A man of parts
Michael Frayn’s notably diverse writing career has embraced journalism, biography (he is married to the distinguished in the 1950s, his diary columns for the newspaper displaying a penchant for comedy and satire. Among his novels, (1966) won the Hawthornden Prize and (1999) made the Booker shortlist. As has been performed and acclaimed around the world, the writer () has displayed his range with serious plays such as , first staged at the National Theatre in 1998, which focused on a mysterious meeting between two physicists who, as old friends, found themselves on opposite sides in the Second World War. When John Cleese saw Mr Frayn’s script for the popular British comedy film (1986), he described it as ‘the best I’ve ever seen’.
