Olwen Wymark | |
---|---|
Born | Olwen Margaret Buck 14 February 1932 Oakland, California, US |
Died | 14 June 2013 London, England |
(aged 81)
Occupation | Writer |
Nationality | American |
Period | 1966–1992 |
Spouse |
Patrick Wymark (1953–1970) (his death) |
Children | 4 (including Jane Wymark) |
Olwen Wymark (14 February 1932 – 14 June 2013) was an American writer and playwright.
Olwen Margaret Buck was born on 14 February 1932 in Oakland, California, the daughter of Philip W. (a professor of political science) and Barbara (Jacobs) Buck, and the granddaughter of W. W. Jacobs. She attended Pomona College from 1949–51 and University College, London from 1951–52.
Her most successful play was Find Me (1977), about mental illness, which is still used as a set text for drama qualifications in UK schools. Others included Gymnasium (1972), Loved (1980), Best Friends (1984), Strike Up The Banns (1990), and Mirror Mirror (1992). She also wrote dozens of BBC radio play adaptations, including her 2001 version of Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain; one of her last works, it starred Paul Scofield in one of his greatest radio roles.
Her husband was British actor Patrick Wymark, with whom she had four children: Jane Wymark, Rowan, Dominic, and Tristram. Wymark resided most of her life in London.
Plays
In an interview with Contemporary Authors: "From the fifties until my husband died in 1970 I wrote plays because I wanted to; now I write them for a living. Although I have never written 'a commercial' play, I have to sell my work. Consequently I think my plays have become less obscure (and pretentious), and I find myself more drawn to comedy. The theatre is my first passion, but I love to write for radio and would like to write more for TV and would really like to write a film."