Stewart Parker

Stewart Parker was born in Belfast in 1941. His first stage play, Spokesong, won the 1976 Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright Award and his 1987 play, Pentecost, won the Harvey's Irish Theatre Award. Other work includes include musical Kingdom Come (1977), Catchpenny Twist (1977), Nightshade (1979), Pratt's Fall (1981), Northern Star (1984), Heavenly Bodies (1986). Plays for radio include The Iceberg and The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner. Film and TV credits include Eat The Peach and I'm a Dreamer, Montreal, Iris in the Traffic,  Ruby in the Rain, 'Blue Money' and Lost Belongings.
The musical landscape of Belfast is integral to his work as a playwright.

Parker died of cancer in London in 1988.

An annual award (The Stewart Parker Trust Award) for best Irish debut play was set up in his name after his death. There is a cash bursary as part of the award. It was awarded to Séan McLoughlin for his play Noah and the Tower Flower in 2008. Previous recipients of the award include: Conor McPherson, Mark O'Rowe, Enda Walsh, Eugene O'Brien, Gerald Murphy, Christian O'Reilly, Gina Moxley, Declan Hughes & Sebastian Barry.