The Art of Concealment: The Life of Terence Rattigan

(Paperback)

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Description

Terence Rattigan was once regarded as the golden boy of the West End stage but he suffered a sudden and catastrophic fall from favour in the mid-1950s. In this new play, written to mark the centenary of Rattigans birth, he is 66 years old, in failing health, and waiting for the curtain to rise on his last play, Cause Clbre. The Art of Concealment is not only about the demons that haunted one of our great playwrights but about the creative process itself, the loss of youth, the pain of love and the shallowness of fame. How does a playwright judge his own life Can it be crafted, restructured, or does he have a duty to be honest, finally, about himself The play received critical acclaim during a sell-out run at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London.

Reviews

An illuminating postscript to last year's Rattigan centenary celebrations - much of Rattigan's character, and his craft, has been most skilfully revealed. * 4 stars - Daily Telegraph *
4 Stars * The Independent *
A well-made and sensitive play * Financial Times *

Author Bio

Giles Cole is a former actor and has written seven plays for BBC Radio 4 (Afternoon Play); The Art of Concealment (Brighton Festival Fringe, 2011, Jermyn Street Theatre and Riverside Studios, 2012) is his tenth stage play. He has served on the reading panels for the Croydon Warehouse Theatre, the former BBC TV Script Unit, and currently for the new writing organisation, Writer's Avenue. From 1987 to 2008 he was a producer and scriptwriter specialising in awards ceremonies, writing over 500 scripts for celebrity presenters. He is currently the editor of the newsletter for the Terence Rattigan Society and in 2011 completed a postgraduate Masters degree in Creative Writing (Plays and Screenplays) at City University, London. His website is www.gilescole.com.