McDowall Plays - (Contemporary Dramatists) by Alistair McDowall (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This is the first collection from groundbreaking playwright Alistair McDowall, "an exceptionally talented and fast-rising writer. Still only in his twenties, this writer is surely going places. Whatever he dreams up next, his name will almost certainly be in lights at the Royal Court soon, if not at the National Theatre." (The Times)

Having won a Judges Award at the Bruntwood Prize in 2011 and been shortlisted for the Writers' Guild Best Play Award in 2013, Alistair McDowall is one of the most exciting playwrights of this generation.

The anthology features the play that brought McDowall to people's attention, Brilliant Adventures, up to his latest major play, Pomona, that received ecstatic reviews, transferred to the National Theatre, and hailed him as one of the most important playwrights of this generation. It also includes two previously unpublished plays.

Brilliant Adventures (Royal Exchange/Live Theatre, 2013) is a fast paced tale of brotherhood, addiction and breaking the laws of physics. It won McDowall a Bruntwood Prize.

Captain Amazing (Live Theatre, 2013) is a funny and poignant one-man show that thrusts us into the life of Britain's only part-time superhero.

Talk Show (Royal Court, 2013) is black comedy about talking and transmission. It was premiered as part of the Royal Court's Open Court season and has not previously been published.

Pomona (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama/Orange Tree Theatre, 2014) is a sinister and surreal thriller, which takes as its setting Manchester's Pomona - an abandoned concrete island at the heard of the city; a place where journeys end and nightmares are born.

The anthology is introduced by the author and includes a foreword by Olivier-award-winning playwright Simon Stephens.

Review Quotes

"This gripping and deeply unsettling tale of inner-city lowlife is a sensory and dramatic triumph" --Whatsonstage on 'Pomona'

"Alistair McDowall's slippery, gripping dystopian thriller . . . enthralling, unexpectedly funny and expertly maintained. . . . Clever, creepy and compelling." --Financial Times on 'Pomona'

"This is an intelligent, involving examination of the transformative potential of fatherhood - of its ability to take a man who can barely look at himself in the mirror, and make him feel all-powerful, worthy of love. For my money, it may well be the best one-man show you're likely to see at the Fringe this year." --Daily Telegraph on 'Captain Amazing'

"A monologue that crackles with invention . . . This is a terrific piece of writing - full of crackle, invention and heart" --Guardian on 'Captain Amazing'

"Sizzling exuberance and imagination" --Observer on 'Brilliant Adventures'

"Remarkable young writing talent ... there is a convincing tang of lived experience in the evocation of a practically lawless pocket of the north-east" --Guardian on 'Brilliant Adventures'

"A bold drama fusing gritty realism with time travel fantasy" --BBC on "Brilliant Adventures"

"Alistair McDowall's fine, flinty play . . . bitterly funny" --New York Times on "Talk Show"

About the Author

Alistair McDowall grew up in the North East of England. Brilliant Adventures was awarded a Bruntwood Prize in 2011 and was developed as part of the Young Writers Festival 2012 at the Royal Court. Other plays include Talk Show (Royal Court), Captain Amazing (Live Theatre) and Pomona (Royal Welsh College/Orange Tree Theatre). He has been a writer on attachment with the Royal Court, Paines Plough, and the National Theatre Studio (Summer 2013).