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Terry Johnson

TERRY JOHNSON

  (1955 - )
Nationality:    British
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    The Agency (London) Ltd  represented by Katie Haines

Terry Johnson (born 20 December 1955) is a British dramatist and director working for stage, television and film. Educated at Birmingham University, he worked as an actor from 1971 to 1975, and has been active as a playwright since the early 1980s. Johnson's stage work has been produced around the world. He has won nine British Theatre awards including the Olivier Award for Best Comedy 1994 and 1999, Playwright of the Year 1995, Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Best New Play 1995, two Evening Standard Theatre Awards, the Writers Guild Award for Best Play 1995 and 1996, the Meyer-Whitworth Award 1993 and the John Whiting Award 1991. He has had many West End productions as director and/or writer including: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Hitchcock Blonde, Entertaining Mr Sloane, The Graduate, Dead Funny, Hysteria, Elton John's Glasses and The Memory of Water. At the Royal Court Theatre he directed Dumb Show by Joe Penhall and opened his play Piano/Forte. Johnson won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical for La Cage aux Folles. He has worked with Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, directing John Malkovich in The Libertine (nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Awards including Best Production) and Lost Land, both plays by Stephen Jeffreys. He has written and directed television drama that has been broadcast worldwide, most recently Not Only But Always for Channel 4, which won five International Award nominations, Best Film at Banff, and a BAFTA for Rhys Ifans. The film version of his play Insignificance (directed by Nicolas Roeg) was the official British entry at the Cannes Film Festival in 1985.

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

         Amabel         Bellevue         Chain Play, The         Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle And Dick         Cries From the Mammal House         Days Here So Dark         Dead Funny         Dead Guilty         Dreaming America         Graduate, The         Hitchcock Blonde         Hysteria - Fragments Of An Analysis Of An Obsessional Neurosis         Imagine Drowning         Insignificance         London Cuckolds, The         Mrs Henderson Presents         Piano/Forte         Strictly Ballroom - The Musical         Tuesday's Child         Uncle Vanya         Unsuitable For Adults
Amabel

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Birmingham University, Uk    

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Bellevue

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
On Tour     1983

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   

Music:
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Genre:
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Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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Chain Play, The

Synopsis:
One off performance of chain writing to celebrate the National theatre's 25th anniversary. a scene each from all the authors for a performance on one night

Notes:
Written By Terry Johnson, Philip Ridley, Charlotte Jones, Lee Hall, Sebastian Barry, Zinnie Harris, Kevin elyot, Nick Dear, Tanika Gupta, Frank McGuinness, Nick Stafford, Stephen Sondheim, Colin Teevan, Patrick Marber, David Lan, Sarah Daniels, Martin She

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Conceived and commissioned by angus Mackenchnie

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle And Dick

Synopsis:
the Carry On films were the ultimate British seaside postcard made flesh. This play is a tragicomic dissection of this end-of-the-pier institution.

Notes:
aka "Cor, Blimey!

1st Produced:

Organisations:
National Theatre, London

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Cries From the Mammal House

Synopsis:
cry of despair masquerading as a droll allegory about the closing down of a small English zoo.
- Carole Woddis, City Limits

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
Open-Hearted enterprises

1st Published:
in "Plays 1" Methuen, London, 1993   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Days Here So Dark

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Edinburgh     1981

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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Dead Funny

Synopsis:
at the centre of the play is a consultant gynaecologist in his late thirties whose marriage is as dead as the discarded organs he whips out of his women patients; around him are his old school friend Nick, Nick's bubbly wife Lisa, and his neighbour Brian, all fellow members of the dead funny club. about ordinary middle class people in Britain today trying to find some meaning in life.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Hampstead Theatre, London >>>     02 Feb 1994

Organisations:
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1st Published:

Music:
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Genre:
Comedy. - - Gay, theme/character full length

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Dead Guilty

Synopsis:
Revival

Notes:
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1st Produced:
New Vic, N Staffs     1999

Organisations:
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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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dreaming America

Synopsis:
What takes a man to the skies, and what brings him back down again? Movie mogul, aviator, recluse and richest-man-in-the-world Howard Hughes reflects on his life in a new play, a work-in-progress by award-winning playwright Terry Johnson

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Shoreditch Town Hall, London     08 Apr 2014

Organisations:
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
work in progress

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Graduate, The

Synopsis:
tale of sexual misadventure, teenage rebellion and mid-life angst.

Notes:
from novel by Charles Webb and screenplay by Calder Willingham And Buck Henry

1st Produced:
Gielgud, London     05 Apr 2000

Organisations:
John Reid and Sacha Brooks

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hitchcock Blonde

Synopsis:
a media lecturer and his female protege find some deteriorated Hitchcock footage. It would appear they had discovered some early rushes but what film were they for and who is the mysterious blonde?

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:

Music:
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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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Hysteria - Fragments Of An Analysis Of An Obsessional Neurosis

Hysteria - Fragments Of An Analysis Of An Obsessional Neurosis
When Sigmund Freud meets Salvador Dali two of the world's greatest and most eccentric minds collide. This outrageous comedy finds Freud in his quiet suburb of Hampstead where he hopes to spend his last days in peace. When Salvador Dali appears along with an attractive young student of Freud's work, all hell breaks loose. Why is Freud burning his latest publication? Why is Dali berating him? Why is there a naked woman in his closet? Why is he close to hysteria?

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Farce

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Imagine Drowning

Synopsis:
a Drama of secrecy, violence and sexual betrayal set in a bleak part of northern england. the strands of two intricate plots and time schemes weave together into a mysterious double helix of actions and counteractions.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Hampstead Theatre, London >>>     29 Jan 1991

Organisations:
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1st Published:

Music:
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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

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Genre:
comedy thriller

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Insignificance

Synopsis:
New York, 1953, beautiful film star, Nobel Prize winning scientist, baseball player and infamous senator meet for extraordinary confrontation

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
eSC

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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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London Cuckolds, The

Synopsis:
a playscript about a young rake who sexually plunders and pillages his way through London leaving a dozen angry cuckolds in his wake.

Notes:
Original Playwright - edward Ravenscroft

1st Produced:

Organisations:
National Theatre, London

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  14            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mrs Henderson Presents

Synopsis:
It's London, 1937, and recently-widowed eccentric, Laura Henderson, is looking for a way of spending her time and money when her attention falls on a run-down former cinema in Great Windmill Street. Hiring feisty impresario Vivian Van Damm to look after the newly renovated Windmill Theatre, the improbable duo present a bill of non-stop variety acts. But as war looms something more is required to boost morale and box office. . . When Mrs Henderson comes up with the idea of The Windmill Girls  glamorous young women posing as nude statues  audiences flock. And as the Blitz hits London, The Windmill provides a refuge for all, boasting the spirit-raising slogan "We Never Close".

Notes:
book by Terry Johnson, lyrics by Don Black, music by George Fento and Simon Chamberlain. Based on the motion picture original screenplay by Martin Sherman produced by Heyman Hoskins and Pathe

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
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Booksellers:

Genre:
musical

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Piano/Forte

Synopsis:
On the eve of his wedding to the glamorous Dawn, Clifford's plans for a joyous celebration are thrown into turmoil by the return home of his estranged daughter Louise. Her plans to exact revenge prove to have explosive consequences.

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:

Music:
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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:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Strictly Ballroom - The Musical

Synopsis:
Strictly Ballroom - The Musical is the inspiring story of a championship ballroom dancer who defies all the rules to follow his heart. It features break-into-song numbers such as Love is in the Air, Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps and Time After Time, as well as several wonderful new songs by internationally acclaimed artists including Sia, David Foster and Eddie Perfect.

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   

Music:
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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:
musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Tuesday's Child

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written with Kate Lock, televised 1985

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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Uncle Vanya

Uncle Vanya
On an isolated country estate, Sonia and her Uncle Vanya are committed to a life of ceaseless toil. But when the ageing invalid Serebriakov and his bewilderingly beautiful young wife take up residence, a yearning envelops the household and disturbs the accustomed tedium. Friend and confidant Astrov grows lovelorn, Sonia's heart breaks and even Vanya falls under the spell. And so they fight, bond, belittle, lament, make peace and contemplate the odd murder. Featuring sex, comedy and unbearable sadness in nineteenth-century Russia, this version of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya was written and directed by Terry Johnson

Notes:
Original Playwright - Anton Chekhov

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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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

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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Unsuitable For Adults

Synopsis:
a story about women hurt by men. the characters are the seedy landlord of a ghastly pub in Paddington and his motley troupe of entertainers, who are a stripper, a female and male alternative comic and a bad alternative magician.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Faber and Faber, London, 1985   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Black Comedy Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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