James Fritz is a British playwright known for Four Minutes Twelve Seconds, Parliament Square and The Flea. In reviews of The Flea during 2023, Claire Armitstead described Fritz as "one of the UK's most interesting playwrights" in the GuardianThe Flea review - royal scandal becomes a satirical pantomime - The Guardian, Claire Armitstead and Anya Ryan of Time Out called him "one of the most boundary-pushing playwrights working today".The Flea Review - Time Out, Anya Ryan
Career
Fritz studied writing at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. In 2014 he wrote Four Minutes Twelve Seconds, which premiered at The Hampstead Theatre before transferring to Trafalgar Studios. His 2015 play Ross & Rachel debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival before transferring to 59E59 Theaters in New York. The same year Parliament Square won Fritz a Bruntwood Prize and went on to open at Royal Exchange, Manchester in 2017. In 2023 his play The Flea about the Cleveland Street Scandal premiered at The Yard Theatre.
Fritz has also worked extensively in audio drama and has won Gold at the Audio and Radio Industry Awards on two separate occasions. ARIA Winners 2021 /ARIA 2023 Winners
Works Stage 2011 - Lines 2014 - Four Minutes Twelve Seconds (winning Fritz Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright in 2015) 2015 - Ross & Rachel 2016 - The Fall 2017 - Start Swimming 2017 - Parliament Square 2018 and 2022 - Lava 2023 - The Flea
Radio plays 2016 - Comment is Free (winner of the Tinniswood Award and the Richard Imison award.) 2017 - Death Of A CosmonautDeath Of A Cosmonaut - BBC Radio 4 2020 - Eight Point Nine Nine (Winner of the Audio and Radio Industry Awards Gold Award for Best Fictional Storytelling)ARIA Winners 2021 / 2022 - Skyscraper LullabyKelli O'Hara, Denée Benton, Brian Stokes Mitchell & More Featured in Audible Theater Originals - Broadway World 2022 - Dear Harry Kane (Winner of the Audio and Radio Industry Awards Gold Award for Best DramaARIA 2023 Winners and the Prix Europa for Best European Audio Single Fiction of the Year.) Prix Europa 2023 Winners 2023 - The Test Batter Can't BreatheThe 25 Best Radio Dramas To Download Right Now - The Independent
References