doollee banner
The Playwrights Database
contact doollee


John Barton

JOHN BARTON

  (1928 - )
Nationality:    British
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a

John Barton is a director and an advisory Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (which he helped found in 1959). He spent nearly 20 years developing his epic 'tantalus', which is an extension of his earlier work, 'the Greeks' (1980). He has adapted some twenty texts for the Theatre and has alsoo published, 'the First Stage', 'the Hollow Crown', 'the Wars of the Roses', 'the Greeks', 'La Ronde' and 'Playing Shakespeare'.

Buy Plays with Doollee

Each page of doollee.com has links to play/book outlets, either directly to the Publisher, through Stageplays.com and Amazon to the second hand and 1st editions of AbeBooks. These links will automatically take you to the relevant area obviating the need for further search.
AbeBooks.co.uk   AbeBooks.com   Stageplays.com   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.ca
whether you are a Playwright who wishes to make their entry definitive, an unlisted Playwright or a User with a tale to tell - we want to hear from you.
download WORD submission template

below is a list of John Barton's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Cain: A Mystery         Danton's Death         Dreamplay         Elektra         Greeks, The         Hollow Crown, The         La Ronde         Life's A Dream         Morte D'Arthur, The Poem By Thomas Malory         Shepherd's Play, The         Tantalus         Trojan Women, The         Waste         When Thou Art King

Cain: A Mystery

Synopsis:
Revival

Notes:
from Byron

1st Produced:
The Pit, London     1995

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Danton's Death

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Original Playwright - Georg Buchner. Translated And freely Adapted by John Holmstrom And John Barton

1st Produced:
Eton College School Hall     03 Mar 1956

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Dreamplay

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Original Playwright - August Strindberg

1st Produced:
The Pit, London     1985

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Elektra

Synopsis:
Blood cries for bllod

Notes:
Original Playwright - Sophocles. Translated with Kenneth Cavander Part of "The Toronto Fringe Festival" 2016

1st Produced:
Artscape YoungPlace, Toronto     2016

Organisations:
Stichommythia Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Translation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Greeks, The

Synopsis:
Ten Greek plays given as a trilogy

Notes:
translation by Kenneth Cavander

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Heinemann, London, 1981   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Hollow Crown, The

Synopsis:
Music, Poetry, Speeches, Letters and other writings in an entertainment by and about the Kings and Queens of england.

Notes:
devised by John Barton

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1962   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
theatrical anthology

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  1            Other:  musicians

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

La Ronde

Synopsis:
popular roundelay of love as practised in Old Vienna, each scene is interlinked

Notes:
Original Playwright - Arthur Schnitzler; Translation by Sue Davies

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Harmondsworth Penguin, London, 1982   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Life's A Dream

Life's A Dream
adapted in a multiplicity of verse forms

Notes:
Original Playwright - Pedro Calderon De La Barca. Adapted by John Barton And Adrian Mitchell

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Royal Shakespeare Company

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  extras

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Morte D'Arthur, The Poem By Thomas Malory

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Workshop Performance by John Barton

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Read by

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Shepherd's Play, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Traverse - Dep.256/Box 5/2

Top of Page Top of Page

Tantalus

Synopsis:
When theatre began, two and a half millenia ago in ancient Greece, it drew from a well of even older myths, the Great epic Cycle. these stories and characters from the beginning of our imagination inspired John Barton to write the great cycle of human life, Tantalus, an epic theatre myth for the new millenium, and one of the most ambitious theatrical ventures of our times

Notes:
adapted And Additional text by Colin Teevan

1st Produced:
Center Theatre, Denver, Co     01 Oct 2000

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Oberon, London,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  Large Cast

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Trojan Women, The

Synopsis:
their city destroyed and their husbands slaughtered. . . Held in a ruined courtyard, the captive Trojan women wait to learn their fates. Will Hecuba, Cassandra and Andromache reconcile their faith in the gods who failed to save them with their new-found lives as concubines and slaves? Direct from Utah, new physical interpretation examines the toll wrought upon the conqueror as well as the conquered, with both tragic and comedic brilliance. John Barton's gritty adaptation of Euripides' anti-way play.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Euripides

1st Produced:
C Venues - C Nova, Edinburgh Festival Fringe     01 Aug 2013

Organisations:
Dixie State University (Utah)

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
classical, tragedy 1 hour 5 minutes

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Waste

Synopsis:
Revival

Notes:
by H Granville Barker

1st Produced:
The Pit, London     1985

Organisations:

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

When Thou Art King

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     Performed ca.1971-3

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Lyceum - Dep.207/15

Top of Page Top of Page