I have begun to prioritize reading playwright biographies. Reading the biographies of writers is always inspiring. I have read many biographies of poets. Unfortunately, there are fewer biographies of playwrights. Right now I am reading Stewart Parker: A Life by Marilynn Richtarik (ISBN: 9780199695034). Stewart Parker was a Northern Irish playwright who lived in Belfast. He is primarily known today for the Stewart Parker Award which many contemporary Irish playwrights may have won. For example, Nancy Harris is a past recipient of The Stewart Parker Award for playwriting. Reading Stewart Parker’s biography is giving me a lot of information on “The Troubles” since he lived during this conflict and his plays attempt to address the roots of the sectarian violence. I have read only one of his plays so far, Pentecost, but I did buy a copy of Stewart Parker: Plays 1 to go with my copy of Stewart Parker: Plays 2 so I have lots of plays to read. I’m not too interested in Irish theater right now since I would rather explore Spanish language theater, but I had this biography lying around for a long time. I would be unable to read a biography of a Spanish playwright in Spanish.
After reading this biography I have a few more I could read; John Osborne, Harold Pinter, Anton Chekhov, and August Wilson. I will probably read the Harold Pinter biography next.
I have also begun to think about studying the farce and will be reading plays by Georges Feydeau and Alan Ayckbourn.
