John Whiting

Who was John Whiting?

John Robert Whiting was an English actor, dramatist and critic.

Born in Salisbury, he was educated at Taunton School. "the particular hellish life which is the English public school" as he described it. Trained at RADA, he then worked as an actor in repertory, and while in the company at Bideford in Devon, met the actress Asthore Lloyd Mawson. At the start of the Second World War, as a lifelong pacifist, he registered as a conscientious objector, but soon after changed his mind and joined the anti-aircraft section of the Royal Artillery: his wartime experiences as a soldier were to mark a profound change in his life and work. In 1940, he married Jackie, and in 1944 he was discharged from the army for health reasons.

From 1946 till 1952, while writing, he again worked as an actor, as a member of John Gielgud's company, and also, in 1951, winning first prize in the Festival of Britain play competition for Saint's Day. His works include:

No More A-Roving

Conditions of Agreement

Saint's Day

A Penny for a Song. A play

Marching Song. A play

The Gates of Summer. A play

No Why

The Devils. A play based on the book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley