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Donald Campbell

DONALD CAMPBELL

  (1940 - )
Nationality:    Scottish
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Rosica Colin Ltd  

Born in Caithness in 1940, Donald Campbell grew up in Edinburgh where he still lives. a full-time writer since 1974, he is active as playwright, Theatre historian, stage director, scriptwriter and poet. among more than a score of stage-plays, the most successful have been the Jesuit (1976), the Widows of Clyth (1979), Blackfriars Wynd (1980), Till all the Seas Run Dry (1981), Howard's Revenge (1985), Victorian Values (1986), the Fisher Boy and the Honest Lass (1990), the Ould FElla (1993) Nancy Sleekit (1994) and Glorious HeArts (1999). as a director, his productions have included a revival of his own Biackfriars Wynd, two adaptations of Scott novels, the Heart of Midlothian (Edinburgh Old Town Festival, 1988) and St Ronan's Well (Border Festival, 1989), a touring revival of Tom Wright's there Was a Man (Capstride Theatre, 1994) and the first English language version of MaIm Lagerlof's the Lighthouse Prisoner (NortHLAnds Festival, 1996). Campbell has published a substantial body of poetry, six full collections being represented in his Selected Poems: 1970-1990 (Galliard, 1990). Other work includes six television plays, some fifty radio programmes, three short films and two volumes of Theatre history; a Brighter Sunshine (Polygon, 1983) and Playing for Scotland (Mercat Press, 1996). His most recent publications are edinburgh: a cultural and literary history (Signal Books, Oxford, 2003) and Homage to Rob Donn (Fras Publications, 2007). Donald Campbell's stage Drama has won three Scotsman 'Fringe Firsts' for productions during the Edinburgh International Festival and his radio work has been recognized by international awards on three continents: a Clydebuilt Man (New york, 1983), the Miller's Reel (Sydney, 1987) and the year of the Bonnie Prince (Monte Carlo, 1996). Formerly Writer-in-Residence to Lothian Schools (1974-77), Resident Playwright at the Royal Lyceum Theatre (1981-83), Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Dundee (1987-89) and William Soutar Fellow in Perth (1991-93), he was Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Napier University in 2000-0 1 and associate Fellow in 2001-02.

Research:    http://www.playwrightsstudio.co.uk/playwrights/donald-campbell.aspx

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

         Audience For Mcgonagall, An         Blackfriars Wynd         Cutting-Off Piece, The         Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde         Fisher Boy And the Honest Lass, The         Glorious Hearts         Heart Of Midlothian, The         Howards Revenge         Jesuit, The         Long Story Short         Nancy Sleekit         Old Age Of Peter Pan Or, The Man Who Could Not Grow Old, The         Ould Fella, The         Somerville the Soldier         St Ronan's Well         Strikers         Till All the Seas Run Dry         Victorian Values         Widows Of Clyth, The

Audience For Mcgonagall, An

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:
National Library of Scotland ref: Donald Campbell - acc.10606/11

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Blackfriars Wynd

Synopsis:
set in subterranean Victorian edinburgh

Notes:
music by Robert Pettigrew

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Musical fantasy Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Cutting-Off Piece, The

Synopsis:
On the theme of exile, based on characters originally created by Caithness writer, Donald Mackay

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Wick Festival    1980

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Donald Campbell - acc.10606/9

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Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Based on the story by Robert Louis Stevenson.

1st Produced:
Dundee Repertory theatre    1985

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:
National Library of Scotland ref: Donald Campbell - acc.10606/3

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Fisher Boy And the Honest Lass, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1990

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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Donald Campbell - acc.10606/6

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Glorious Hearts

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1999

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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Heart Of Midlothian, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1988

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:
National Library of Scotland ref: Donald Campbell - acc.10606/7

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Howards Revenge

Howards Revenge
Come what may, the 1985 Edinburgh Festival will stand for me as a thing of joy and gold. I have seen Finlay Welsh's performance as the Irish actor who dominated Edinburgh theatre a century ago, in the one-man play by Donald Campbell, directed by Sandy Neilson. That is to say, I have seen one of the greatest theatrical experiences of my life.'
- Owen Dudley Edwards, 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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Fifth estate Theatre Company - acc.11443/12-14

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Jesuit, The

Synopsis:
a Jesuit priest was publicly hanged in Glasgow 1615 for refUSAl to acknowledge the divine right of kings; deals with principles of fanaticism and bigotry

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
the Heretics

1st Published:
Paul Harris, 1976   -

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:
Historical

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Long Story Short

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Written by Donald Campbell, James Graham, Tom Leonard, Aonghas Macneacoil, Ann-Marie Di Mambro, Gureet Mattu, Rona Munro, Ricky Ross And Ann Samuel.

1st Produced:
-    1989

Organisations:
7:84 Theatre Company

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:
-

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Nancy Sleekit

Nancy Sleekit
People are forever claiming to be presenting undiscovered wee gems on the Fringe, but this really is an undiscovered wee gem. James Smith was a highly popular playwright in 19th-century Edinburgh, since sunk into unforgiving oblivion; but this completely delightful short comic monologue, exhumed and adapted by Donald Campbell, fully deserves the daylight. Nancy Sleekit is no woman to meddle with. She regales us, in rich and expressive Scots, with tales of her three husbands, their manifold failings and their, um, untimely ends. along the way we get wonderful Hogarthian cameos of the low life of auld Reekie, acerbic asides that would wither a stone, and a feisty proto-feminism.
- Catherine Lockerbie, the Scotsman

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Capercaillie Books, Edinburgh >>>    fairplay-nancy-sleekit

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:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Fifth estate Theatre Company - acc.11443/24

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Old Age Of Peter Pan Or, The Man Who Could Not Grow Old, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    n.d.

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:
Printed

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Fifth estate Theatre Company - acc.11443/102

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Ould Fella, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1993

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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Fifth estate Theatre Company - acc.11443/26

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Somerville the Soldier

Synopsis:
Set in London in the 1830's, based on the memoirs of working class hero, alexander Somerville

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Paul Harris 1978   -

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:
Political Thriller

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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St Ronan's Well

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Donald Campbell - acc.10606/8

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Strikers

Synopsis:
1984 the Miners Strike. Danny MacTaggert is a retired professional footballer. His grandson Gordon is a professional footballer too - though not as successful as his grandFather had been. In the middle is Bobby unlike his Father and son he is a miner

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Netherbow Theatre, Edinburgh    1985

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:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Donald Campbell - acc.10606/4

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Till All the Seas Run Dry

Till All the Seas Run Dry
Describes the life of the poet Robert Burns, as seen through the eyes of his wife Jean armour. "This is a splendid play - a rich tapestry of pointed dialogue blended with beautiful soliloquies from Jean armour and embellished with Burns' own poetry and song. the subtlety of Campbell's style is also most impressive. at no point does he stress any particular line. Instead, he allows the contradictions that seem to have been inherent in Burns' personality to manifest themselves in front of the key women who knew him - and at the end of the day he invites us, the audience to judge the man for ourselves - assuming, of course, we have the nerve to."
- Ian Mowat, the Herald

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Riverview Theater, Norfolk, Virginia    1981

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Capercaillie Books, Edinburgh >>>    fairplay-till-seas

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:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Donald Campbell - acc.10606/2

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Victorian Values

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Donald Campbell - acc.10606/5

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Widows Of Clyth, The

Widows Of Clyth, The
Donald Campbell's powerful two-act play is based, he tells us, on history. In 1876 six fishers from Clyth, in Caithness, were lost, leaving five widows and twenty-six children in a state of acute poverty. Out of that plain and terrible history Mr Campbell has made a play that may be expected to grip the attention of an audience, not only through pity and terror (for it is not a tragedy so much as the story of how strong-minded people, and especially women, reacted to calamity), but through a simple story enacted in a straightforward way, a matter of fact heightened by skilful fiction . . . Placed within a context of their everyday life, the widows' story is likely to be almost unbearably moving. But it is true: those widows had to bear it.
- Robert Garioch, Lines Review

Notes:
fringe first At Edinburgh Festival 1979.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Viewforth Productions

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:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Donald Campbell - acc.10606/1

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