David Harrower was born in Edinburgh in 1966. His first play, Knives in Hens (1997), was first produced at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in 1995. He is also the author of the plays Kill the Old, Torture Their Young (1998), and The Chrysalids (1999), adapted from John Wyndham’s novel, for the National Theatre’s Connections project. Presence (2001), his third original play, was first performed at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs in April 2001.
David Harrower has also adapted versions of Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author (Six Characters Looking for an Author (2000)), first staged at the Young Vic in 2000; Chekhov’s Ivanov (2002), performed at the National Theatre in autumn 2002; and Buchner’s Woyzeck, performed at the Edinburgh Lyceum in 2002. He has also translated The Girl on the Sofa (2002), a new play by Jon Fosse, presented in a joint production by the Edinburgh International Festival and the Schaubuhne, Berlin.
His play, Dark Earth (2003), premiered at the Traverse in August 2003. He has also recently written a new version of Odon von Horvath’s Tales from the Vienna Woods (2003) for the National Theatre, London, which opened in October 2003. Recent plays are an adaptation of Schiller’s Mary Stuart (2006) and a new translation of Brecht’s The Good Soul of Szechuan (2008). More recent work includes Blackbird (2005); 365, presented at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2008 and telling the stories of 14 young people who move out of care; Lucky Box (2009) and Ciara (2013).
David Harrower lives in Glasgow.
