2012 is shaping up to be a big and exciting beast. Here are two more projects that have been commissioned and will be seen later in the year.

ROLYPOLY [Working Title] a 5-part play for Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4. This is the story of a young girl who discovers that the people she thought were her family are not her family. Now she goes in search of who she really is... About identity, coincidence and being able to whistle. It will be broadcast mid-year.

RANDOM OBJECTS FLYING THROUGH THE AIR. A new commission for the MA Classic & Contemporary Text at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. This is a play about technology, dating and broken-heart syndrome. 

And that's it... I think... I hope... No, wait - there's more to come...

At the beginning of the year, I didn't think it could get any busier. I was wrong. Here are just some (yes there are a few things yet to be confirmed) that I will be doing next year.

SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE: a new play about the Last Expedition of Captain Scott to mark the 100th anniversary. It's a co-production between Dundee Rep and Oran Mor. It opens in Dundee at Discovery Point on 6th February. A comical-tragical take on the last hero of the Empire.

TITUS: my English language version of Jan Sobrie's fantastic play for young people is going first to Ghent and then to the Imaginate Festival in May. Watch this space for more info.

MY SHRINKING LIFE: I'm working as dramaturg on this new theatre piece by magnificently talented Alison Peebles and Lies Pauwels about MS for the National Theatre of Scotland. I can't tell you what to expect but I'm hoping for a live horse (no, seriously, I am). I believe we open in September and tour after that.


DRAGON: this is really exciting. A co-production between those theatre wizards Vox Motus and the National Theatre of Scotland. It's about 12 year old Tommy who loses his mum and gets a pet dragon. About fire, grief, loneliness and unusual friendships this is a show for all the family that will open in October.


Oh and there will be more. Be warned.

I don’t know where to begin. I really don’t. Right now, I’m up to my knees in paper. Transcriptions of interviews, history books, notebooks, photocopies, pictures, and other research materials. In the middle of this chaos, there are some words that are gradually forming a thing that I will eventually call The Play. I’m now at the stage where I think I will know what it will look like. (But honestly, this is only a guess). There will be the outline of a living room in a Glasgow home. There will be a window behind that will show projections of actions and pictures. On two chairs, there will be two people – a man and a woman. They will chat to you, tell you about their lives. They will tell you about how they were born in Germany to Jewish families in the 1920s and how they fled Nazi rule to make a new home in Scotland. They will tell you about cooking and meeting the Queen and something called ‘ski-bobbing’. They will be funny, generous and intelligent. And at some point, one of them will drink a cup of tea. They are not extraordinary people, just people who have lived an extraordinary life. They will tell you the story of their home. I’m looking forward to seeing it. 

Here is the link to NUDE, my short story for Algebra, the literary journal of the Tramway, Glasgow. You can read it or listen to me read it. Bonus! 

http://www.tramwayalgebra.com/

As part of a project entitled ALGEBRA up by Writer-in-Residence, Beatrice Collins, I've written a new short story for the Tramway. The idea is that each new exhibition that takes place in the venue is accompanied by new work by writers and other artists that will be available to download as part of a literary journal in app form. The first exhibition is More Nudes in Colour. My piece will be available both in a text and audio version (yes, I will be reading it myself and no, not in the nude). I'll let you know when it's available but it's an exciting project in a innovative form and will be well worth check out (wink, wink). For more info click here: http://www.tramway.org/education/52/algebra/weeblylink_new_windowset 

A promising student on the road to Oxbridge. A teacher on the eve of retirement. Graffiti scrawled on a school wall in a dead language.

You say that if I work hard, I’ll succeed. That’s what you all say. But it’s not true is it? It’s a lie.

This is a new commission for BBC Radio 4 in the Afternoon Play slot. It's going to be a play about today and what we can expect in the future. A play about education, what we pass on to our children and what we learn from those who come before us. 
 
I'll be writing it in the summer. Look out for it in the early autumn.

2011 is turning into a busy year. Here is a list of the highlights:

ONE NIGHT IN IRAN: will have its radio broadcast on February 12th at 2200 on BBC Radio 3. I'm currently writing a stage version which will open at the Oran Mor as part of its Play, Pie, Pint season on 21st March.

TITUS: I'll be off to Belgium to work with Jan Sobrie and Lu Kemp on a new English version of this excellent play for teenagers. We hope to be doing a reading sometime in May.

24HR INK: oh yes, you heard it hear first. I'll be producing an evening of short new work by some of Scotland's most exciting playwright's at the Tron as part of Mayfesto. The whole thing will be written, directed and performed in 24 hours. Sounds crazy? Come and take a look.

SOME WORDS FOR HOME: this is new news (does that work?) but I'll be working on a new play for Scottish Refugee Week about the lives of Jewish refugees after their arrival in Scotland. There'll be a staged reading at the Tron on Tuesday 21st June.

AND IN DEVELOPMENT:
MY SHRINKING LIFE: a new piece of theatre about the life, love and work of the actor/director Alison Peebles. I'm the dramaturg (I never know how to spell this...) with the splendid Vicky Featherstone at the helm, alongside Kim Beveridge and the rest of the team at the National Theatre of Scotland. We don't know what it'll look like or when it will be but we've launched the boat and set sail. More news as and when.

STRAYS: currently in development, a five-part TV series about runaways in Glasgow. All very exciting.

And that's just for starters. So I can't sit about talking to you all day. There are words to write. Hope to see you at some or all of the above!

Good news! I've been awarded the Playwright Studio Scotland Writer's Project. This will fund me and Lu Kemp to work on a new translation of Titus by Jan Sobrie, a play for teenagers. We'll be going over to Belgium to talk to Jan, develop a script with an actor and perform a rehearsed reading. All very exciting.

Into the studio on Thursday for 'One Night In Iran', my new 30 minute drama for The Wire slot in BBC Radio 3. It's a slightly crazy schedule for this one as we have to record it all in one day so we start at 11 and finish at 8pm! I expect it will be an intense one. Delighted to have an amazing cast in Khalid Abdulla (United 93, Kite Runner) and Maryam Hamidi (River City, Chronicles of Irania), with Lu Kemp in the director's chair. Still not sure of a transmission date but will keep you posted. Over and out.

BBC Radio Scotland are repeating this 2009 play starring Robin Laing (Band of Brothers, The Lakes) and Natasha Watson (Donkeys, Single Father), directed by Kirsty Williams. It was nominated for a Sony Academy Award for Best Drama in 2010 so it must be good. Have a listen on Tuesday 4th January at 1530.