The Early Diaries

by Simon Gray

"There are few things more enjoyable than reading the diaries of Simon Gray". (Craig Brown, "Mail on Sunday"). Simon Gray's witty, painful, and acutely observed "Early Diaries" chronicle the highs and lows of bringing two of his plays to the stage. "An Unnatural Pursuit" records the London production of The Common Pursuit, from the nail-biting process of finding a producer through rehearsals to the first-night post-mortem. This is an enthralling insight into the world of Simon Gray, his working relationship with Harold Pinter - who directed many of his plays - and into the fascinating business of putting on a play. "A remarkable account of a remarkable experience". (Harold Pinter). "How's That for Telling 'em, Fat Lady?" describes Gray's experiences staging "The Common Pursuit" and "Dog Days" in Los Angeles and New York. "Not only the funniest book ever written about the American theatre, but a biliously accurate memoir of the inescapable beastliness of modern life. It splutters with instantly comic characters ...and richest of all these is the self-portrait of the author, whose bellicose melancholy and fortitude is so ripe and raw. For those who dread grease-paint anecdotalism, don't be put off. It's a terrific comic adventure, terrifically told with exquisite ill-temper". (John Osborne, "Spectator").

First published July 15, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Simon James Holliday Gray, CBE (21 October 1936 – 7 August 2008) was an English playwright and memoirist who also had a career as a university lecturer in English literature at Queen Mary, University of London, for 20 years. While teaching at Queen Mary, Gray began his writing career as a novelist in 1963 and, during the next 45 years, in addition to 5 published novels, wrote 40 original stage plays, screenplays, and screen adaptations of his own and others' works for stage, film, and television and became well known for the self-deprecating wit characteristic of several volumes of memoirs or diaries

Reviews

[Maya Panika · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and intermittently hilarious look behind the scenes of Grey's play The Common Pursuit, at productons in London, LA, Dallas and New York. Very enjoyable indeed.