Pam Gems

Pam Gems
Born August 1, 1925
Hampshire, England, United Kingdom
Died May 13, 2011(2011-05-13) (aged 85)
London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation Playwright
Language English
Genre Theatre
Relatives Jonathan Gems (son)

Pam Gems (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 major European playwrights of the past, Gems is best known for the 1978 musical play Piaf.

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.

Family

She married architect Keith Gems; the couple had four children. Her husband and children survive her.

List of works

The Early Plays, (1972–1976)[5]

(work, year, place first produced)

The Middle Plays, (1977–2000)

The Late Plays (2000-)

[7]

References

  1. Lyn Gardner Obituary: Pam Gems, The Guardian, 16 May 2011
  2. "Pam Gems profile at Film Reference.com". NetIndustries. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  3. William Grimes (May 17, 2011). "Pam Gems, British Playwright, Dies at 85". The New York Times.
  4. Lustig, Vera (8 June 1997). "How We Met: Pam Gems And Denise Black - Arts & Entertainment". The Independent. London: Independent Print. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  5. "Pam Gems". United Agents. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  6. "Winterlove By Pam Gems". The Drill Hall. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  7. "Despatches By Pam Gems". The Drill Hall. Retrieved 11 July 2010.

Further reading

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