James Saunders (1925-2004) was born in Islington, North London. Educated at Wembley County School and Southampton University, he became a chemistry tutor by day at Davis's, Holland Park (London) and a playwright by night, until devoting all his time to writing. He received an Arts Council playwright's bursary for THE ARK in 1960. His early plays led him to be considered one of the main British exponents of the Theatre of the Absurd. Later works continued to explore the limits of traditional theatre. NEXT TIME I’LL SING TO YOU ran at the Criterion Theatre 1962-63, winning for him an Evening Standard award for Most Promising Playwright (1963) and since then his plays have enjoyed enormous success both in the West End and with amateur theatre clubs. A SCENT OF FLOWERS was first staged at the Duke of York's in 1964, and THE TRAVAILS OF SANCHO PANZA at the National Theatre in 1969. Following its Paris production, FALL won the Molière Award.
