English Playwright Peter Barnes Dead at 73
by Broadway Staff • Jul 7, 2004
English playwright Peter Barnes died on July 1 from a heart attack. He was 73, according to The New York Times.
Barnes is best known in the theater world for writing the plays The Ruling Class and Red Noses. The Ruling Class premiered in Britain and was immediately the subject of controversy because it ridiculed both British aristocracy and the Church. However, the play went on to become a big success; in 1972, a film version starring Peter O'Toole was released. Red Noses, about the Black Death, won the Olivier Award for Best Play. His other plays include The Time of the Barracudas, Sclerosis, Leonardo's Last Supper, Lulu, The Bewitched and Laughter!.
Barnes is best known in the theater world for writing the plays The Ruling Class and Red Noses. The Ruling Class premiered in Britain and was immediately the subject of controversy because it ridiculed both British aristocracy and the Church. However, the play went on to become a big success; in 1972, a film version starring Peter O'Toole was released. Red Noses, about the Black Death, won the Olivier Award for Best Play. His other plays include The Time of the Barracudas, Sclerosis, Leonardo's Last Supper, Lulu, The Bewitched and Laughter!.
Barnes was also a screenwriter. He was nominated for an Oscar for his screen adaptation of the novel Enchanted April. His other screen credits include Violent Moment, The Professionals, Offbeat, Ring of Spies and Voices From a Locked Room.
Barnes is survived by his wife and three children.