Tynan, Kenneth (1927-1980), was an influential British theater critic. He was regarded by many as the greatest stage critic of his generation. He won fame for his witty, perceptive, and often controversial reviews of plays by such groundbreaking dramatists as John Osborne, Bertolt Brecht, and Samuel Beckett; for his fight to end stage censorship in the United Kingdom; and for his work as literary manager of the National Theatre.
Tynan became deeply involved in the theater while studying English at Magdalen College, Oxford University. After a season as director of Lichfield Repertory Company, he published a set of essays on the theater that quickly made his reputation. By 1952, he was drama critic of the London Evening Standard. From 1954 to 1958 and from 1960 to 1963, Tynan wrote for The Observer weekly newspaper. He also reviewed for The New Yorker (1958-1960) in the United States. In his criticisms, Tynan attacked the taste of the British public for plays that were old-fashioned in setting and safe in subject matter. He looked to Europe and the United States for examples of the best contemporary theater and championed playwrights who were socially committed and had something controversial to say.
From 1963 to 1973, Tynan was first literary manager and then literary consultant to the National Theatre under Sir Laurence (later Lord) Olivier. He helped shape the theater’s image during its first decade. At the same time, he was a leading campaigner for the ending of the government censorship of plays, shows, and other forms of stage entertainment. He also fought for greater sexual freedom. He devised and contributed to a revue called Oh, Calcutta! (New York 1969, London 1970), which contained nudity and sexually explicit material.
In 1975, while suffering from lung cancer, he moved to Los Angeles, in the United States, where during his final years he wrote occasional pieces for The New Yorker. His books include the essay collection He that Plays the King (1950); two collections of criticism, Curtains (1961) and Tynan Right and Left (1967); and a book of journalistic articles, The Sound of Two Hands Clapping (1975).
Kenneth Peacock Tynan was born on April 2, 1927, in Birmingham, England. He died on July 26, 1980. After his death, a collection of his pieces on show business celebrities was published as Profiles (1990). Kenneth Tynan: Letters was published in 1995 and The Diaries of Kenneth Tynan in 2001.
