Stephen Jeffreys

Stephen Jeffreys was a British playwright and a key figure at the Royal Court Theatre, London, where he was Literary Associate for eleven years, then a member of its Council. His celebrated playwriting workshops have influenced many writers, and are distilled in his book, ***Playwriting: Structure, Character, How and What to Write***, published posthumously in 2019. Jeffreys' plays include ***The Libertine*** and ***I Just Stopped By to See the Man*** (Royal Court); ***Valued Friends*** and ***A Going Concern*** (Hampstead); ***Bugles at the Gates of Jalalabad*** (part of the Tricycle Theatre’s Great Game season about Afghanistan); ***The Convicts’ Opera*** (Out of Joint); ***Lost Land*** (starring John Malkovich, Steppenwolf, Chicago); ***The Art of War*** (Sydney Theatre Company) and ***A Jovial Crew*** (RSC). His adaptation of Dickens’ ***Hard Times*** has been performed all over the world. He wrote the films ***The Libertine*** (starring Johnny Depp) and ***Diana*** (starring Naomi Watts). He co-authored the Beatles musical *Backbeat* which opened at the Citizens Theatre and went on to seasons in London’s West End, Toronto and Los Angeles. He translated *The Magic Flute* for English National Opera in Simon McBurney’s production. **Photo** Martin Argles ()