Pam Gems
British playwright
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pam Gems (née Iris Pamela Price; 1 August 1925 – 13 May 2011)[1] was an English playwright.[2] The author of numerous original plays, as well as of adaptations of works by European playwrights of the past, Gems is best known for the 1978 musical play Piaf.
1 August 1925
Pam Gems | |
|---|---|
| Born | Iris Pamela Price 1 August 1925 |
| Died | 13 May 2011 (aged 85) London, England, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Playwright |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Theatre |
| Spouse | Keith Gems (m. 1949) |
| Children | 4 (including son Jonathan Gems) |
Personal life
Iris Pamela Price was born in Bransgore, Hampshire, and had her first play – a tale of goblins and elves – staged when she was eight by her fellow pupils at primary school. She studied psychology at Manchester University from which she graduated in 1949.[3] She was in her forties when she started to write professionally. She is best known for her 1978 musical play Piaf about French singer Édith Piaf.[4]
She was nominated for two Tony Awards: for Stanley (Best Play) in 1997, and for Marlene (Best Book of a Musical), starring Siân Phillips as Marlene Dietrich, in 1999. Gems adapted works by dramatists ranging from Henrik Ibsen, Federico García Lorca and Anton Chekhov to Marguerite Duras. [citation needed]
Family
In 1949, she married wax model manufacturer (the family firm, Gems Wax Models, established in 1885, has supplied models to Madame Tussauds) and former architect[5] Keith Gems; the couple had four children.[6]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Nineteen Eighty-Four | The Washerwoman |
List of works
Early plays (1972–1976)
Source:[7]
- (work, year, place first produced)
- Betty's Wonderful Christmas (1972), Cockpit Theatre, London
- My Warren And After Birthday (1973), Almost Free Theatre, London
- Miz Venus and Wild Bill (1973), Almost Free Theatre, London
- After Birthday (1973)
- The Amiable Courtship Of Miz Venus And Wild Bill (1974), Almost Free Theatre, London
- Go West Young Woman (1974), The Roundhouse, London
- Up In Sweden (1975), Haymarket, Leicester
- My Name Is Rosa Luxembourg (adaptation), (1975)
- Up In Sweden (1975)
- Rivers and Forests (adaptation), (1976)
- Dead Fish (aka Dusa, Fish, Stas And Vi, 1976), Edinburgh Festival
- Guinevere (1976), Edinburgh Festival
- The Project (1976), Soho Poly, London
Middle plays (1977–2000)
- Franz Into April (1977), ICA, London
- Queen Christina (1977), Other Place, Stratford-on-Avon
- Piaf (1978), Other Place, Stratford-on-Avon
- Ladybird, Ladybird (1979), The King's Head, Islington, London
- Sandra (1979), London
- Aunt Mary (1982), Warehouse Theatre, London
- The Treat (1982), ICA, London
- The Cherry Orchard (adaptation) (1984)
- Variety Night (1982), London
- Camille (adaptation) (1984)
- Loving Women (1984)
- The Danton Affair (1986)
- Pasionaria (1985), Playhouse Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne
- Arther and Guinevere (1990), Edinburgh
- The Seagull (adaptation) (1991)
- The Blue Angel (1991), Other Place, Stratford-on-Avon
- Deborah's Daughter (1994), Manchester
- Ghosts (adaptation) (1994)
- Marlene (1996), Oldham
- Stanley (1996), London
- At the Window (1997)
- The Snow Palace (1998)
- Ebba (1999)
Late plays (2000–2009)
- Girabaldi, Si! (2000)
- Linderhof (2001)
- Mrs Pat (2002), Theatre Royal, York
- Yerma (adaptation) (2003), Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester
- Not Joan the Musical (2003)
- The Lady From The Sea (adaptation) (2003), Almeda Theatre London
- The Little Mermaid (adaptation) (2004), Greenwich Theatre, Riverside Theatre, London
- Nelson (2004), Nuffield Theatre, Southampton
- Broadway Lady (2007)
- Piaf (2008), Donmar Warehouse, London
- Winterlove (2009), The Drill Hall, London[8]
- Despatches (2009), The Drill Hall, London[9]