Edgar, David

Edgar, David (1948– ), English dramatist, known for working in documentary and political theatre. Born in Birmingham, he studied drama at Manchester University before starting out as a journalist. His play Destiny, about the extreme right wing in Britain, was produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1976. He adapted a work by English novelist Charles Dickens for the RSC with The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1980). Other plays include The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs (1978); May Days (1983); the trilogy of plays about the aftermath of the collapse of the Eastern bloc in Europe, The Shape of the Table (1990), Pentecost (1994), and The Prisoner's Dilemma (2001); Albert Speer (2000), about the Nazi architect Albert Speer, and Continental Divide (2003), consisting of two related plays (Daughters of the Revolution and Mothers Against) about the machinations of the American political system, commissioned jointly by the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He was appointed Professor of Playwriting Studies at the University of Birmingham in 1995.