15/05/2026
Today marks the centenary of the birth of Peter and Anthony Shaffer, twin brothers who both studied at Trinity and became award-winning writers for stage and screen.
Acclaimed for Equus and Amadeus, Sir Peter Shaffer bequeathed his personal archive to the College along with his wish to establish a Playwright-in-Residence.
The substantial archive features playscripts, correspondence and photographs.
Trinity PhD student James Critchley came across the unstaged play Our Lady of the Volcano while working on Shaffer’s first play, Five Finger Exercise.
James said: ‘It’s been really exciting to look back through the numerous letters, photographs and playscripts – unstaged or well-known - which all have the thrilling imprints of a writer whose legacy continues to flourish today.’
Trinity established with funding from the Sir Peter Shaffer Charitable Foundation the Shaffer Playwright-in-Residence scheme for early-career playwrights in 2022.
Now in its fourth year, the studentship enables an aspiring playwright to craft and stage a new play via a 12-month playwright-in-residence award, which provides a maintenance grant, research allowance and College accommodation.
Like Rabbits, a new play by Imogen Usherwood, the current Peter Shaffer Playwright-in-Residence, will be staged at the ADC Theatre 20-23 May.
This evening to mark the centenary of his birth, Trinity members are welcome to join a panel discussion in the Wren Library at 5:30pm to hear about Sir Peter Shaffer’s legacy.
Image captions:
1 - Sir Peter Shaffer as a student at Trinity. Courtesy of the Sir Peter Shaffer Charitable Foundation.
2 - The cover and title page of ‘Our Lady of the Volcano’ signed by Peter Shaffer and dated 1961.
3 - Trinity PhD student James Critchley examining the playscript in the Wren Library.
4 - A page extract from ‘Our Lady of the Volcano’
5 - Trinity’s current Peter Shaffer Playwright-in-Residence Imogen Usherwood
6 - Poster for Imogen's play, Like Rabbits
7- Kindly shared by Anthony’s daughter and Peter’s niece, Claudia Shaffer, a photo of the brothers on one of their last birthdays.
8 - Sir Peter Shaffer as a student at Trinity. Courtesy of the Sir Peter Shaffer Charitable Foundation.
