Michael Abbensetts
(1938-2016), Playwright and television screenwriterSitter in 1 portrait
Playwright. Born and educated in Guyana. Abbensetts intended to be a short story writer, but was inspired by John Osborne's Look Back in Anger to become a playwright. His first play Sweet Talk was premiered at the Royal Court in London in 1973 and was followed by The Museum Attendant for BBC TV. In 1974 he took British citizenship and became resident dramatist at the Royal Court. He wrote the television series, Empire Road (1978-9) which was the first written by a black writer with black actors. In 1979 Abbensetts received an award for an 'Outstanding Contribution To Literature' by a black writer resident in England. Later work includes the Channel 4 series Little Napoleons (1994).
Tell us more back to top
Can you tell us more about this person? Spotted an error, information that is missing (a sitter’s life dates, occupation or family relationships, or a date of portrait for example) or do you know anything that we don't know? If you have information to share please complete the form below.
If you require information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service. You can buy a print of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at £6 for unframed prints, £25 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, please use our Rights and Images service.
Please note that we cannot provide valuations.
We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.