Stars to pay tribute to playwright who turned his roots into hit shows

The great and the good of Britain's theatreland will gather next month to celebrate the life of Sir Arnold Wesker.

Mike Leigh, Bernard Kops and Samantha Spiro are among a host of celebrities who will pay tribute to the late Jewish playwright at the Royal Court Theatre in London.

The acclaimed writer died of Parkinson's disease in April, aged 83.

Sir Arnold came to prominence in 1957 with his play Chicken Soup with Barley. It was part of his famous trilogy, along with Roots, which was first performed the following year, and I'm Talking about Jerusalem.

Among his most noted subsequent plays were Chips with Everything, about class attitudes in the early 1960s, and Shylock, which retells The Merchant of Venice from Shylock's point of view.

Born in Stepney in 1932, his early and most famous plays were all autobiographical - about himself, his wife, his parents, sister and brother-in-law, his national service in the RAF and his experience as a trainee chef.

Sir Arnold was the last of the Royal Court's "Angry Young Men" who, in the late 1950s and 1960s, revolutionised British theatre by writing about their own lives.

The Royal Court tribute will bring together collaborators, colleagues and friends alongside actors who have appeared in Sir Arnold's plays, designers and directors, including the director Mike Leigh, who admired but never managed to meet Sir Arnold.

The event, has been organised by the director/visual artist Professor Pamela Howard, along with writer David Edgar and PR Anne Mayer.

Among the other confirmed participants are actors Janie Dee, Frank Barrie and Jessica Raine, and playwright David Edgar.

At the event, playwright and poet Bernard Kops will speak about his friendship with Sir Arnold, which stretched for half a century.

Mr Kops said: "We met when we were both first emerging as writers. There was a great change in theatre and playwriting at the time and, in a way, we took over the world - and it never really recovered!

Mr Kops, now 90, would regularly read his poetry to Sir Arnold during his illness. He said: "He did great work in the world, which is why so many people are feeling his loss. But his work will always be there and so he lives on through that."