Peter Ustinov was born in London soon after his parents, Iona and Nadia Benois Ustinov, arrived in England, and his ancestry was cosmopolitan. His mother, a painter, was born in Russia of an architect father, Louis Benois, and French, Russian, and even Ethiopian elements form part of Ustinov's heredity. To an extent this fusion of cultures explains the volatility and range of his dramatic writings: his multitudinous relatives were concerned both with the arts and diplomacy, and a liberal-minded and at times highly satiric view of politics and international attitudes is evident in his best plays.

Ustinov was educated at Westminster School (1934-1937) and trained as an actor at the London Theatre Studio (1937-1939), from which he quickly emerged to score a youthful comic success at the Players' Club with an impersonation of a female German lieder singer. This led to engagements in revues, for which he not...