Friends and Crocodiles / Gideon's Daughter (Screenplays by Stephen Poliakoff) - Softcover

Stephen Poliakoff

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0413775607 ISBN 13: 9780413775603

Publisher: Methuen Drama, 2005

Synopsis

From Stephen Poliakoff, acclaimed author the Emmy Award-winning The Lost Prince, come two unforgettable screenplays broadcast by the BBC in 2006. Friends & Crocodiles is an intoxicating story following the shifting balance of power between a visionary and hedonistic boss, Paul Reynolds, and his secretary Lizzie. Against a backdrop of flamboyant parties, maverick business plans and the boom and bust of corporate Britain in the eighties and nineties, a magnetic relationship of success and failure, aspiration and antagonism is played out. Gideon's Daughter, winner of two Golden Globes and a Peabody Award, is a powerful narrative of ambition, loss and redemption. As the century draws to a close, a new Labour government comes to power and leading PR guru Gideon Warner finds himself feted by politicians, businessmen and starlets eager for his assured touch. But as he reaches the pinnacle of his career, national grief at the death of Princess Diana becomes the emotional backdrop to Gideon's increasing sense of loss at the distance between himself and his daughter. As his ambitions unravel, a chance encounter with the extraordinary Stella begins a relationship that might yet offer him a chance of salvation. As well as the two screenplays, the volume features an entertaining and provocative essay by the author.

About this title

About the Author

Stephen Poliakoff, born in December 1952, was appointed writer-in-residence at the National Theatre for 1976 and the same year won the Evening Standard's Most Promising Playwright Award for Hitting Town and City Sugar. In 1980 Poliakoff won a BAFTA Award for the Best Single Play for Caught on a Train, the Evening Standard's Best British Film Award for Close My Eyes in 1992, the Critics' Circle Best Play Award for Blinded by the Sun in 1996 and the Prix Italia and the Royal Television Society Best Drama Award for Shooting the Past in 1999. His plays and films include Clever Soldiers (1974), The Carnation Gang (1974), Hitting Town (1975), City Sugar (1975), Heroes (1975), Strawberry Fields (1977), Stronger than the Sun (1977), Shout Across the River (1978), American Days (1979), The Summer Party (1980), Bloody Kids (1980), Caught on a Train (1980), Favourite Nights (1981), Soft Targets (1982), Runners (1983), Breaking the Silence (1984), Coming in to Land (1987), Hidden City (1988), She's Been Away (1989), Playing with Trains (1989), Close My Eyes (1991), Sienna Red (1992), Century (1994), Sweet Panic (1996), Blinded by the Sun (1996), The Tribe (1997), Food of Love (1998), Talk of the City (1998), Remember This (1999), Shooting the Past (1999), Perfect Strangers (2001), for which he won the Dennis Potter Award at the 2002 BAFTAs and Best Writer and Best Drama at the Royal Television Society Awards, and The Lost Prince (2003), winner of three Emmy Awards in 2005, including Outstanding Mini Series. His work for the BBC includes Friends and Crocodiles (2006) and Gideon's Daughter (also 2006), which won two Golden Globes and a Peabody Award in 2007, Joe’s Palace (2007) and Capturing Mary (2007), which was Emmy-nominated and won a BAFTA. More recently, Stephen released the feature film Glorious ’39 (2010) with BBC Films. Stephen’s latest stage play My City premiered at the Almeida Theatre in 2011 and his BBC television series Dancing On The Edge (2013) achieved international acclaim, winning a Golden Globe. His latest television series, Close To The Enemy premiered in 2016 on BBC Two.

Edition details

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0413775607
• ISBN 13: 9780413775603
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240