Richard Bean has rightly been described by the British press as “a writer of beguiling originality, with a gift for both laugh-out-loud dialogue and a sympathetic understanding of the darker recesses of the human heart”.
In previous newsletters we have presented Richard Bean’s hilarious comedies THE HERETIC, ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS and YOUNG MARX. This time we would like to focus on three of his other plays, which are harder to categorize: The ‘absurd’ black comedy THE MENTALISTS (2002), the fisherman drama UNDER THE WHALEBACK (2003) and the psychological drama KISS ME (2017).
Richard Bean was born in Hull in 1956. After school, he worked in a bread plant before leaving to study Psychology at Loughborough University. Richard has worked as a psychologist and a stand-up comedian.
He was awarded the 2011 Evening Standard Award for Best Play for The Heretic and One Man, Two Guvnors, the 2011 Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play and 2012 Whatsonstage.com Award for Best New Comedy, both for One Man, Two Guvnors.
