in 1924. He was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys
. From 1942 to 1945, he served in the RAF
, and then, for another year, in the Fleet Air Arm
. He worked as a clerk in the City of Leicester Department of Education until 1949 and then moved to the East Midlands
Gas Board, where he worked until 1956.
Campton worked with Stephen Joseph
in developing Theatre-in-the-Round in Britain
and played a major role in establishing theatre-in-the-rounds in both Scarborough, North Yorkshire (now in the well-known Stephen Joseph Theatre
, a converted 1930's Odeon
cinema) and Staffordshire
in the English West Midlands. He worked as writer, actor and also regularly ran the box-office and front-of-house.
Campton always credited himself with giving a young Alan Ayckbourn
one of his first jobs at Scarborough with the immortal words, 'watch me my boy and one day you might become a playwright like me!' Ayckbourn later became Artistic Director
of the Stephen Joseph Theatre and an internationally renowned playwright
.
Campton was always keen to encourage those interested in drama, even amateurs. At age seventy-six, Campton directed and appeared in one of the plays he had previously written for Stephen Joseph at Scarborough, Passport to Florence, with a group of amateurs, ACTWS, in Leicester. This may have been his final performance on stage.
One-act plays
Dramatic sketch
Anthologies
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
dramatist who wrote plays for the stage, radio, and cinema for thirty-five years. "He was one of the first British dramatists to write in the style of the Theatre of the Absurd
Theatre of the Absurd
The Theatre of the Absurd is a designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction, written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved from their work...
".
In performance reviews of productions of Campton's play The Lunatic View: A Comedy of Menace and The Birthday Party
The Birthday Party (play)
The Birthday Party is the first full-length play by Harold Pinter and one of Pinter's best-known and most-frequently performed plays...
, by Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
, published in the short-lived British drama magazine Encore, drama critic Irving Wardle
Irving Wardle
John Irving Wardle is an English writer and theatre critic.He was born on 20 July 1929 in Manchester, Lancashire, the son of John Wardle and his wife Nellie . His father was drama critic on the Bolton Evening News, and a regular performer at the Bolton Little Theatre...
borrowed the term "comedy of menace
Comedy of menace
Comedy of menace is a term used to describe the plays of David Campton, Nigel Dennis, N. F. Simpson, and Harold Pinter by drama critic Irving Wardle, borrowed from the subtitle of Campton's play The Lunatic View: A Comedy of Menace, in reviewing Pinter's and Campton's plays in Encore in 1958...
" from the subtitle of Campton's play, popularizing the term "comedies of menace".
Campton addressed the matter of critics' "pigeonholing" his work:
Biography
Campton was born in LeicesterLeicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, in 1924. He was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys
Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College
Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College, or "Q.E" is a sixth form college in Leicester, England.-Admissions:There are 1,865 full-time 16-18 year-old students and 140 teaching staff. More than 40 subjects are offered at A Level. Somewhat against the national trend Mathematics and Sciences account...
. From 1942 to 1945, he served in the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, and then, for another year, in the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
. He worked as a clerk in the City of Leicester Department of Education until 1949 and then moved to the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
Gas Board, where he worked until 1956.
Campton worked with Stephen Joseph
Stephen Joseph
Stephen Joseph was an English stage director and pioneer of "theatre in the round".-Life:Stephen Joseph was born in London, the son of Hermione Gingold and the publisher Michael Joseph . He was educated at Clayesmore School in Dorset...
in developing Theatre-in-the-Round in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and played a major role in establishing theatre-in-the-rounds in both Scarborough, North Yorkshire (now in the well-known Stephen Joseph Theatre
Stephen Joseph Theatre
The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain....
, a converted 1930's Odeon
Odeon
Odea, Odeon, or Odeum may refer to:* Odeon , ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions-Modern era:* Cineplex Odeon, North America...
cinema) and Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
in the English West Midlands. He worked as writer, actor and also regularly ran the box-office and front-of-house.
Campton always credited himself with giving a young Alan Ayckbourn
Alan Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
one of his first jobs at Scarborough with the immortal words, 'watch me my boy and one day you might become a playwright like me!' Ayckbourn later became Artistic Director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
of the Stephen Joseph Theatre and an internationally renowned playwright
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...
.
Campton was always keen to encourage those interested in drama, even amateurs. At age seventy-six, Campton directed and appeared in one of the plays he had previously written for Stephen Joseph at Scarborough, Passport to Florence, with a group of amateurs, ACTWS, in Leicester. This may have been his final performance on stage.
Awards
- First prize in a competition sponsored by the Tavistock Repertory Company.
- British Arts Council bursary (1958)
- British Theatre Association prizes (1975, 1978, 1985)
Works
Full-length plays- The Lunatic View: A Comedy of Menace (1958), which includes:
- A Comedy of Menace
- Then ...
- Memento Mori
- Getting and Spending (produced 1957)
- The Life and Death of Almost Everybody
One-act plays
- After Midnight––Before Dawn (produced 1978)
- The Cagebirds (produced 1971)
- Can You Hear the Music? (produced 1988)
- Cards, Cups and Crystal Balls (produced 1985)
- Do-It-Yourself-Frankenstein Outfit (produced 1975)
- Evergreens (produced)
- Everybody's Friend (produced 1975)
- Little Brother, Little Sister (produced 1970)
- Memento Mori (produced 1957)
- Mrs Meadowsweet (produced 1985)
- Now and Then (produced 1970)
- Our Branch in Brussels (produced 1986)
- Out of the Flying Pan (produced 1970)
- Parcel (broadcast 1968)
- Permission to Cry
- Relics (produced 1973)
- Right Place (produced 1970)
- Singing in the Wilderness (produced 1985)
- A Smell of Burning (produced 1957)
- Smile (produced 1990)
- Then (produced 1980)
- Us and Them (1972)
- What Are You Doing Here?
- Who Calls? (produced 1979)
- Winter of 1917 (produced 1989)
- Some Of My Best Friends Are Smiths
Dramatic sketch
- Resting Place (produced 1969, as part of the revue entitled Mixed Doubles)
Anthologies
- Laughter and Fear. London: Blackie, 1969. ISBN 0-216-89077-2 (10). ISBN 978-0-216-89077-0 (13).
External links
- "David Campton, Playwright". Samuel French London.
- "David Campton, 1924– ". Doollee.com.