Douglas Maxwell
Writer
Film, TV & Theatre
Film, TV & Theatre
Douglas Maxwell has been one of Scotland’s top playwrights since his debut in 2000. His recent work includes Man’s Best Friend (A Play, A Pie and A Pint, Glasgow) At First I Was Afraid…I Was Petrified! (Wonderfools) and Orphans (National Theatre of Scotland). Previous plays include I Can Go Anywhere (The Traverse, Edinburgh), Charlie Sonata (The Royal Lyceum Edinburgh) The Whip Hand (The Traverse/Birmingham Rep), Yer Granny (National Theatre of Scotland) and Fever Dream: Southside (The Citizens, Glasgow).
His online lockdown work included Beautiful Boy for Pitlochry Festival Theatre, The Assumption for Solar Bear/Royal Conservatoire Scotland and Fatbaws for the National Theatre of Scotland and the BBC. Fatbaws, directed by and starring Peter Mullan, has been seen by over a million people and was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA.
His many other plays include Decky Does a Bronco, Mancub, Promises Promises (staged in New York as The Promise) and A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity.
Translations of his work have been professionally produced in Germany, Norway, Hong Kong, New York, Chicago, Holland, Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, Wales, Japan, France, Belgium and South Korea, where his debut play Our Bad Magnet ran for over ten years.
His plays are published by Oberon books at Bloomsbury. His first collection of work focuses on his writing for younger audiences. As well as Decky Does a Bronco and Mancub that volume also contains Too Fast, The Mother Ship and Helmet.
Douglas lives on the Southside of Glasgow with his wife and two daughters.
Drama
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
2021 | National Theatre of Scotland/BBC Scotland | Directed by Peter Mullan - adaption of theatre show. |
Radio
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
2020 | BBC Radio Scotland | Directed by Kirsty Williams |
Theatre
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
2002 | Edinburgh International Festival/Grid Iron | Directed by Ben Harrison |
BEYOND 2006 | East Glasgow Youth Theatre | With Nicola McCartney |
HARM 2006 | Sweetscar | |
THE SHADOW OF A PIE 2007 | Lung Ha Theatre Company | Directed by Clark Crystal |
THE BALLAD OF JAMES II 2007 | Nonsense Rooms | |
BOOKIE 2010 | Citizens Theatre/Cumbernauld Theatre | With Music by Aly MacRae |
PROM 2011 | Dundee Rep | |
WATERTIGHT 2011 | Royal Conservatoire Scotland | With Richard Taylor |
NEWS JUST IN 2014 | Random Accomplice/The Arches, Glasgow | Directed by Johnny McKnight |
162 BARS OUT 2012 | National Theatre of Scotland | With Claire McKenzie |
2011 | Lung Ha Theatre Company | Adaptation from Jules Verne |
HEARTFELT 2011 | Dundee Rep/National Theatre of Scotland | |
THE SHERIFF OF KALAMAKI 2023 | A Play, A Pie and A Pint | Directed by Jemima Levick. |
2022 | National Theatre of Scotland | Based on the Film ORPHANS written and directed by Peter Mullan © Channel Four Television Corporation and the Glasgow Film Fund 1997. |
2022 | A Play, A Pie and a Pint | Directed by Jemima Levick. |
AT FIRST I WAS AFRAID... I WAS PATRIFIED! 2021 | Wonderfools/Traverse Theatre, Scotland | |
FATBAWS 2021 | National Theatre of Scotland/BBC Scotland | Directed by Peter Mullan |
THE ASSUMPTION 2020 | Solar Bear/Royal Conservatoire, Scotland | |
BUILD YOUR OWN UTOPIA 2020 | University of Central Lancashire | Written with Richard Taylor: New & Original British musical. |
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES 2019 | Northern Stage, Newcastle | Directed by Jake Smith |
2019 | Traverse Theatre | Directed by Eve Nicol. |
2017 | Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh | Directed by Tessa Walker. |
2017 | Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh | Directed by Matthew Lenton |
THE CADDIE 2016 | Royal Conservatoire Scotland | |
2016 | Lung Ha Theatre Company | Directed by Maria Oller. |
FEVER DREAM: SOUTHSIDE 2015 | The Citizens, Glasgow | Directed by Dominic Hill |
YER GRANNY 2015 | The National Theatre of Scotland | (an adaption of La Nona by Roberto Cossa). Directed by Graham McLaren |
A RESPECTABLE WIDOW TAKES TO VULGARITY 2012 | Traverse Theatre and Oran Mor | Directed by Orla O’Laughlin |
SMALL TOWN 2011 | Random Accomplice | Written with DC Jackson and Johnny McKnight |
PROMISES PROMISES 2010 | Random Accomplice | |
TOO FAST 2010 | NT Connections Commission | |
THE BOOKIE 2010 | Cumbernauld | A Musical |
DECKY DOES A BRONCO 2010 | Gridiron | Revival in 2010 for the Ten year anniversary |
THE MIRACLE MAN 2010 | The National Theatre of Scotland | One of the first ever commissions for The National Theatre of Scotland, entitled The Miracle Man. |
FEVER DREAM: SOUTHSIDE 2009 | RSAMD/Playwrights' studio | |
THE MOTHER SHIP 2008 | Birmingham Rep | Winner of the Brian Way Award 2009 |
MELODY 2006 | Co-production with the Traverse and the Tron Theatre | |
SPRING AWAKENING 2005 | Gridiron | A version of Wedeking’s play |
THE BACKPACKER BLUES 2005 | Oran Mor Theatre, Glasgow | Directed by Tony Cownie. |
MANCUB 2005 | Co-production with Vanishing Point and Soho Theatre National Tour | Adaptation of FLIGHT OF THE CASSOWARY by John LeVert |
IF DESTROYED TRUE 2005 | Co-production with Paines Plough and Dundee Rep | Chocolate Mernier Factory |
HELMET 2002 | Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh / Paines Plough | UK Tour and three weeks at Soho Theatre, London. HELMET is taught in many schools with a video and text book published by English Media Co. |
OUR BAD MAGNET 2000 | Tron Theatre, Glasgow / Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh | Revived in 2001 as a co-production with Borderline followed by large scale tour of Scotland. |
DECKY DOES A BRONCO 2001 | Gridiron/ Almeida | 1st performed – Edinburgh Festival 2000 |