Fry, Christopher

Fry, Christopher
orig. Christopher Harris

born Dec. 18, 1907, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Eng.

British playwright.

He worked as an actor, director, and playwright before achieving success with The Lady's Not for Burning (1948), an ironic medieval comedy in verse. Noted for his wit and his religious preoccupations, he wrote other verse plays, including Venus Observed (1950), A Sleep of Prisoners (1951), The Dark Is Light Enough (1954), and A Yard of Sun (1970). He also wrote several television plays and collaborated on the screenplays of Ben Hur (1959) and Barabbas (1962).

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▪ 2006
Christopher Fry Harris 
      British playwright and screenwriter (b. Dec. 18, 1907, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Eng.—d. June 30, 2005, Chichester, West Sussex, Eng.), wrote whimsical comedies, most notably The Lady's Not for Burning (1948), that were largely responsible for a verse-play revival on the post-World War II British stage. Fry, who used his maternal grandmother's maiden name, began his theatre career in the early 1930s and worked as an actor, director, and writer of plays and music before The Lady's Not for Burning brought him fame. A departure from the realistic theatrical style that was then prevalent, the ironic medieval comedy was written in blank verse and centred on a former soldier returned from the Hundred Years' War and a woman sentenced to be burned for witchcraft. Fry was greatly influenced by T.S. Eliot, and The Lady's Not for Burning was noted for its rich language and optimism, which became hallmarks of Fry's works. In 1949 John Gielgud directed and starred with a young Richard Burton in the West End production. Fry's other notable plays included Venus Observed (1950), which Laurence Olivier staged, A Sleep of Prisoners (1951), and The Dark Is Light Enough: A Winter Comedy (1954). By the late 1950s, verse dramas had fallen out of favour, and Fry wrote few original plays thereafter, with the notable exception of A Yard of Sun: A Summer Comedy (1970) focused on writing for television, radio, and film as well as adapting and translating plays, including Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt and works by Jean Anouilh and Jean Giraudoux. Fry contributed much of the screenplay for Ben-Hur (1959) but was not credited.

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▪ British author
original name  Christopher Harris  
born December 18, 1907, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England
died June 30, 2005, Chichester, West Sussex
 British writer of verse plays.

      Fry adopted his mother's surname after he became a schoolteacher at age 18, his father having died many years earlier. He was an actor, director, and writer of revues and plays before he gained fame as a playwright for The Lady's Not for Burning (1948), an ironic comedy set in medieval times whose heroine is charged with being a witch. A Phoenix Too Frequent (1946) retells a tale from Petronius Arbiter. The Boy with a Cart (1950), a story of St. Cuthman, is a legend of miracles and faith in the style of the mystery plays. A Sleep of Prisoners (1951) and The Dark Is Light Enough (1954) explore religious themes. After many years of translating and adapting plays—including Ring Round the Moon (produced 1950; adapted from Jean Anouilh's L'Invitation du château), Duel of Angels (produced 1963; adapted from Jean Giraudoux's Pour Lucrèce), and Peer Gynt (produced 1970; based on Johan Fillinger's translation of Henrik Ibsen's play)—Fry wrote A Yard of Sun, which was produced in 1970.

      Fry also collaborated on the screenplays of the epic films Ben Hur (1959) and Barabbas (1962), and he wrote plays for both radio and television. His Can You Find Me: A Family History was published in 1978.

Additional Reading
Emil Roy, Christopher Fry (1968); Glenda Leeming, Christopher Fry (1990).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Fry,Christopher — Fry (frī), Christopher. Born 1907. British playwright who revitalized modern verse drama with his comic and religious works, such as A Phoenix Too Frequent (1946) and Curtmantle (1962). * * * …   Universalium

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  • Christopher Fry — Born 18 December 1907(1907 12 18) Bristol, England Died 30 June 2005(2005 06 30) (aged 97) Chichester, England, Occupation Playwright, Screenwriter, Translator, and Critic …   Wikipedia

  • FRY (C.) — FRY CHRISTOPHER (1907 ) On a vu depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale une renaissance du théâtre britannique qu’il est à peine exagéré de comparer avec celle que connut le siècle élisabéthain. John Osborne, Arnold Wesker, Harold Pinter et… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Fry (surname) — Fry is the surname of several people:*Abi Fry *Adam Fry (born 1985), British footballer *Adrian Fry (born 1969), British musician *Arthur Fry *Barry Fry *Bertha Fry *Birkett D. Fry *C. B. Fry (1872 1956), British sportsman, politician, writer,… …   Wikipedia

  • Christopher Fry — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Fry. Christopher Fry (né le 12 décembre 1907 à Bristol, Gloucestershire, décédé le 30 janvier 2005 à Chichester dans le Sussex) était un dramaturge britannique et un directeur de théâtre. Il… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Christopher Fry — noun English dramatist noted for his comic verse dramas (born 1907) • Syn: ↑Fry • Instance Hypernyms: ↑dramatist, ↑playwright * * * Christopher Fry [Christopher Fry …   Useful english dictionary

  • Christopher — /kris teuh feuhr/, n. 1. Saint, died A.D. c250, Christian martyr. 2. a male given name: from a Greek word meaning Christ bearer. * * * (as used in expressions) Burckhardt Jacob Christopher Christopher Carson Christopher Saint Columbus Christopher …   Universalium

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