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Ian Rowlands

IAN ROWLANDS

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

Literary Agent:    Agent: Bill McLean 23B Deodar St. Putney, London

Born in the Rhondda Valley, Wales. Rowlands combines being a writer with being an artistic director (currently North Wales Stage). In addition to the Theatre credits listed below, he has written for TV and radio. His film 'A Light in the Valley' (director: Michael Bogdanov) won a Royal TV Society award in 2000. Several documentaries have been made about his work including Writers from Wales (Channel 4). Several of his plays are published by Parthian Books and he has an entry (by Dr. Andy Smith) in the Dictionary of Literary Biography.

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

         Biography of a Thing         Blink         Blue Heron In the Womb         Butterfly         Desire Lines         Fragments of Journeys Towards the Horizon         Glissando On An Empty Harp         Love In Plastic         Marriage Of Convenience         Mor Tawel / Pacific         New South Wales         Ogpu Men, The         Sin Eaters, The         Solomon's Gory         Troyanne (Troy Story)

Biography of a Thing

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Historia by NoPasport Pres (NY)   -

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:
-

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Blink

Blink
the initial inspiration for Blink was the events surrounding the Clywch enquiry - a report into the systematic abuse of children at a Welsh language comprehensive during the 80's. Though based on tragic events, 'Blink' is a warm hearted and comic Drama which deals with Father figures and family life. Ian Rowlands has written a fast paced Drama about leaving and returning, about the prodigal son who comes back to Wales. Ian says 'Blink tumbled out, almost fully formed, as if it had been seeking life for some time; a play that needed to be written, a statement I needed to make.' the audience will be presented with an edgy examination of the close-knit lives and lies of a small south Wales community, whose secrets start with the rudey club and end with '12 words that ruined a life'.
- www.theatre-wales.co.uk

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
F.A.B. Theatre    2007

Organisations:
Torch Theatre, Milford Haven

1st Published:
Parthian   978-1905762852

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:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Blue Heron In the Womb

Blue Heron In the Womb
Twins from a strict methodist background, fall in love with the same man. A dark tale of sibling rivalry and religious hypocrisy.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
theatr Y Byd / Tron Glasgow

1st Published:
Contained in: A Trilogy Of Appropriation" published by Parthian   978-1902638010

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:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Butterfly

Butterfly
An established art critic and collector can no longer be moved by beauty. Desperate to feel, to live, he has become a vampire who sucks the souls of young artists from their canvases, before destroying them out of spite. When he is picked up by a young man at a gallery opening, a story of seduction and revenge unfolds

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Riverfront Arts Centre, Wales    -

Organisations:
theatr Y Byd

1st Published:
Parthian Books ISBN 1-902638-96-4, 2006   978-1902638966

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:
full length Play/Drama. - - Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Desire Lines

Synopsis:
the journey of a man around Wales. the journey of a soul through the seven ages of man. the journey of a small country towards a coming of age and a better future. . ."So much can happen in a day. . . moment leading to moment, and before you know it, theres a life!" Wryly funny, heartfelt and lyrical, Desire Lines traces the pulls and pushes that lead and drive us through life. How do we decide on a place to call home and if we could live it all again, what would we change?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Sherman Cymru

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:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
Theatre Record Volume XXXI (2011) Issue 08 Page 427

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Fragments of Journeys Towards the Horizon

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written by Jeroen van den Berg and Ian Rowlands

1st Produced:
European touring    2015

Organisations:
Theatr Harlech

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:
performance text

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Glissando On An Empty Harp

Glissando On An Empty Harp
Two tramp bards meet on the banks of Thames, each searches for the ultimate in poetic expression. they come across a woman who gives birth to a box. Within it, the bards think, lies the poetic perfection. they conspire to steal their prize. A absurd comedy about the male appropriation of women through words.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
theatr y Byd

1st Published:
Contained in: A Trilogy Of Appropriation" published by Parthian   978-1902638010

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:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Love In Plastic

Love In Plastic
On the death of his parents, a young man coats his house in plastic hermetically seals it, and locks himself away from the world. One day, whilst watching a TV ad, he falls in love with a young actress advertising bath cleaning products. Leaving the safety of his sealed home and wearing a space suit to protect himself from the evils of the world, he goes in search of her. A bitter sweet comedy of love in a sterile climate.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Glynn Vivian Gallery, Swansea (Swansea Year Of Literature)    1994

Organisations:
theatr y Byd

1st Published:
Contained in: A Trilogy Of Appropriation" published by Parthian   978-1902638010

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:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Marriage Of Convenience

Synopsis:
Four tours and several awards later, Marriage of Convenience is possibly Rowlands' most successful monologue. On the day of the royal wedding between Charles and Di, a young man attends a Republican picnic on the top of a mountain whilst his mother and step mother attend the street party in the valley below. A rites of passage play set against a broader political backdrop.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Coleg Meirion Dwyfor, Dolgelllau    1996

Organisations:
theatr y Byd

1st Published:
Parthian Books in 'One Man, one voice',    -

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:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mor Tawel / Pacific

Synopsis:
Dr David Samwell's account of the death of Captain Cook on a beach in Hawaii was considered the definitive account of its day. This monologue is based upon Samwell's tale interwoven with other elements of the ship's surgeon's life.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theatr Elli, Llanelli    2000

Organisations:
theatr y Byd

1st Published:
Only Welsh version (Mor Tawel) publisheed by Gwasg carreg Gwalch in the volume 'Llais un yn llefain', 2002   -

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:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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New South Wales

Synopsis:
A young man catches a taxi from London to Cardiff on the eve of the referendum for devolution. He says that he has been in Australia and has come home to vote, but nothing is as it seems.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Venue 13, Edinburgh    1999

Organisations:
theatr y Byd

1st Published:
BYDBOOKS (out of print),    -

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:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ogpu Men, The

Synopsis:
Two men meet in a DHSS office in a South Wales valley town; one, a young poet home from uni on summer holiday, the other a long term recipient of dole. It is a comic tale of a young man coming to terms with the true nature of his cultural legacy.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Sherman Theatre Company

1st Published:
Seren Books in 'Act 1 Wales';
http://www.Dramawales.org.uk/pages/publications.php   -

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:
Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sin Eaters, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
nominated Writer's Guild Award for first play

1st Produced:
Theatr Elli Llanelli    1991

Organisations:
theatr y Byd

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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Solomon's Gory

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
City Arts Centre, Dublin    1992

Organisations:
theatr y Byd

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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Troyanne (Troy Story)

Synopsis:
A deeply Poetic cry for sanity for a nation ruled by the gun. Troyanne(Troy Story) is based upon the collected testimonies of women in Troy, Ohio. A young GI , back from a tour of duty in Iraq, is eager to show his sniper's rifle to his Pa. Whilst inspecting the gun, the Father accidentally shoots his son dead, thereby setting off a trail of events that destroys a family and touches a whole town. Developed at the Lark theatre, NY (and at New York theatre Workshop),Troyanne Troy Story chronicles the tragedy of a nation that refuses to put down its weapons.

Notes:
these Welsh performances of Troyanne coincide with performances in New York of the same piece with an American cast, creating a unique sharing of two very different approaches to the same text.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Company of Sirens

1st Published:
Historia by NoPasport Pres (NY)   -

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:
drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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