Roy Minton

Roy Minton (born in Nottingham, England) is an English playwright best known for Scum and his other work with Alan Clarke. He is notable for having written over 30 one-off scripts for London Weekend Television, Rediffusion, BBC, ATV, Granada, Thames Television and Yorkshire Television, including <i>Sling Your Hook</i>, Horace, Funny Farm, Scum, <i>Goodnight Albert</i>, and <i>The Hunting of Lionel Crane</i>.

He has translated and performed several of his plays overseas and at festivals in the UK, including a reading of his play for Scum at the Royal Shakespeare Company, London; and Gradual Decline at the Riverside Studios London.

Minton also wrote the screenplay for Scrubbers, a film from which he disassociates himself totally. During his absence overseas, he felt the original screenplay had been "savaged" and describes the final production as "...arguably the worst film ever made."

Background

Born in Nottingham England, Minton won a two-year scholarship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. He worked as an actor prior to writing full-time. He was winner of a BBC playwriting competition, received the Art Council Award and was resident dramatist at the Nottingham Playhouse.

Works

Stage Plays

• Death in Leicester
• Sometime Never
• Ag and Fish
• Good Times
• Bovver
• Funny Sunday
• Scum
• Gradual Decline

Feature films

• Scum
• Scrubbers

Radio Plays

• Working Weekend BBC
• A Kiss on the Peke Radio Telefís Éireann, Dublin.
• The Gold Medallist BBC

Films and Plays for Television

• Stand By Your Screen
• Goodnight Albert
• Horace
• Horace 6 x 30-minute plays for Yorkshire Television based on the original BBC film.
• Funny Farm
• Scum
• Fast Hands

Further reading

• Bovver One-act play. Prompt Series, Hutchinson.
• Scum novel adapted from the film script. Hutchinson/Arrow Books

Personal life

Minton lives in north London and continues to write novels, scripts and plays. He is currently working on his autobiography.

Awards

• Arts Council Award

External links

• Roy Minton’s Blog.
• Scum (TV drama) at the BFI's Screenonline
• 625.org biography

This page was last edited on 22 February 2024, at 15:47