John Foley Popular Books
John Foley Biography & Facts
Sean Foley (born John Foley; 21 November 1964) is a British director, writer, comedian and actor. Following early success as part of the comedy double act The Right Size and their long-running stage show The Play What I Wrote, Foley has more recently become a director, including of several West End comedy productions. In 2019, he was appointed as Artistic Director of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Early career and The Right Size Foley and Hamish McColl formed The Right Size in 1988. They devised and performed in the shows, with regular creative team collaborators such as director Jozef Houben, designer Alice Power, and songwriter Chris Larner. Their style combined elements of clowning, physical comedy, mime, slapstick, vaudeville and variety. The Right Size's major successes were Do You Come Here Often?, about two strangers stuck in a bathroom for 25 years, and The Play What I Wrote, a tribute to Morecambe and Wise. The Right Size were active until 2006. Acting Foley has played some major parts in traditional scripted roles, including Freud in Hysteria by Terry Johnson at Birmingham Rep in 2007, and the single role in the film of Samuel Beckett's Act Without Words I directed by Karel Reisz. He appeared alongside Mark Rylance in I Am Shakespeare at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester in 2007. He acted at the Oxford Youth Theatre before his time at the University of Oxford, where he studied history. On television, he appeared as pub owner Jeff in all twelve episodes of the BBC One sitcom Wild West (2002–2004), playing opposite Dawn French and Catherine Tate. He then starred alongside Tate in the episode "The Patter of Tiny Feet" of the BBC Three comedy horror anthology series Twisted Tales (2005), and also directed The Catherine Tate Show Live tour years later in 2016. Writing and directing Foley made his stage directorial debut in 2007 with Pinter's People. He then directed several stage shows by stand-up comedians including Joan Rivers, Nina Conti and Armstrong and Miller. He achieved significant West End success in 2012, when he directed productions of The Ladykillers (for which he was nominated for the 2012 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director) and Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw. He also, with Patrick Barlow, co-directed and co-wrote a four-actor stage adaptation of Ben Hur at the Watermill Theatre, a regional English theatre. In 2013, Foley made his Royal Shakespeare Company debut, directing Thomas Middleton's A Mad World, My Masters. The production was well received by UK critics. It was announced in June 2013 that Foley would be directing Matthew MacFadyen and Stephen Mangan in a theatrical adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster stories, to be titled Perfect Nonsense, at the Duke of York's Theatre, London, from 30 October 2013. He also directed the X Factor stage musical, I Can't Sing! The X Factor Musical, which premiered in 2014 at the London Palladium and starred Nigel Harman, Alan Morrissey and Cynthia Erivo. However, the show was cancelled after 6 weeks and 3 days due to poor ticket sales, and lost £4 million. Foley adapted and directed The Painkiller starring Kenneth Branagh and Rob Brydon during the Kenneth Branagh season at the Garrick Theatre in the West End in March 2016. He also adapted Eugène Ionesco's Amédée, or How to Get Rid of It starring Josie Lawrence and Trevor Fox in March 2017 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He directed his and Phil Porter's adaptation of Molière's The Miser starring Griff Rhys Jones, Lee Mack and Mathew Horne at the Garrick Theatre in London, which was nominated for a 2018 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. He also directed Noël Coward's Present Laughter for Chichester Festival Theatre in April 2018, starring Rufus Hound as Garry Essendine with Katherine Kingsley and Tracy Ann Oberman. Foley also adapted and directed The Man in the White Suit for the stage, starring Stephen Mangan and Kara Tointon, beginning at the Theatre Royal, Bath for three weeks, before transferring to the Wyndham's Theatre in the West End from 9 October until 7 December 2019. In February 2020, Foley directed The Upstart Crow by Ben Elton, based on the BBC TV series with David Mitchell reprising his role as William Shakespeare at the Gielgud Theatre, London. The production was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the production closed early. The production was revived at London's Apollo Theatre from 23 September to 3 December 2022. In July 2023, Foley directed The Crown Jewels by Simon Nye starring Al Murray, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Mel Giedroyc, Aidan McArdle, Neil Morrissey, Joe Thomas and Tanvi Virmani. The play opened at the Garrick Theatre in London, before touring the UK. In October 2024, Foley will direct a stage adaptation of Dr. Strangelove, based on the 1964 film by Stanley Kubrick, co-adapting with Armando Iannucci. It will open at the Noël Coward Theatre in London, and will star Steve Coogan in multiple roles. Artistic Director of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre In March 2019 it was announced that Foley was appointed to become artistic director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre succeeding Roxana Silbert. Foley's inaugural season was due to start in 2020 however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic it began in autumn 2021. Foley's first production as director was a revival of his play The Play What I Wrote from 27 November 2021 until 1 January 2022, followed by The COVID-19 Variations: A Piano Drama composed by Richard Thomas, created by Alison Jackson and performed by Philip Edward Fisher from 8 to 9 February 2022. In February 2023, he directed and co-wrote with Al Murray and Matt Forde Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical based on the TV series Spitting Image. Following its run at The Rep, the production transferred to London's West End at the Phoenix Theatre from May for a limited run. In May 2024, Foley will direct the world premiere of Withnail and I based on the 1987 film of the same name, adapted for the stage by the film's creator Bruce Robinson. Awards and nominations Olivier Awards Winner 1999 Best Entertainment, Do You Come Here Often 2002 Best Comedy, The Play What I Wrote Nominations 2002 Best Actor (with Hamish McColl), The Play What I Wrote 2006 Best Entertainment, Ducktastic 2010 Best Entertainment, Arturo Brachetti: Change 2012 Best Director, The Ladykillers 2012 Best New Play, The Ladykillers 2018 Best New Comedy, The Miser Tony Awards Nominations 2003 Best Special Theatrical Event, The Play What I Wrote Selected other work Television Spine Chillers Wild West Happiness People Like Us The Fitz Brass Eye Radio The Remains of Foley and McColl Foley and McColl Again The Goldfish Bowl Film Mindhorn (2016) References External links Sean Foley at the Internet Broadway Database Sean Foley at IMDb Hamish McColl, Sean Foley and Kenneth Branagh (22 May 2003). "A conversation with the cast and director of "The Play I Wrote".... Discover the John Foley popular books. Find the top 100 most popular John Foley books.
Best Seller John Foley Books of 2024
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Wycliffe and the House of Fear
W.J. BurleyA troubling disappearance. A puzzling mystery. A new investigation for Detective Wycliffe.Detective Superintendent Wycliffe is holidaying in Cornwall when he meets the intriguing K...
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Lost or Found
Graham IsonA wedding ring, a missing woman, a bizarre disappearance...Brock and Poole have one of their most unusual cases to unravel'Devilishly engaging characters and authentic details of p...
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One Under
Graham HurleyTwo crimes, two tangles of emotions and thwarted love...From the author of LAST FLIGHT TO STALINGRADA man is chained inside a tunnel and then dismembered and scattered along the tr...
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Shadow Man
Margaret Kirk'Shadow Man is a harrowing and horrific game of consequences.' Val McDermid THE FIRST COMPELLING SCOTTISH CRIME THRILLER IN THE GRIPPING DI LUKAS MAHLER SERIESTwo sistersJust befo...
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Dying for Love
Carlton SmithDr. John Yelenic was a successful dentist in a small Pennsylvania town. When he met Michele Kamler, he thought he'd finally found the woman of his dreams. She was beautiful, intell...
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The First Lie
A. J. ParkThe most gripping psychological thriller you'll read this year perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Mark Edwards, Claire McGowan, TM Logan and KL Slater...'This is a real page turner....
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Touching Distance
Graham HurleyA killing without mercy. A crime with no motive. A thriller from the author of LAST FLIGHT TO STALINGRADThree random killings. Or something much, much worse? DS Jimmy Suttle is try...
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The Wrong Child
Barry GornellHow far would you go to protect your child?When tragedy strikes in a small Scottish village, everyone in the community is affected.Most people believe one child is to blame for wha...
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Wycliffe and the Quiet Virgin
W.J. BurleyWycliffe investigates the disappearance of a young girl and becomes involved in a major criminal investigation . . .Chief Superintendent Wycliffe doubted whether he would enjoy hi...
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Wycliffe and the School Bullies
W.J. BurleyBullying and persecution among a group of schoolgirls leads to violent retribution and a race against time for Wycliffe.Two very different young women have been murdered within the...
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When I Lost You
Merilyn DaviesFormer Crime Analyst Merilyn Davies brings to life a gritty, heartstopping crime thriller that will have you utterly obsessed.'Assured, fresh, engrossing' MEL SHERRATT'Taut, authen...
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Deadlight
Graham Hurley'There is no one writing better police procedurals today.' Daily TelegraphA twentyyearold crime throws DI Joe Faraday into the violent legacy of the Falklands War...Freshly promote...
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Truth or Dare
M. J. ArlidgeEVERY CRIME IS CONNECTED.BUT WHO IS PULLING THE STRINGS?THE CHILLING THRILLER FROM THE MIND OF MILLIONCOPY BESTSELLER M. J. ARLIDGEA crimewave sweeps through the city and noone is ...
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Denial
Peter JamesIntroducing policeman Glenn Branson...When actress Gloria Lamark takes her own life, her devoted son, Thomas, is heartbroken. Something must be wrong with a world in which such a t...
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No Lovelier Death
Graham Hurley'There is no one writing better police procedurals today.' Daily TelegraphTwo murdered teenagers. Both sides of the law are looking for the killer.But who will get there first?A te...
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Wycliffe and the Four Jacks
W.J. BurleyA murder committed in the night of dead. It's all a game for Detective Wycliffe to solve in a puzzling case.Writer David Cleeve lived exactly the way a bestselling novelist should ...
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The Serpent Under
Bonnie MacBirdHolmes and Watson face treachery and danger in the latest fulllength thriller by Bonnie MacBird, author of the bestselling Sherlock Holmes novel Art in the Blood.Murder, jealousy, ...
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Wycliffe and the Pea Green Boat
W.J. BurleyWycliffe tackles a case which reaches back down the generations ...When Cedric Tremain is charged with murdering his father by boobytrapping his fishing boat, all the locals are ag...
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Wycliffe and the Scapegoat
W.J. BurleyAn ancient legend, an alltoo modern murder, and Chief Superintendent Wycliffe must find the link between them ...Every year, at Halloween, high on the Cornish cliffs, a lifesized e...
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In the Blood
Margaret KirkThe bloated remains of a man are discovered bound to a derelict pier in Orkney and newly promoted DCI Lukas Mahler dispatches a team to investigate. But when the body is identified...
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The Three Locks
Bonnie MacBirdA heatwave melts London as Holmes and Watson are called to action in this new Sherlock Holmes adventure by Bonnie MacBird, author of “one of the best Sherlock Holmes novels of rece...
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Wycliffe And The Guild Of Nine
W.J. BurleyA murder at an artists' colony but not everyone wants Chief Superintendent Wycliffe to investigate . . .The artists' colony is at the site of a disused mine working on the moor we...
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Death on the Aisle
Kate JohnsonFirst comes love, then comes murder... Molly Higgins is getting marriedbut of course nothing is going to plan! Marrying a celebrity brings with it a huge number of headaches no mat...
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Borrowed Light
Graham Hurley'There is no one writing better police procedurals today.' Daily TelegraphFour charred bodies. One killer. A race against time...DI Joe Faraday is convalescing after a serious inju...
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What Lies Buried
Margaret Kirk'Shadow Man is a harrowing and horrific game of consequences' Val McDermid THE BRILLIANTLY COMPELLING SECOND NOVEL IN THE DI LUKAS MAHLER SERIESA missing child. A seventyyearold mu...
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Wycliffe And The Redhead
W.J. BurleyThe Cornish Detective seriesThe discovery of a body in a quarry creates a baffling case for Detective Superintendent Wycliffe'Firstclass, oldtime, hyperingenious whodunit' OBSERVER...
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Blood Red Turns Dollar Green
Paul O'BrienProfessional wrestling meets Empire in a trilogy that RollingStone.com called “a oneof a kind literary offering for diehard wrestling fans.”New York City, 1969. Danno Garland is a ...
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Shadow of a Doubt
Michelle Davies'Pure suspense, where past and present collide with chilling results' Erin Kelly'A hugely entertaining, fastpaced thriller' Caz Frear'It's a pitchperfect blend of ghostly terror an...
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Sins of the Father
Graham HurleyDS Jimmy Suttle investigates a murder in a house haunted by the past in the latest from 'one of the UK's finest crime novelists' (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY), author of LAST FLIGHT TO S...
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Wycliffe and the Cycle of Death
W.J. BurleyA respectable bookseller is found bludgeoned and strangled and it's up to Chief Superintendent Wycliffe to find out why . . .When Matthew Glynn is murdered, Wycliffe is mystified. ...
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Wycliffe and the Dead Flautist
W.J. BurleyClassic crime featuring the everpopular Chief Superintendent Wycliffe 'Another must for collectors' Sunday Times.On the peaceful and secluded estate of Lord and Lady Bottrell, th...
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The Guilty Wife
Elle CroftTHE TOP 10 EBOOK BESTSELLER 'A gripping tale of betrayal, deceit, and duplicity. Fabulous.' Jenny Blackhurst, author of How I Lost You 'Relentless and intense...I loved the final ...
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Wycliffe and the Beales
W.J. BurleyA mysterious death ... an eccentric family living on the edge of Dartmoor ... And Chief Superintendent Wycliffe has one of his most complex cases to date.The Cornish Detective seri...
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The Advent Killer
Alastair GunnChristmas is coming. One body at a time. Three weeks before Christmas: Sunday, one a.m. A woman is drowned in her bathtub.One week later: Sunday, one a.m. A woman is beaten savagel...
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The Dance of the Serpents
Oscar de Muriel'Properly creepy and Gothic' IAN RANKIN on the Frey & McGray mysteries...December, 1889.There have been many bad days in Edinburgh police's secret subdivision 'The Commission f...
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Wycliffe and the Winsor Blue
W.J. BurleyA mysterious death in the Cornish art world and a murder investigation for Chief Superintendent Wycliffe...When Edwin Garland dies of a heart attack, no one outside the expectant ...
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Like Mother, Like Daughter
Elle Croft'Utterly absorbing and thoughtprovoking' Caz Frear'What a premise, and packed with suspense' Victoria Selman'A dark, delicious triumph' Niki MackayIf what they said was true, then ...
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All Fall Down
M. J. ArlidgeFROM THE MIND OF THE MILLIONCOPY BESTSELLER M.J. ARLIDGE COMES THE BRAND NEW SERIAL KILLER THRILLER STARRING DETECTIVE INSPECTOR HELEN GRACE... "You have one hour to live."Those...
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Found Her
NJ MackayThe most gripping, emotional and redemptive psychological thriller of 2021 for fans of Erin Kinsley, Lisa Jewell, Louise Jensen, Phoebe Morgan, CL Taylor, Cara Hunter and KL Slate...
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The Order of Things
Graham HurleyThe fourth novel in the Jimmy Suttle series, from 'one of the UK's finest crime novelists' (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY), author of LAST FLIGHT TO STALINGRAD'There is noone writing bette...
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Wycliffe And The Last Rites
W.J. BurleyThe Cornish Detective seriesA puzzling murder mystery. A tough new case for Detective Wycliffe to investigate.'You can always count on Wycliffe' FINANCIAL TIMES'GRIPPING' THE TIME...
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Cat And Mouse
M. J. ArlidgeIF YOU THINK YOU'RE ALONE:THINK AGAIN A scratching at the window.A tap on the door.What if, this time, someone is out there? A silent killer stalks the city, targeting those home ...
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Unquiet Spirits
Bonnie MacBirdThe new novel from the author of Art in the Blood. December 1889. Fresh from debunking a “ghostly” hound in Dartmoor, Sherlock Holmes has returned to London, only to find himself t...
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Wycliffe and How to Kill A Cat
W.J. BurleyAnother classic crime novel featuring Cornwall's Superintendent Wycliffe.The girl was young, with auburn hair arranged on the pillow. Wycliffe could almost believe she was asleep ...
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The Forsyte Saga
John GalsworthyThe Forsyte Saga is the first part of John Galsworthy’s magnificent, wellloved Forsyte Chronicles, which trace the changing fortunes of the wealthy Forsyte dynasty through fifty ye...