(Dominic Cavendish’s article appeared in the Telegraph, 3/7.)
Over the past 15 years, relatively late in life, William Nicholson has made impressive strides as a Hollywood screenwriter; his credits include Gladiator, Les Misérables, Mandela and Everest.
I suspect he may still end up being remembered, though, as the man who gave us Shadowlands. This affecting portrait of the relationship between CS Lewis and Joy Davidman, the divorced American poet who became his wife, pulled off a hat-trick: it started out as a BBC drama in 1985, was adapted for the stage in 1989, faring well in the West End, and four years later became an award-winning film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/shadowlands-touring-review-intensely-moving/