James Martin Charlton

James Martin Charlton is an English playwright and theatre director. He was born in Romford, Greater London, United Kingdom in 1966.

His play "Fat Souls" won the 1992 International Playwriting Festival [ Warehouse ipf history [http://www.warehousetheatre.co.uk/ipfhistory.html] ] at Warehouse Theatre, Croydon, where it premièred in 1993. "Fat Souls" and the plays which followed it - "Groping in the Dark" and "Coming Up" - use verse dialogue, soliloquies, emblematic characterisation and Biblical imagery, all strapped to contemporary stories. The spiritual/anarchist strain in his writing continued in "Divine Vision", a biographical play about the relationship between William Blake and his patron, William Hayley, and a stage adaptation of John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress".

In 2001, his play "ecstasy + GRACE" attracted media attention [ Thorpe, Vanessa "Horror of Paedophilia is Acted on Stage", "The Observer", 25 February 2001 [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,4141993-102285,00.html] ] [ Halliburton, Rachel "Suffer the Little Children", "The Independent", 1 March 2001 [http://www.topcasinolist.net/article/blackjack/5918.html] ] due to its portrait of paedophilia and moral degeneracy. The play went on to receive a mauling by leading critics, [ Taylor, Paul, 'Theatre Review: Ecstasy + GRACE, Finborough Theatre', "The Independent" [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20010312/ai_n14378275] ] [ Gardner, Lynn, "Ecstasy and Grace", "The Guardian" [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,4150341-110430,00.html] ] [ Shuttleworth, Ian, "Review: ecstasy + GRACE", "The Financial Times", March 2001 [http://www.compulink.co.uk/~shutters/reviews/01021.htm] ] although other reviewers were more sympathetic. [Berkowitz, Gerald "Ecstasy + GRACE" "The Stage"/"London Theatre Guide" [http://www.theatreguidelondon.co.uk/reviews/ecstacy+grace01.htm] ] Charlton's subsequent plays include "I Really Must be Getting Off", a contemporary gay version of the country house play [ Benet Catty Productions [http://www.benetcatty.com/stage/gettingoff.htm] ] which went unreviewed by National critics.

Since 1996, Charlton has been Artistic Director of Friendly Fire Productions. [ Programme, "Groping in the Dark", Mermaid Theatre, 1996 [http://www.uktw.co.uk/dl/page.php?page=details&id=L1403573928&PHPSESSID=f5cdf9f76c80f41fe8792c5661fd2cdb] ] [ Programme, "Plastic Zion", White Bear Theatre, 2006 [http://extraextra.org/reviews%20Plastic%20Zion.htm] ] Friendly Fire's productions include "Gob" by Jim Kenworth starring ex-Take That star Jason Orange at The King's Head Theatre in 1999, which Charlton directed. He has also directed shows with casts of prisoners at HMP Maidstone, including The Who's Tommy.

He currently lectures in Scriptwriting at Middlesex University on their Creative Writing programme.

Plays

*"What Are Neighbours For?" (Fallen Angel, 1985)
*"Straight to the Top" (Etcetera Theatre, 1988)
*"More About the Language of Love" (New Copenhagen, 1991)
*"Fat Souls" (Warehouse Theatre, 1993)
*"The World & his Wife" (White Bear Theatre, 1995)
*"Groping in the Dark" (Warehouse Theatre/Mermaid Theatre, 1996)
*"Coming Up" (Warehouse Theatre, 1997)
*"Divine Vision" (Swedenborg Hall, 2000)
*"The Pilgrim's Progress" (after Bunyan) (Royal Shakespeare Company commission, 2000)
*"ecstacy + GRACE" (Finborough Theatre, 2001)
*"Desires of Frankenstein" (Open Air Theatre, 2001/Pleasance Theatre Edinburgh, 2002)
*"I Really Must Be Getting Off" (White Bear Theatre, 2005)
*"Whatever" (Soho Theatre workshop, 2005)

ee also

Pedophilia and child sexual abuse in the theatre

References

External links

*Middlesex University [http://www.mdx.ac.uk/subjects/mcc/cmw/staff/charlton.htm]
*Author's Web page with review snippets [http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/southbank/theatre/234/]