Donald Campbell

A full-time writer since 1974, Donald Campbell is a playwright, theatre historian, stage director, scriptwriter and poet. Among more than a score of stage-plays, the most successful include; The Widows of Clyth (1979), Till All the Seas Run Dry (1981), Victorian Values (1986), The Fisher Boy and the Honest Lass (1990), Nancy Sleekit (1994) and Glorious Hearts (1999). Campbell made his directorial debut with a production of John McGrath’s Plugged into History during the Edinburgh Festival of 1986. Subsequent productions have included a revival of his own Blackfriars Wynd, two adaptations of Scott novels, a touring revival of Tom Wright’s There Was a Man (Capstride Theatre, 1994) and the first English language version of Malin Lagerlof’s The Lighthouse Prisoner (Northlands Festival, 1996).  Donald Campbell’s stage drama has won three Scotsman “Fringe Firsts” during the Edinburgh International Festival.

As a poet, Campbell has published a substantial body of work, with 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 radio work has been recognised 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).

Donald was 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). Born in Caithness in 1940, Donald Campbell grew up in Edinburgh where he still lives.