Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett is an English playwright, screenwriter, author and actor who was born in Armley, Leeds, and studied history at Oxford, where he performed comedy in the Oxford Revue and later taught medieval history. He found fame in 1960 with Beyond the Fringe, the satirical revue he performed at the Edinburgh Festival alongside Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Jonathan Miller, which went on to earn him a Special Tony Award. He then wrote full time for the stage, beginning with Forty Years On in 1968, and his television work includes Talking Heads and An Englishman Abroad. He adapted his play The Madness of George III as The Madness of King George (1994), which brought him an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay, and The History Boys won Olivier and Tony Awards before its 2006 film version. His awards include four BAFTAs, four Oliviers and two Tonys.