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The playwright and director Philip Osment, who has died aged 66 from complications arising from pulmonary fibrosis, started out as an actor and leading member of the pioneering fringe theatre company Gay Sweatshop in the late 1970s and 80s. He went on to become a widely respected playwright, on subjects that ranged from Shakespeare to social issues, in particular writing plays for young people that covered sexuality, mental health, prison and drugs.The playwright and director Philip Osment, who has died aged 66 from complications arising from pulmonary fibrosis, started out as an actor and leading member of the pioneering fringe theatre company Gay Sweatshop in the late 1970s and 80s. He went on to become a widely respected playwright, on subjects that ranged from Shakespeare to social issues, in particular writing plays for young people that covered sexuality, mental health, prison and drugs.
This Island’s Mine – his elegiac plea for acceptance of those at the fringes of mainstream society – became a rallying cry for resistance when first produced by Gay Sweatshop in 1988, at the height of the campaign against Section 28, the law banning “promotion” of homosexuality. The play’s first revival, three decades later, which Philip attended, opened at the King’s Head theatre, Islington, a week before he died.This Island’s Mine – his elegiac plea for acceptance of those at the fringes of mainstream society – became a rallying cry for resistance when first produced by Gay Sweatshop in 1988, at the height of the campaign against Section 28, the law banning “promotion” of homosexuality. The play’s first revival, three decades later, which Philip attended, opened at the King’s Head theatre, Islington, a week before he died.
Osment sometimes struggled to grasp the impact of his talent and the influence his work and personality had on others. He had a gift for listening. People came to him lacking confidence and feeling vulnerable; they left reassured and empowered. As a gay man, he understood the pain of being the outsider and empathised with many who felt themselves excluded. His search for authenticity and emotional honesty remained a defining characteristic of his work.Osment sometimes struggled to grasp the impact of his talent and the influence his work and personality had on others. He had a gift for listening. People came to him lacking confidence and feeling vulnerable; they left reassured and empowered. As a gay man, he understood the pain of being the outsider and empathised with many who felt themselves excluded. His search for authenticity and emotional honesty remained a defining characteristic of his work.
Some critics called him an English Chekhov. Like Peter Gill, Robert Holman, Barney Norris and his great friend and colleague Lin Coghlan, Philip was a “quietist” playwright, seeming to hear and catch the quiet footfalls and pulse of life and relationships beneath the social skin.Some critics called him an English Chekhov. Like Peter Gill, Robert Holman, Barney Norris and his great friend and colleague Lin Coghlan, Philip was a “quietist” playwright, seeming to hear and catch the quiet footfalls and pulse of life and relationships beneath the social skin.
Born in Barnstaple, Devon, into a farming family, Philip was the son of Honor (nee Kingswell) and Tom Osment. From Barnstaple grammar school he went to Keble College, Oxford, where he studied modern languages and acted with the Oxford University Dramatic Society. After graduating in 1974, he took a postgraduate acting course at Webber Douglas in London and worked as an actor with the alternative theatre companies Gay Sweatshop, Half Moon and Shared Experience, with whose director, Mike Alfreds, he went on to collaborate extensively.Born in Barnstaple, Devon, into a farming family, Philip was the son of Honor (nee Kingswell) and Tom Osment. From Barnstaple grammar school he went to Keble College, Oxford, where he studied modern languages and acted with the Oxford University Dramatic Society. After graduating in 1974, he took a postgraduate acting course at Webber Douglas in London and worked as an actor with the alternative theatre companies Gay Sweatshop, Half Moon and Shared Experience, with whose director, Mike Alfreds, he went on to collaborate extensively.
Osment’s work had at its heart a passionate political awareness. This sensibility drew him to Gay Sweatshop, formed in 1975 to portray gay experience and affirm the place of gay people in society. The company nurtured new writing and toured to universities, small-scale theatres and working men’s clubs, helping to transform social attitudes towards homosexuality. At Sweatshop Osment met Noël Greig, its charismatic dramaturg and director, an encounter that developed into one of the defining personal and professional relationships of Osment’s life.Osment’s work had at its heart a passionate political awareness. This sensibility drew him to Gay Sweatshop, formed in 1975 to portray gay experience and affirm the place of gay people in society. The company nurtured new writing and toured to universities, small-scale theatres and working men’s clubs, helping to transform social attitudes towards homosexuality. At Sweatshop Osment met Noël Greig, its charismatic dramaturg and director, an encounter that developed into one of the defining personal and professional relationships of Osment’s life.
His first play, an autobiographical one-man show, Telling Tales, was written for the company in 1982. This was followed by This Island’s Mine (1988) and The Undertaking (1997). His first play, an autobiographical one-man show, Telling Tales, was commissioned by Martin Humphries for the Oval House in 1982. This Island’s Mine (1988) was written for Gay Sweatshop, as was The Undertaking (1997).
His association with Alfreds, director of Shared Experience from 1975 to 1987 and then of the Cambridge Theatre Company from 1991 (renamed Method and Madness), resulted in the commissioning of Osment’s much admired Devon trilogy, drawing on his background in rural north Devon: The Dearly Beloved (1993), which won the 1993 Writers’ Guild Award, What I Did in the Holidays (1995) and Flesh and Blood (1996). Buried Alive followed in 1999.His association with Alfreds, director of Shared Experience from 1975 to 1987 and then of the Cambridge Theatre Company from 1991 (renamed Method and Madness), resulted in the commissioning of Osment’s much admired Devon trilogy, drawing on his background in rural north Devon: The Dearly Beloved (1993), which won the 1993 Writers’ Guild Award, What I Did in the Holidays (1995) and Flesh and Blood (1996). Buried Alive followed in 1999.
In 2003 Osment and Alfreds collaborated with Lamda students on Collateral Damage, about the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, and they joined forces again as translator and director on Cervantes’ Pedro, the Great Pretender for the RSC’s Spanish Golden Age season at the Swan, Stratford-upon-Avon, and in the West End. Alfreds remembered his collaborations with Osment as some of the happiest and most fulfilling experiences of his career. “Each piece he wrote for me was the most wonderful gift a director could ever receive.”In 2003 Osment and Alfreds collaborated with Lamda students on Collateral Damage, about the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, and they joined forces again as translator and director on Cervantes’ Pedro, the Great Pretender for the RSC’s Spanish Golden Age season at the Swan, Stratford-upon-Avon, and in the West End. Alfreds remembered his collaborations with Osment as some of the happiest and most fulfilling experiences of his career. “Each piece he wrote for me was the most wonderful gift a director could ever receive.”
Over the years, Osment worked with young people’s theatre organisations across the country. For Red Ladder Theatre Company he wrote Who’s Breaking (1989) and Sleeping Dogs (1993), a version of Romeo and Juliet relocated to the Balkans.Over the years, Osment worked with young people’s theatre organisations across the country. For Red Ladder Theatre Company he wrote Who’s Breaking (1989) and Sleeping Dogs (1993), a version of Romeo and Juliet relocated to the Balkans.
For Theatre Centre, he wrote Listen (1990). At TC he met Coghlan, and they developed a close creative relationship which included The Night Garden, written by Coghlan at the National Theatre studio, with Osment as dramaturg and director, and With Love from Nicolae (1997), a co-production – directed by Osment – between the Bristol Old Vic and Teatrul Dramatic in Constanţa, Romania. They were working together on a play at the time of his death.For Theatre Centre, he wrote Listen (1990). At TC he met Coghlan, and they developed a close creative relationship which included The Night Garden, written by Coghlan at the National Theatre studio, with Osment as dramaturg and director, and With Love from Nicolae (1997), a co-production – directed by Osment – between the Bristol Old Vic and Teatrul Dramatic in Constanţa, Romania. They were working together on a play at the time of his death.
Another commission came from the Contact theatre in Manchester, where his play Wise Guys (1998) was performed as its inaugural production.Another commission came from the Contact theatre in Manchester, where his play Wise Guys (1998) was performed as its inaugural production.
His play for young people Little Violet and the Angel (2001) was co-winner of the Peggy Ramsay award. Leaving, for the Irish company Quare Hawks, toured Ireland in 2002. His adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling – Duck! – was a hit for the Unicorn theatre in London in 2007, turning the 19th-century fairy story into a modern urban morality tale set on Hampstead Heath.His play for young people Little Violet and the Angel (2001) was co-winner of the Peggy Ramsay award. Leaving, for the Irish company Quare Hawks, toured Ireland in 2002. His adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling – Duck! – was a hit for the Unicorn theatre in London in 2007, turning the 19th-century fairy story into a modern urban morality tale set on Hampstead Heath.
For Graeae, the UK’s leading theatre company for deaf and disabled performers, he directed his own translation of Molière’s George Dandin (2006). In the same year he became an associate artist with the Liverpool-based young people’s theatre company 20 Stories High, for which he wrote Whole (2013), about sexuality and religion. It won that year’s Writers’ Guild award for theatre play for young people.For Graeae, the UK’s leading theatre company for deaf and disabled performers, he directed his own translation of Molière’s George Dandin (2006). In the same year he became an associate artist with the Liverpool-based young people’s theatre company 20 Stories High, for which he wrote Whole (2013), about sexuality and religion. It won that year’s Writers’ Guild award for theatre play for young people.
Even with failing health – his pulmonary fibrosis was diagnosed in 2011 and he underwent a lung transplant in 2016 – his commitment to writing for young people and those on the margins never wavered.Even with failing health – his pulmonary fibrosis was diagnosed in 2011 and he underwent a lung transplant in 2016 – his commitment to writing for young people and those on the margins never wavered.
Some of his most productive work, under extreme health pressures, came with the teacher and director Jim Pope. After completing a project together at the National Youth theatre, Osment and Pope established their own company, Playing On, to work with ex-offenders and those excluded from the education system. Two plays resulted: Inside, about young fathers in prison, and Hearing Things, a typically sensitive, even-handed portrait of those working in the mental health system looked at from both sides, patients and staff. Can I Help You?, which deals with similar themes, was in the pipeline during his final few weeks.Some of his most productive work, under extreme health pressures, came with the teacher and director Jim Pope. After completing a project together at the National Youth theatre, Osment and Pope established their own company, Playing On, to work with ex-offenders and those excluded from the education system. Two plays resulted: Inside, about young fathers in prison, and Hearing Things, a typically sensitive, even-handed portrait of those working in the mental health system looked at from both sides, patients and staff. Can I Help You?, which deals with similar themes, was in the pipeline during his final few weeks.
One of the driving motivators for Osment’s work – though he challenged traditional definitions of it – was family. He felt blessed in later years to find himself with one of his own through the close bond he shared with his partner, Nina Ward, her daughter and grandchildren – unexpected and all the sweeter for one from that generation of gay men who had assumed their sexuality would preclude such a possibility.One of the driving motivators for Osment’s work – though he challenged traditional definitions of it – was family. He felt blessed in later years to find himself with one of his own through the close bond he shared with his partner, Nina Ward, her daughter and grandchildren – unexpected and all the sweeter for one from that generation of gay men who had assumed their sexuality would preclude such a possibility.
He is survived by Nina, her daughter, Emma, and Emma’s children, Alice and Zach.He is survived by Nina, her daughter, Emma, and Emma’s children, Alice and Zach.
• Philip Osment, playwright, director and actor, born 1 March 1953; died 24 May 2019• Philip Osment, playwright, director and actor, born 1 March 1953; died 24 May 2019
• This article was amended on 1 August 2019. The play Telling Tales was not written for Gay Sweatshop, but was commissioned by Martin Humphries for the Oval House.
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