Selected Plays 1999 - 2009

by David Greig

"David Plays 1" brings together four key plays by the playwright described by the "Daily Telegraph" as 'one of the most interesting and adventurous British dramatists of his generation'. In "Outlying Island", two young Cambridge ornithologists are sent to a remote island. Together with its authoritarian leaseholder and his niece they observe an innocence that is about to be destroyed forever. "San Diego" offers a strange and occasionally nightmarish journey into the heart of the contemporary American dream, weaving together stories of illegal immigrants, of film stars and whores, and even of the playwright himself. "Pyrenees" follows a man found lying in the snow in the foothills as he tries to piece together his identity. In "The American Pilot", a crash-landing in a remote valley in a distant country raises questions about how the world sees America and how America sees the world. The collection also includes a trilogy of short plays, "Being Norwegian", "Kyoto" and "Brewers Fayre", published here for the first time. "Outlying Island" - 'I can't recommend it highly enough ...A rich, charged play, veering between the comic and the poetic as innocence gives way to experience' - "Telegraph". "San Diego" - 'A surreal and intriguing piece of theatre ...dazzling ...Home and awake from the mythical dream that is "San Diego", the name David Greig remains imprinted on our minds' - "Independent". "Pyrenees" - 'All the wit and intelligence of previous works, probing away at concerns that are both contemporary and timeless...A classy, rewarding, engaging drama, Greig's best to date' - "The Times". "The American Pilot" - 'One of the most intellectually stimulating dramatists around. A richly provocative new play' - "Guardian".

544 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

David Greig is a Scottish dramatist. He was born in Edinburgh in 1969 and brought up in Nigeria. He studied drama at Bristol University and is now a well-known writer and director of plays. He has been commissioned by the Royal Court, the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company and was Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh from 2015 until 2025, when he left to return to writing.

His first play was produced in Glasgow in 1992 and he has written many plays since, produced worldwide. In 1990 he co-founded Suspect Culture Theatre Group with Graham Eatough in Glasgow.

His translations include Camus' Caligula (2003), Candide 2000, and When the Bulbul Stopped Singing, based on a book by Raja Shehadeh. Danmy 306 + Me (4 ever) (1999) is a play written for children.

David Greig's plays include The American Pilot (2005), about America's involvement in the Middle East and Eastern Europe; Pyrenees (2005) about a man who is found in the foothills of the Pyrenees, having lost his memory; and San Diego (2003), a journey through the American dream. His latest works are Gobbo, a modern- day fairytale; Herges Adverntures of Tintin, an adaptation; Yellow Moon (2006); and Damascus (2007)