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Barrie Keeffe
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Barrie Colin Keeffe (31 October 1945 – 10 December 2019) was an English dramatist and screenwriter. Best known for his screenplay for the gangster classic The Long Good Friday (1980), starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren, Keeffe demonstrated an interest in a variety of social and political issues, including disaffected youth and criminality.[1]
Key Information
Career
[edit]Born in London, Keeffe grew up in Forest Gate, in the east of the city, the son of Edward Keeffe, a telecommunications engineer, and his wife, Constance (née Marsh).[1] His ancestors, the O'Keeffes, had arrived from County Cork in the mid-19th century. He had a sister, Sue. Keeffe was educated at East Ham Grammar School.[2] During the holidays he acted with the National Youth Theatre.
From 1964 to 1975, he worked as a journalist with The Stratford Express (which closed in 2011).[3] Some of his writing work, including The Long Good Friday, was inspired by stories he encountered as a journalist, and while drinking at the Two Puddings pub on Stratford Broadway.
He published his debut novel, The Gadabout, in 1969.[2][4] His first television play, The Substitute, was produced in 1972, and his first theatre play, Only a Game, the following year. He became a full-time dramatic author in 1975.
He was writer-in-residence at the Shaw Theatre in 1977, resident playwright with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1978, and associate writer at the Theatre Royal Stratford East from 1986 to 1991. During that period, Keeffe delivered "fifteen years of solid achievement at the top of his game".[1] In 2007, he took the helm at the Collaldra Writers School and Retreat, Venice. In 2011, he became writer in residence at London's Kingston University.
Keeffe's plays have been produced in 26 countries, and his screenwriting credits include The Long Good Friday (1981) and Sus (2010), an adaptation of his 1979 play of the same name.
He was represented by The Agency, London.
Themes and revivals
[edit]Keeffe's writing explores social and political issues, including unemployment, institutionalised racism in the police (Sus), and class (Gimme Shelter). Better Times focuses on the 1921 Poplar Rates Rebellion.[5] In Barbarians, Keeffe strove to "capture the energy of punk".[6]
Sus was revived at the Young Vic in 2009, and toured the UK in 2010. The Barbarians trilogy was revived in London in 2012 and 2015 by Tooting Arts Club, and at the Young Vic, also in 2015.[7][8][9][10]
Teaching and UN work
[edit]Keeffe taught dramatic writing at City University, London (2002–06), was Judith J. Wilson Fellow at Christ's College, Cambridge (2003–04), and a visiting lecturer and patron of Writing for Performance at Ruskin College, Oxford (2003–04). In 1995, the United Nations' fiftieth anniversary, he served as a United Nations Ambassador.
Honours and awards
[edit]In 1978, Keeffe received the Paris Critics Prix Revelations, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1982. In 2010, he was made an Honorary Doctor of Letters at Warwick University.
Personal life and death
[edit]Keefe was married four times. His first marriage was to Dee Truman, a social worker, from 1969 until their divorce 10 years later. His second marriage was to the novelist and theatre director Verity Bargate, who died in 1981. After her death, Keeffe was guardian to her two sons, whom he brought up.[1] His third marriage was to Julia Lindsay, a pop music agent, from 1983 until their divorce in 1993. In 2012, he married the film and television producer Jacky Stoller.
Keeffe died on 10 December 2019, following a brief undisclosed illness. He was 74.[11]
Works
[edit]Theatre plays
[edit]- Only a Game (1973)
- A Sight of Glory (1975)
- Scribes (1975)
- Here Comes the Sun (1976)
- Gimme Shelter (1977)
- A Mad World My Masters (1977, 1984)
- Barbarians, a trilogy consisting of Killing Time, Abide with Me and In the City (1977)
- Frozen Assets (1978)
- Sus (1979)
- Bastard Angel (1980)
- She's So Modern (1980)
- Black Lear (1980)
- Chorus Girls (1981)
- Better Times (1985)
- King of England (1988)
- My Girl (1989)
- Not Fade Away (1990)
- Wild Justice (1990)
- I Only Want to Be With You (1995)
- The Long Good Friday (1997)
- Shadows on the Sun (2001)
- Still Killing Time (2006)
Film and TV
[edit]- Substitute (1972)
- Not Quite Cricket (1977)
- Gotcha (1977)
- Nipper (1977)
- Champions (1978)
- Hanging Around (1978)
- Waterloo Sunset (1979)
- King (1984)
Television series
[edit]- No Excuses (1983)
Radio plays
[edit]- Uncle Jack (1975)
- Pigeon Skyline (1976)
- Only a Game[12] (1976)
- Heaven Scent[13] (1979) (Won a Giles Cooper Award for 1979)
- Anything Known (1980)
- Frozen Assets[14] (1987)
- Paradise[15] (1989)
- My Girl[16] (19992
- On the Eve of the Millennium[17] (1999)
- Feng Shui and Me (2001)
- The Five of Us[18] (2002)
Film
[edit]- The Long Good Friday (1981)
- Sus (2010)
Novels
[edit]- Gadabout (1969)
- No Excuses (1983)
Theatre adaptations and direction
[edit]- A Certain Vincent (1975)
- A Gentle Spirit (1981)
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ a b c d Coveney, Michael (11 December 2019). "Barrie Keeffe obituary". The Guardian.
- ^ a b Cartwright, Garth (30 December 2019). "Barrie Keeffe: East End writer who hit big with The Long Good Friday". The Independent.
- ^ Greenslade, Roy (12 October 2016). "Memories of a local weekly renowned for its training of journalists". The Guardian.
- ^ Ned Chaillet, "Barrie (Colin) Keeffe", in K. A. Berney, ed., Contemporary British Dramatists, Gale, 1994, pp. 387–91.
- ^ Chambers, Colin (ed.), The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre, A&C Black, 2006, p. 415.
- ^ Dunn, Carrie (7 September 2015). "BARBARIANS by Barrie Keeffe To Be Staged In Birthplace of Punk". Broadway World.
- ^ "Barbarians", Matt Leventhall website.
- ^ Greenslade, Roy (7 October 2015), "Barrie Keeffe, a loss to journalism but what a gift to playwriting", The Guardian.
- ^ Battersby, Matilda (18 April 2012), "Keeffe's Barbarians tip up in Tooting bringing 'astonishing relevance'", The Independent.
- ^ Clapp, Susannah (18 October 2015), "Barbarians review – still angry after all these years", The Observer
- ^ Clarke, Stewart (10 December 2019). "Barrie Keeffe, Writer of Classic British Gangster Movie 'The Long Good Friday,' Dies at 74". Variety. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ BBC Genome, Only a Game by Barrie Keeffe, BBC Radio 4, 29 September 1976.
- ^ BBC Genome, Heaven Scent by Barrie Keeffe, Just Before Midnight, BBC Radio 4, 1979.
- ^ BBC Genome, Frozen Assets, BBC Radio 3, 30 January 1987.
- ^ BBC Genome, Paradise by Barrie Keeffe, BBC Radio 3, 19 December 1989.
- ^ BBC Genome, My Girl by Barrie Keeffe, BBC Radio 4, 12 October 1992.
- ^ On the Eve of the Millennium, BBC Radio 4, The Friday Play, 29 October 1999.
- ^ The Five of Us, BBC Radio 4, 20 December 2002.
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Barrie Keeffe at IMDb
- Sheila Johnston, "Interview: Barrie Keeffe on Sus, The Long Good Friday and London's Changing East End", theartsdesk.com, 21 April 2010.
Barrie Keeffe
View on GrokipediaEarly life
Early life and education
Barrie Colin Keeffe was born on 31 October 1945 in London, England.[1][3] He grew up in Forest Gate, an area in East London known for its working-class communities.[1] Keeffe was educated at East Ham Grammar School, a state secondary school in the local area.[1][3] No record exists of any university attendance or higher education degree. His early life in East London shaped the social and class perspectives that later appeared in his work.[1]Early career
Journalism and first publications
Barrie Keeffe began his professional career as a journalist at the Stratford Express in 1964, covering local stories in London's East End and remaining in the role until 1975. [4] [1] These experiences as a grassroots reporter exposed him to the area's social dynamics and criminal elements, which later informed the themes in his writing. [4] [5] While still employed as a journalist, Keeffe published his debut novel, Gadabout, in 1969. [4] He made his first foray into dramatic writing with the television play The Substitute, broadcast in 1972. [4] [6] The following year, his first stage play, Only a Game, was produced in 1973. [4] [1] [6] In 1975, Keeffe left his journalism position at the Stratford Express to pursue a full-time career as a dramatic writer. [4] [6] [1]Theatre career
Major plays and productions
Barrie Keeffe established himself as a prominent British playwright in the late 1970s, beginning with his role as writer-in-residence at the Shaw Theatre in 1977.[6] That same year, he premiered Gimme Shelter, a trilogy offering a critical examination of an achievement-driven society through the experiences of disaffected youth.[2] He followed with the Barbarians trilogy—Killing Time, Abide with Me, and In the City—which debuted at the Greenwich Theatre and traced the fortunes of three school leavers from South East London amid the Queen's Silver Jubilee, football culture, and the Notting Hill Carnival.[1][2] In 1978, Keeffe briefly served as resident playwright with the Royal Shakespeare Company.[6] His 1979 play Sus premiered at the Soho Poly (in association with the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs) and portrayed two white detectives interrogating and abusing a Black man under the "sus" stop-and-search laws on the night of the 1979 general election, highlighting institutional racism and police power.[1][2] Keeffe continued his exploration of social issues in later works, including Better Times (1985), a historical piece about the 1921 Poplar rates revolt against poverty and unemployment, staged at the Theatre Royal Stratford East,[1] and My Girl (1989), a study of married poverty and stifled idealism in Thatcher's Britain, also premiering at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.[1][2] Keeffe's stage output frequently returned to recurring themes of youth disaffection, unemployment, class conflict, institutional racism, and the punk-era energy of 1970s London, giving voice to working-class lives on the margins with raw, confrontational style.[1][6] These works have maintained relevance through notable revivals in subsequent decades; the Barbarians trilogy was restaged at the Soho Theatre in 2015, reaffirming its punchy portrayal of unemployed youth.[1] Sus has seen multiple revivals, including a 2010 production at the Young Vic and a 2022 staging at the Park Theatre, where it was described as an incendiary examination of institutional racism and abuse of power.[1][7]Theatre residencies and roles
Barrie Keeffe held several prominent residencies and affiliations in British theatre that supported his development as a playwright. He served as resident writer with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1978. [6] Earlier, he had been writer-in-residence at the Shaw Theatre in 1977. [6] From 1986 to 1991, Keeffe was associate writer at the Theatre Royal Stratford East under artistic director Philip Hedley. [1] In 1995, for the United Nations' 50th anniversary, he acted as a UN ambassador. [1] [3]Film and television career
Screenplays and adaptations
Barrie Keeffe's principal contribution to cinema is his original screenplay for The Long Good Friday (1980), directed by John Mackenzie and starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. [8] The script was initially drafted under the title The Paddy Factor, a term used by Scotland Yard for crimes attributed to the IRA, before being expanded from an early television concept into a feature-length work. [9] Keeffe drew on his experiences as a young journalist in London's East End during the Kray era, incorporating authentic details of gangland life, such as punishments he witnessed or heard about firsthand, to create a fast-paced narrative with abrasive dialogue and a strong sense of place. [9] The screenplay was published by Methuen and earned Keeffe the Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture in 1983. [10] Keeffe later adapted his own 1979 stage play Sus into the screenplay for the 2010 film Sus, directed by Robert Heath. [11] The film retains the play's focus on institutional racism, depicting the overnight detention and interrogation of a black man by two police officers under the controversial sus law on the night of Margaret Thatcher's 1979 election victory. [11] Keeffe also wrote an unproduced sequel screenplay titled Black Easter Monday, which would have revisited the character Harold Shand from The Long Good Friday. [12]Television work
Keeffe wrote for television earlier in his career, including several single plays such as The Substitute (1972), Gotcha (1977), and others broadcast on series like Play for Today. He also created and wrote the 1983 TV series No Excuses. [13]Later career
Academic teaching and fellowships
In his later career, Barrie Keeffe took on several academic roles focused on teaching dramatic writing and mentoring emerging writers. He taught dramatic writing at City University London from 2002 to 2005.[1] During this period, he also served as the Judith J. Wilson Fellow at Christ's College, Cambridge from 2003 to 2004, a position dedicated to supporting dramatic writing and performance studies.[14] In 2011, Keeffe was appointed writer in residence at Kingston University, where he contributed to creative writing programs including the MA and MFA courses and supervised student dissertations.[15]Awards and honours
Barrie Keeffe received several awards and honours for his work in theatre, radio, and screenwriting:- In 1978, he was awarded the Paris Critics Prix Revelations.
- In 1979, he received a Giles Cooper Award for his radio play ''Heaven Scent''.
- In 1983, he won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture for his screenplay for ''The Long Good Friday''.
- In 2010, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters (Hon. D.Litt.) by the University of Warwick. [16]