| FRAYN | Michael, playwright who authored Donkeys' Years (5) |
| SIMON | Neil, playwright who authored The Odd Couple (5) |
| BEHAN | Irish playwright who authored the 1958 play The Hostage, Brendan _ (5) |
| AGNES | Woman Frayn finally cast in Donkeys" Years (5) |
| UDALL | Nicholas ___, 16th-century English playwright who authored the comedy Ralph Roister Doister (5) |
| YONKS | Thought to come from "donkey's years" or from certain letters in "years, months, weeks", a word meaning ages, forever or a very long time (5) |
| CAGES | Pens and cobs primarily, taking donkey's years (5) |
| NEILSIMON | American playwright who authored The Sunshine Boys (4,5) |
| ANTONCHEKHOV | Russian playwright who authored The Cherry Orchard (5,7) |
| ONEILL | Eugene, playwright who authored Long Day's Journey Into Night (1'5) |
| ATHOLFUGARD | South African playwright who authored 1959 play No Good Friday (5,6) |
| PAM | and 7dn, Playwright who authored 1978 musical biography Piaf (3,4) |
| RATTIGAN | Terence, playwright who authored The Winslow Boy (8) |
| GEMS | Pam ?, playwright who authored 1978 musical biography Piaf (4) |
| HARE | David, playwright who authored Plenty (4) |
| TOLLER | Ernst, German playwright who authored The Machine Wreckers (6) |
| OSBORN | Paul ?, playwright who authored 1939 Broadway comedy Morning's at Seven |
| FRISCH | Max, Zurich-born playwright who authored Andorra (6) |
| IONESCO | Eugene, Romanian playwright who authored Rhinoceros (7) |
| SHAFFER | Anthony, playwright who authored Sleuth (7) |
