
Alan Bennett
Department: Writing
Biography
Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English playwright, screenwriter and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research medieval history at the university for several years. His collaboration as writer and performer with Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Peter Cook in the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival brought him instant fame. He gave up academia, and turned to writing full time, his first stage play Forty Years On being produced in 1968. His output includes The Madness of George III and its film incarnation The Madness of King George, the series of monologues Talking Heads, the play The History Boys, and popular audio books, including his readings of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Winnie-the-Pooh. Description above from the Wikipedia article Alan Bennett, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For

In Love and War
1996

Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
2004

Beyond the Fringe
1964

Pleasure at Her Majesty's
1976

The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
1982

Some Interesting Facts About Peter Cook
1995

The Wind in the Willows
1995

The Willows in Winter
1996

Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War
2022

Selling Hitler
1993

Stewart Lee: Tornado
2022

Books: The Last Chapter?
2011

Intensive Care
1982

Afternoon Off
1979

Talking Heads
1988

The Madness of King George
1994

Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time
2013

Little Dorrit
1987

Alice in Wonderland
1966

The Young Visiters
2003

Dreamchild
1985

The Native Hue of Resolution
2013

Alan Bennett's Diaries
2016

The Importance of Being Morrissey
2003

National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
2013

Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf
1978

My Friend Sam: Living for the Moment
2012

Being Alan Bennett
2009

Every Home Should Have One
1970

Long Shot
1978

A Visit from Miss Prothero
1978

Portrait or Bust
1994

Dinner at Noon
1988

Did I Say Hairdressing? I Meant Astrophysics
1998

The Lady in the Van
2015

The Merry Wives of Windsor
1982

Julie Walters and Friends
1991

The Drinking Party
1965

Stop All the Clocks: W.H. Auden in an Age of Anxiety
2017

Alan Bennett: 90 Years On
2024

Thora Hird Tribute
2003

Innes Lloyd: The Producer
2025

The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends: The Tale of Two Bad Mice and Johnny Town-Mouse
1996

Hamlet
1970

The South Bank Show
1978

The Secret Policeman's Ball
1976

Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951

On the Margin
1966

Play for Today
1970

A Dance to the Music of Time
1997

Talking Heads
1988

Ashenden
1991

Julie Walters and Friends
1991

The Glass Box
1985

Meg and Mog
2003

The Abbey with Alan Bennett
1995

Selling Hitler
1991

Family Guy
1999

Building Sights
1988

Omnibus
1967

BBC2 Play of the Week
1977

Tempo
1961

Fortunes of War
1987

Remembers…
2022