He
is one of Scotland's most successful playwrights, having won the first Mobil
Scottish playwriting award and won an award for Amang the Craws, a play
written in Doric - the dialect of the North East of Scotland.
He does enjoy writing in the dialect but he writes in English, too!
In recent years he has occupied a particular niche as a playwright - creating
plays for special occasions, perhaps to honour the memory of a historical
character or to provide a vehicle for a particular company or actor. He seems
also to be condemned to relive the entire 18th century.
Amongst such plays have been
BENEATH THE CROWN -
commissioned by the University of Aberdeen to celebrate the 500th anniversary of
its founding;
THE ROAD TO MISSOLONGHI -
the sad, mad story of the love affairs of the tragic poet, Lord Byron;
DEAREST DOROTHY -
the story of the 18th century actress Dorothy Jordan;
THE OLD ADAM -
William Adam was a great Scottish architect - and father of the even greater,
Robert;
THE RAMSAYS OF EDINBURGH -
a ballad opera on the relationship between Allan Ramsay, poet and writer of
ballad operas, and his son, also Allan, the portrait painter;
CLEAN GYTE -
a rollicking comedy of sex, drink, disease and capital punishment. Yes, it's the
life of James Boswell;
AMANG THE CRAWS - set partly in Aberdeenshire and partly in a death cell in USA.
SCHUMANN -
a four-hander, exploring the complex character of the composer, his double life,
his suicide attempt, his self-doubts.
COLD TODAY -
a tribute to the great Scottish entertainer, Harry Gordon. The play includes
many of his songs and comedy routines, giving a real flavour of Scottish Music
Hall in its heyday.
FOOSHION -
the play which won the first Mobil Scottish Playwriting Award. It is set in
Aberdeen where four women reminisce, argue and dream. Superbly funny and very
moving. It features on the Higher Drama syllabus at several Scottish schools.