Diary of a Madman

(Paperback)

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Description

Apparently, back in the day us McClouds used to be the Thanes of Queensferry, before all that shit got stamped out by the English . . . Weve got Royal Blood in us he says, and he says when we eventually realise we shouldve voted Yes not No Dads gonna rise up to be Thane of Queensferry once more. Pop Sheeran, proudly shouldering the family trade of restoring the Forth Bridge, is about to lose it all. A global corporation has bought this Scottish icon, bringing with them innovative new paint. How will Pop fight back when he realises hes painting himself out of a job Diary of a Madman is a sharply political, witty new adaptation of Gogols classic story, reimagined in a contemporary Scotland on the brink of voting for independence. The play received its world premiere at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, on 5 August 2016 before opening at the Gate Theatre, London, in September 2016.

Reviews

[An] intense two-hander . . . Smiths writing is punchy, sometimes bruising . . . Harrogate plays games with its audience, setting up and then confounding our expectations. . . . Smith's writing is punchy, sometimes bruising * Financial Times on "Harrogate" *
[A] knife-like piece of writing * Stage on "Harrogate" *

Author Bio

Al Smith's theatre includes Enola (Underbelly, 2005), Radio (Soho / 59E59 NYC, 2006/7), The Astronaut Wives Club (Soho, 2006), The Bird (Underbelly / Arcola, 2008), Gold & Popcorn and Black & White (NYTRep, 2012). He has been Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Finborough Theatre and a participant of the Paines Plough Future Perfect scheme. He has recently finished a new play, The Anthropophaga, for Headlong / Old Red Lion and Harrogate was premiered at HighTide Theatre Festival in September 2015.