Hastings was born in
London, UK. His early plays – ''Don't Destroy Me
(1956), Yes - and After'' (1957) – reflected the influence of the
Angry Young Men movement and his brief involvement with the circle surrounding
Colin Wilson. Hastings later enjoyed mainstream
West End success with
Gloo Joo (1978), a farce about a West Indian threatened with deportation from the United Kingdom, which won the
Evening Standard Comedy of the Year Award in 1979. He wrote numerous stage plays, television screenplays and, in addition to the
Tom & Viv film, scripts for two motion pictures,
The American (1998) and
The Nightcomers (1971, based on the
Henry James novella
The Turn of the Screw and starring
Marlon Brando). Hastings also wrote two
libretti for
Michael Nyman:
Man and Boy: Dada (2003, assisted by Victoria Hardie) and
Love Counts (2005). Hastings died aged 73 on 19 November 2011. Thorns subsequently revived Hastings' first play, ''Don't Destroy Me'', at the
Arcola Theatre in January 2024. ==Selected works==