Oliver Emanuel
- December 19, 2023
- 43 years
About Oliver Emanuel
Oliver Emanuel, 43, English playwright and radio dramatist, brain cancer.
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Full Biography
|Oliver Robert Michael Emanuel (4 April 1980 – 19 December 2023) was a British playwright and radio dramatist.
Early life and education
Oliver Robert Michael Emanuel was born in Kent on 4 April 1980; his mother was a drama teacher and his father was a solicitor. He attended St Gregory's Catholic Comprehensive School in Tunbridge Wells, studied English and Theatre Studies at University of Leeds, and received an MA from the University of East Anglia.
Career
Emanuel was Writer-on-Attachment at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2006 and Writer-in-Residence for BBC Radio 4 Children in Need in 2010. He lived in Glasgow from 2006. He was Reader of Playwriting at the University of St Andrews, an Associate Playwright at Playwrights' Studio Scotland, and Writer-in-Residence at Gladstone's Library.
In addition to his radio and stage plays below, Emanuel wrote two plays for Polmont Young Offenders Institute, Ship of Shadows (October 2009) and John (7 May 2010), and scripted the short film This Way Up.
Personal life and death
In April 2023, Emanuel was diagnosed with brain cancer, and died from the disease on 19 December 2023, at the age of 43. Emanuel had two children with Victoria Beesley; he and Beesley married in late 2023, shortly before his death.
Works
Radio plays
Theatre
Short stories
- Nude
Other work
- Desperate Run
Awards
- Daniel and Mary received a Bronze Sony Radio Academy Award for Best Drama in 2010.
- Dragon won Best Show For Children and Young People at the UK Theatre Awards in 2014.
- His version of Titus won the People's Choice Victor Award in 2015.
- A History of Paper was shortlisted for the Tinniswood Award 2017.
- When The Pips Stop won the Tinniswood Award in 2019.
- The Truth About Hawaii won the BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Original Series or Serial in 2019.
Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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Articles & News
- theguardian.com" The Monstrous Heart review – blood, fury and a talking dead bear – Miriam Gillinson, The Guardian, 10 October 2019"
- bbc.co.ukBBC Sounds – "We've run out of books!" – Oliver Emanuel on making up an episode...
- bbc.co.uk" Adapting Emile Zola for BBC Radio 4 – Oliver Emanuel, BBC writers room, 27 November 2015"
- bbc.com"Tributes paid to playwright Oliver Emanuel"
- theguardian.com"Oliver Emanuel obituary"
Reported coverage of Oliver Emanuel; each link opens the original article on the publisher's own site.
Books & Media
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Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Emanuel
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
- View article
- Sep 26, 2026
People who died on December 19
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