doollee banner
The Playwrights Database
contact doollee


Anne Downie

ANNE DOWNIE

  
Nationality:    Scottish
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Film Rights Ltd  represented by Brendan Davis

educated at Glasgow University and the RSAMD, award winning writer and actor, anne Downie has written extensively for Theatre, television and radio. She is also a published short story writer and recently read one of her own short stories Write your Name Small on radio 4. Her Theatre plays include, the White Bird Passes, ashes to ashes, Baba yaga and the Magic Doll, Side Sea View, Jelly Babies, Waiting on One, (LWT award winner) the Witches of Poiok, De Profundis, Bread Upon the Watec Retribution, Cracked and the Boy Beneath the SeA. Her adaptation of the yellow on the Broom was given its fifth sell-out production in 2005, this time at Perth Repertory Theatre. Her plays, many into third productions, have been produced by companies as diverse as Wildcat, the Tron, Theatre Workshop, Oran Mor, Cumbernauld, Perth, Communicado, the Byre, Borderline, Dundee Repertory Theatre and Dry Rain Theatre, eire. Head hunted for television, she spent nine years writing for STy, BBC, Carlton, and Channel 4. anne Downie lives and works in Glasgow.

Research:    http://www.playwrightsstudio.co.uk/playwrights/anne-downie.aspx

Buy Plays with Doollee

Each page of doollee.com has links to play/book outlets, either directly to the Publisher, through Stageplays.com and Amazon to the second hand and 1st editions of AbeBooks. These links will automatically take you to the relevant area obviating the need for further search.
AbeBooks.co.uk   AbeBooks.com   Stageplays.com   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.ca
whether you are a Playwright who wishes to make their entry definitive, an unlisted Playwright or a User with a tale to tell - we want to hear from you.
download WORD submission template

below is a list of Anne Downie's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Baba Yaga And the Magic Doll         Biting the Hands         Creature From the Mermaid's Purse, The         Female Of the Species, The         Gymnasium of the Mind, The         Parking Lot In Pittsburgh         Two Fat Ladies         Waiting On One         Watching Waiters         Way To Go Home, The         White Bird Passes, The         Witches Of Pollok, The         Yellow On the Broom, The

Baba Yaga And the Magic Doll

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Photocopied typescript

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: anne Downie - acc.10983/4

Top of Page Top of Page

Biting the Hands

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
BBC I    1989

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
TV Play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Creature From the Mermaid's Purse, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Photocopied typescript

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: anne Downie - acc.10983/5

Top of Page Top of Page

Female Of the Species, The

Female Of the Species, The
"Janet is so resolutely upbeat, so adept at finding the bright side, that any of life's disappointments, become material for her sharp wit. Her jokes are of the if-you-don't-laugh-you'll-cry variety and the play imperceptibly shifts tone, from hilarious observations to a darker exposition. although Janet berates herself for 'being maudling' Downie's play never lapses into sentimental pathos. Subtly emotive, this is a beautifully observed piece, played with great warmth and assurance by the writer."
- Guardian

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Gymnasium of the Mind, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Glasgow    18 Apr 2005

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Parking Lot In Pittsburgh

Parking Lot In Pittsburgh
"an appealing mixture of comedy and pathos that straddles continents as well as emotions. Intriguing that anne Downie has taken individual notions of independence and co-dependence and used them as a metaphor for a country forever on the cusp. the extended routine on hormone replacement therapy is priceless!"
- the Herald

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Byre, St Andrews, Scotland    20 Jul 2001

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  6            Other:  Cast: 21 but with double casting 8, 2 male and 6 female

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Two Fat Ladies

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Perth    1996

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Waiting On One

Waiting On One
"One of the play's great strengths is that it offers a fairly serious critique of the bingo phenomenon without discounting the powerful reasons why people with little money, and less choice about how to spend their leisure, play the game - the escapism, the cosy atmosphere, the human contact, the combination of mild excitement with an absolute freedom from the stress of decision making. all the characters are in some sense 'Waiting on One' - waiting for the one number, the one stroke of fate, the job, the loving touch, the new grandchild; the bingo game seen as a metaphor for their habit of powerlessness. Intriguing and effective theatre, pulling together the elements of character, dialogue, storyline and human observation that are essential to a reassessment of an important area of working class experience."
- the Guardian

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1987

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Watching Waiters

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1986

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Way To Go Home, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1987

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

White Bird Passes, The

White Bird Passes, The
"the most eye catching aspect of Downie's play is its capacity, recalling O'Casey, to portray the life of a colourful community. the work, which eschews facile sentimentality, gives voice to a wealth of striking characters and is a gripping and moving one."
- the Scotsman

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1986

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  6            Other:  Cast: 30 and musician but can be played by 7, 6 female and 1 male

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page

Witches Of Pollok, The

Witches Of Pollok, The
"Witchcraft is in the news again, but there are no forced contemporary parallels. It is a Gothic tale, the telling of which has that indispensable element of insider sincerity. Ms Downie is neither an ironist nor someone looking on the characters and their doings from above. She is motivated by the same fascination with the enigmatic figure of Janet Douglas that gripped 17th Century Glasgow. Her play is as neat a piece of storytelling theatre as could be wished."
- the Scotsman

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:   Cast: 34 but 10 actors and 2 musician/actors can play all parts

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: anne Downie - acc.10983/3

Top of Page Top of Page

Yellow On the Broom, The

Yellow On the Broom, The
"It can be no easy thing to find yourself, as travelling folk in Scotland long have, simultaneously the repository of conventional people's romanticism and the focus of their dark fears. It takes a real Dramatist like anne Downie, with her rich, enchanting and moving new play the Yellow On the Broom to give full expression to both aspects. the lyrical lilt, the variety and vividness of character and scene make for memorable theatre."
- the Scotsman

Notes:
based on book by Betsy Whyte.

1st Produced:
Winged Horse, Dundee Rep and Perth Theatre    1989

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:   Cast: 36 but can be played by 5, 3 female and 2 male

Further Reference:

Top of Page Top of Page