OBITUARY
Oliver Emanuel obituary
Gifted dramatist who made his mark in Scottish theatre and gave his imagination full flight on radio
Oliver Emanuel, one of the most original and gifted dramatists of his generation, was also passionate about children’s theatre and radio
“I’m Oliver Emanuel. I wrote the words.” The standard greeting with which Oliver Emanuel commenced rehearsals was an indication of how he viewed the making of a play. What he had written down was only part of the whole — an important part, undoubtedly, but one that awaited response and interpretation from the other creative people in the room. “Feeding that group thought,” says one frequent collaborator, “was what Olly loved.”
This approach was reflected in the nature of Emanuel’s writing, which saw him enshrined in the course of his career as one of the most original and gifted dramatists of his generation. Simple on the page, his words emerged in their full nuance and power when they were performed. But precision mattered too, and
