Michael Frederick Bartlett (born 7 October 1980)[1] is an English playwright and screenwriter for film and TV series.
[3] A BBC TV Film of Bartlett's play King Charles III was broadcast in May 2017 and while critically acclaimed, generated some controversy.
[7] The play explored the issues surrounding conscientious objection in the UK during World War II and also at the problems of bullying within the armed forces.
[9] His play, Artefacts, was performed at The Bush Theatre[10] in London in 2008 before a national tour, produced by new writing specialists Nabokov.
Earthquakes in London, directed by Rupert Goold, was described by Michael Billington in the Guardian as an "epic, expansive play about climate change, corporate corruption, fathers and children".
[14] Charles Spencer of the Daily Telegraph called it "the theatrical equivalent of a thrilling roller coaster ride", delivering "a rush of invention, humour and raw emotion".
In a favourable review in the Guardian, Michael Billington explained, "Bartlett is saying that we live in a Britain where the old tribal loyalties are increasingly irrelevant.
The real divide is between a popular protest movement, fed on Facebook and Twitter, that hungers for a change of direction, and an entrenched governmental system that clings precariously to the status quo.
"[18] Ian Shuttleworth of the Financial Times noted that this was a play in which "sprawl wins out": "Both here and in Earthquakes Bartlett is groping towards some sense of a need to reconcile the worldly and the numinous.
He also adapted the Euripides play Medea, in a touring production he directed himself; it starred Rachael Stirling in the title role.
In December 2015, Polly Hill, the Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, announced a six 60-minute episode television series entitled Press that had been written by Bartlett.
Commenting about the series, Bartlett said "From exposing political corruption to splashing on celebrity scandal, editors and journalists have enormous influence over us, yet recent events have shown there’s high-stakes and life-changing drama going on in the news organisations themselves.