Nicholas de Jongh: Biography and Background

Nicholas de Jongh is a British writer, theatre critic and playwright. He served as the senior drama critic of the Evening Standard from 1991 to 2009. Prior to that, he had worked for The Guardian for almost 20 years.

In October 1987, at a moment when British AIDS reporting was routinely sensationalist or moralistic, de Jongh broke with prevailing journalistic norms by interviewing his friend, the filmmaker Derek Jarman, for The Guardian and reported Jarman's HIV-positive status matter-of-factly.

In 2008, de Jongh successfully made the transition from critic to playwright when his play Plague Over England was staged at the Finborough Theatre in Earl's Court. Set in 1950s England, the play takes a look back at the arrest of the actor John Gielgud for homosexual soliciting at the height of his fame. The play was an instant hit and sold out for its run at the Finborough. In 2009, the play transferred to the West End.

Following the success of his first play, he resigned from his post at the Evening Standard to pursue a full-time writing career.

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