The Entertainer (play) Holm as Jean and Bertie Carvel as Frank. In 1960, a paperback novelization by John Burke was published by Four Square Books to coincide with the release of the film. Though the attribution line says "based on the play", it is actually based on the screenplay by Osborne and Nigel Kneale. The Entertainer (play) The Entertainer is a three-act play by John Osborne, first produced in 1957. His first play, "Look Back in Anger", had attracted mixed notices but a great deal of publicity. Having depicted an "angry young man" in the earlier play, Osborne wrote at Laurence Olivier's request
John Osborne Hotel in Amsterdam" (1968) won "Evening Standard" Best Play of the Year awards. The latter play features three showbiz couples in a hotel suite, having fled a tyrannical and unpleasant movie producer, referred to as "K.L". John Heilpern confirms the rumor that "K.L" was in fact a portrait of Tony Richardson, seen through Osborne's eyes. Laurie, a screenwriter, a role created by Paul Scofield, is a self-portrait: Osborne at mid-career. John Osborne's plays in the 1970s included "West of Suez" which starred Ralph Richardson, "A Sense of Detachment", first produced at the Royal Court in 1972, and the disappointing "Watch