Gregory Burke (born 1968) is a Scottish playwright and screenwriter from

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

, Fife.

Early life and education

Burke's family moved to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in 1979 and returned to

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

in 1984. He attended St John's Primary in Rosyth, St Christopher's Middle School and Bayside Comprehensive in Gibraltar, and St Columba's High School, Dunfermline. He attended the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

for two years before dropping out.

Works

Burke's first play was ''

Gagarin Way ''Gagarin Way'' is a play by Scottish playwright Gregory Burke, named after a street in the West Fife village of Lumphinnans, on the edge of Cowdenbeath. The play documents the disappearance of socialism from an area where political radicalism w ...

'', set in the factories of West Fife. His play ''

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

'', for the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

, debuted at the 2006

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

, meeting with critical acclaim. ''Black Watch'' has since been performed throughout Scotland and has also toured theatres internationally. Burke has also written ''Occy Eyes'', ''The Straits'', ''Unsecured'', ''On Tour'', ''Liar'', and ''Shell Shocked''. His most recent play was ''Hoors'', which opened at the

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary pla ...

on 1 May 2009.

Controversy

Burke's time at Stirling University was cut short by an attack he and three others made on a fellow student. In May 2009, Burke turned down an honorary degree from Stirling, stating he wanted to avoid any embarrassment to the institution. According to the victim's family, he has not contacted them to apologize for this attack.

List of works

Plays

* ''Black Watch'' * ''The Chain Play'' (with others) * ''Unsecured'' * ''Gagarin Way'' * ''Hoors'' * ''Liar'' * ''On Tour'' * ''The Party'' * ''The Straits''

Film

* '' '71'' (2014) * ''

Entebbe Entebbe is a city in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. T ...

'' (2018)

Television

* ''One Night in Emergency'' (2010)

References

Scottish dramatists and playwrights Scottish people of Irish descent People from Rosyth 1968 births Living people People educated at St Columba's Roman Catholic High School, Dunfermline {{UK-playwright-stub