Gray, Simon (1936-2008), was an English dramatist known for his plays with academic and publishing settings. Gray’s dramas explore modern British life, showing the secret frustrations and unhappiness that hide beneath a seemingly successful surface.
Gray’s first popular play was Butley (1971). It concerns a university teacher who loses faith in his subject at the same time his personal life is crumbling. Otherwise Engaged (1975) shows a publisher so absorbed in himself that he hardly notices the problems and suffering of his friends and family. Simply Disconnected (1996) is a sequel. In Close of Play (1979), a family reunion is the occasion for characters to reveal their unhappiness. Quartermaine’s Terms (1981) is about another university teacher—a man so insignificant, even to himself, that he is barely aware of the emptiness of his life. The Common Pursuit (1984) follows a group of college friends after graduation, as they experience the small compromises and betrayals of life in the real world. Gray’s other plays include Wise Child (1967), his first; The Rear Column (1978); Melon (1987); Japes (2000); and The Old Masters (2004).
Gray was born on Oct. 21, 1936, on Hayling Island, northeast of the Isle of Wight, England. He taught English literature at the University of London from 1965 to 1985. Gray wrote about his experiences writing and rehearsing his plays in An Unnatural Pursuit (1985) and How’s That for Telling ‘Em, Fat Lady (1988). Gray died on Aug. 6, 2008.
