Patrick Marber

Patrick Marber grew up in Wimbledon and studied English at Wadham College, Oxford. He began his career as a stand up comedian and performer in radio comedies. Marber wrote his first play "Dealer's Choice" in 1995. It opened at the Royal National Theatre in London in February 1995 in a production directed by the playwright. Marber had workshopped the show at the NT studio but now describes the decision to direct the production as "stupid" - his sole directorial experience at the time was directing a Steve Coogan show at the Edinburgh Festival. The play however was a success - it transferred to the West End and has won numerous awards including the 1995 Writer's Guild Award (Best West End Play) and the 1995 Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy of the Year. "Dealer's Choice" has been produced in many cities throughout the world including Melbourne, New York, Berlin, Chicago and Vienna. He has since directed both his original plays at the same venue: "Closer" in 1997 and "Howard Katz"