Richard Bean

Richard Anthony Bean (born 11 June 1956) is an English playwright.

For the banker in Kentucky, see Richard A. Bean.

Richard Bean
Born	(1956-06-11) 11 June 1956 Hull, England
Occupation	playwright
Nationality	English
Genre	Drama

Early years

Born in East Hull, Bean was educated at Hull Grammar School, and then studied social psychology at Loughborough University, graduating with a 2:1 BSc Hons. He then worked as an occupational psychologist,[1] having previously worked in a bread plant for a year and a half after leaving school.

Between 1989 and 1994, Bean also worked as a comedian and went on to be one of the writers and performers of the sketch show Control Group Six (BBC Radio) which was nominated for a Writers Guild Award.

Theatre career

In 1995 he wrote the libretto for Stephen McNeff's opera Paradise of Fools, which premiered at the Unicorn Theatre.

His first full-length play, Of Rats and Men, set in a psychology lab, was staged at the Canal Cafe Theatre in 1996 and went on to the Edinburgh Festival. He adapted it for BBC Radio, starring Anton Lesser, and it was nominated for a Sony Award.

Plays

• Of Rats and Men (1996) - premiered at the Canal Cafe Theatre
• Toast (1999) - premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Richard Wilson[2]
• Mr England (2000) - premiered at the Crucible Theatre Sheffield, directed by Paul Miller[3]
• The Mentalists (2002) - premiered at the National Theatre, directed by Sean Holmes[4]
• The God Botherers (2003) - premiered at the Bush Theatre, directed by Will Kerley[5]
• Smack Family Robinson (2003) - premiered at the Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, directed by Jeremy Herrin[6]
• Under the Whaleback (2003) - premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Richard Wilson[7]
• Honeymoon Suite (2004) - premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Paul Miller[8]
• Harvest (2005) - premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Wilson Milam[9]
• The Hypochondriac (2005) - a new version of Molière's play, premiered at the Almeida Theatre, directed by Lindsay Posner[10]
• Up on Roof (2006) - premiered at the Hull Truck Theatre, directed by Gareth Tudor Price[11]
• In the Club (2007) - premiered at the Hampstead Theatre, directed by David Grindley[12]
• The English Game (2008) - premiered at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, directed by Sean Holmes[13]
• Pub Quiz Is Life (2009) - premiered at the Hull Truck Theatre, directed by Gareth Tudor Price[14]
• England People Very Nice (2009) - premiered at the National Theatre, directed by Nicholas Hytner[15]
• House of Games (2010) - an adaptation of the film by David Mamet, premiered at the Almeida Theatre, directed by Lindsay Posner[16]
• The Big Fellah (2010) - premiered at the Lyric Hammersmith, directed by Max Stafford-Clark[17]
• The Heretic (2011) - premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Jeremy Herrin[18]
• One Man, Two Guvnors (2011) - premiered at the National Theatre, directed by Nicholas Hytner[19]
• Great Britain (2014) - premiered at the Royal National Theatre, directed by Nicholas Hytner[20]
• Pitcairn (2014) - premiered at the Chichester Festival Theatre, directed by Max Stafford-Clark[21]
• Made in Dagenham (2014) - premiered at the Adelphi Theatre, directed by Rupert Goold[22]
• The Nap (2016) - premiered at the Crucible Theatre - directed by Richard Wilson[23]
• Kiss Me (2016) - premiered at the Hampstead Theatre, directed by Anna Ledwich[24]
• The Hypocrite (2017) - premiered at Hull Truck Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Phillip Breen[25]
• Young Marx (2017) - with Clive Coleman, premiered at the Bridge Theatre, directed by Nicholas Hytner[26]
• Jack Absolute Flies Again (2020) - with Oliver Chris, due to premiere at the National Theatre, directed by Thea Sharrock

Awards

• Pearson Award 2002: Best New Play: Honeymoon Suite
• George Devine Award 2002: Best New Play: Under the Whaleback
• Olivier Awards 2005: Best New Play nomination for Harvest
• Evening Standard Awards 2005: Best New Play nomination for Harvest
• Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2005: Best New Play: Harvest
• TMA Awards 2006: Best New Play nomination for Up on Roof
• Evening Standard Awards 2011: Best New Play The Heretic and One Man, Two Guvnors (both plays joint winners)
• Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2011: Best New Play One Man, Two Guvnors

References

1. Aleks Sierz, "It's never too late to wow an audience Richard Bean has burst on the theatre scene with five acclaimed new plays in 18 months. But he's no bright young thing, the former punk, psychologist and stand-up comedian tells Aleks Sierz", Daily Telegraph, 6 January 2004.
2. Toast, Royal Court Theatre, 1999
3. Ian Shuttleworth (2000), "Mr England", The Financial Times
4. The Mentalists, National Theatre, 2002
5. The God Botherers, Bush Theatre, 2003, archived from the original on 9 June 2012
6. Alfred Hickling (29 May 2003), "Smack Family Robinson Review", The Guardian, London, retrieved 4 April 2020
7. "Under the Whaleback", Royal Court Theatre, 2003
8. Honeymoon Suite, Royal Court Theatre, 2004
9. Harvest, Royal Court Theatre, 2005
10. The Hypochondriac, Almeida, 2005, archived from the original on 13 December 2011
11. Michael Billington (6 March 2006), "Up on Roof Review", The Guardian, London
12. In the Club, Hampstead Theatre, 2007, archived from the original on 23 April 2012
13. Billington, Michael (14 May 2008), "The English Game Review", The Guardian, London
14. Alfred Hickling, "Pub Quiz Is Life", The Guardian, 14 September 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
15. England People Very Nice, National Theatre, 2009, archived from the original on 2 December 2011
16. House of Games, Almeida Theatre, 2010
17. "The Big Fellah", Lyric Theatre, 2010, archived from the original on 7 June 2012
18. The Heretic, Royal Court Theatre, 2011, archived from the original on 28 March 2014
19. One Man, Two Guvnors, National Theatre, 2011, archived from the original on 1 March 2011
20. "Great Britain". National Theatre. 2014. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
21. "Pitcairn". Chichester Festival Theatre. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
22. "Gemma Arterton to star in Made in Dagenham musical", BBC News, 3 March 2014, retrieved 4 April 2020
23. "Richard Bean's THE NAP, Starring Jack O'Connell, Begins Tonight at the Crucible". Broadway World. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
24. "Kiss Me", Hampstead Theatre website
25. "THEATREWORLD INTERNET MAGAZINE 2". THEATREWORLD INTERNET MAGAZINE 2. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
26. Mark Brown, "Karl Marx comedy to kick off first season at new London theatre", The Guardian, 19 April 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2020.

External links

• Theatre Record and its annual indexes
• British Theatre Guide for reviews and background information
• "Richard Bean: Hot new playwright", British Theatre Guide interview 2001
• "Richard Bean: Blurred Boundaries" (The English Game), The Daily Telegraph, 10 May 2008.