Edward Kemp (H 74-83) was born in Oxford and grew up in Worcester, Yorkshire and Chichester. He joined the King’s School in 1972 as a Cathedral Chorister and was awarded a King’s Scholarship in 1978. He was a School and House Monitor, as well as rowing for the School, playing bassoon in the orchestra and wind band and, unsurprisingly, was involved with numerous school drama productions. He also trained with the National Youth Theatre.

He gained a place from King’s to read English Language and Literature at New College Oxford, and was awarded an Exhibition in his second year there.

Edward wrote his first full-length play, The Iron and the Oak¸ at the age of 15. It was staged at King’s and went on to further productions in Chichester and Oxford, winning “Most Promising Playwright” in the first Texaco/National Youth Theatre playwriting competition. Two more plays, Counterparts and A Proper Place both won prizes in this competition, the latter being staged by the National Youth Theatre.

Following university, Edward worked for the National Youth Theatre, Anthony Quayle’s Compass Theatre (where he founded the education and community wing) and Chichester, where he assisted Sir Peter Hall.

From 1991-6, Edward was Staff Director at the Royal National Theatre, working with, amongst others, Nicholas Hytner, Richard Eyre, Phyllida Lloyd, Alan Ayckbourn, Alan Bennett, and Tom Stoppard. Since then, he has created plays for the National, RSC, Chichester, Complicite, Young Vic, and BBC Radio, and written over a dozen opera libretti (including for the Royal Opera House and Glyndebourne). With the choreographer Cathy Marston, he has written over 20 ballet scenarios, including recently The Suit for Ballet Black, Mrs Robinson in San Francisco, Of Mice and Men in Chicago, Lady Chatterley’s Lover in Montreal, My Brilliant Career in Brisbane, and The Cellist, a ballet about Jacqueline Du Pré, at the Royal Opera House and in Zurich, as well as a screenplay for Disney +. From 2008-2021 he was Director and Chief Executive of RADA, directing, teaching and running the Academy; during this time he was also Principal of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. He is now Chief Executive of the Royal Literary Fund, the UK’s oldest literary charity.