Carlo Goldoni (1707-93) was an Italian dramatist born in Venice who wrote over 200 comedies, tragedies and tragicomedies in his lifetime. His many popular comedies include A Servant to Two Masters (1746), The Respectable Woman (1749) and The Mistress of the Inn (1753). In 1762 Goldoni moved to Paris where he directed the Italian theatre and continued to write more plays, including The Fan (1764). After his acclaimed play Spoonface Steinberg (1997), Lee Hall was appointed Writer in Residence at the RSC 1999/2000 under the Pearson Playwrights Scheme Award. Other plays include Cooking with Elvis (2000, Edinburgh Festival and West End) and an adaptation of Goldoni's The Servant with Two Masters (RSC 1999). He also wrote the screenplay to the film Billy Elliot (1999), receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. His most recent play, The Pitmen Painters premiered at the Live Theatre, Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 2007 before transferring to the National Theatre 2008.