Alan Plater RIP

[brian s]

Very sad news. Novelist, playwright and screenwriter Alan Plater has passed away aged 75. He is most famous for writing the excellent Beiderbecke series starring James Bolam and Barbara Fylnn and also for his work on Z Cars.

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/473028/index.html

We have lost one of the finest writers of our time.

 

[Jaycee Dove]

Indeed. One of my favourite writers. Great loss.

 

[brian s]

I was shocked when I heard of his death. It's that thing when you forget how old someone is and how much time has passed. The first time I became aware of his name was in 1981 when I saw Get Lost. I'd just set up house with my girlfriend. We'll have seen other work by him but that made us sit up and take notice. It was the forerunner to the Beiderbecke series. This version had Alun Armstrong and Bridget Turner in the James Bolam and Barbara Flynn roles. It was so well crafted with strong witty dialogue even for the minor characters.

Get Lost - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia!

After that I would look out for his work. I also became aware he was local, born only a few miles from where I was. Although not set locally he also wrote a first rate adaption of the Chris Mullin novel A Very British Coup. Mullin lives very close to where I do now although he appears to be moving out now. I hope that's not down to me moving in recently.

A Very British Coup - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Like me Plater also loved Jazz and would often work it into scripts. That and the local connections have made me further appreciate his superb body of work. I had the pleasure of seeing two of his plays Going Home and Shooting The Legend both of which had Tim Healy as the star. I've been watching Healy quite a bit lately in Auf Wiedersehen Pet and it's reminded me of those two great nights out.

In his own words.

YouTube - Media Masterclass - Alan Plater - 40 YearsHard

Bri