Stephen Lowe (born December 1947) is an English playwright and director. Lowe's plays have dealt with subjects ranging from the takeover of Tibet by the

Chinese People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

in 1959 (''Tibetan Inroads'') to a dying DH Lawrence trying find a publisher for

Lady Chatterley The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

(''Empty Bed Blues''); from

Donald McGill Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

postcards (''Cards'' and ''Kisses on the Bottom'') to Dr John Dee (''The Alchemical Wedding''). His best known plays are ''Touched'', about a group of working-class women in Nottingham at the end of the second world war; ''The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists'', about a group of house-painters in 1906 (adapted from the novel by

Robert Tressell Robert Noonan (17 April 1870 – 3 February 1911), born Robert Croker and best known by the pen name Robert Tressell, was an Irish writer best known for his novel ''The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists''. Tressell spent his entire early adult w ...

); and ''Old Big ‘Ead in the Spirit of the Man'', in which football hero

Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Engl ...

comes back from the dead to inspire a playwright working on his latest play. He has had plays produced by the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

, Royal Shakespeare Company,

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment i ...

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

Joint Stock A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders a ...

; and at regional theatres across the country including Scarborough Theatre in the Round,

Sheffield Crucible The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actres ...

, Derby Playhouse,

Birmingham Rep Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

Salisbury Playhouse Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the English city of Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was built in 1976 and comprises the 517-seat Main House and the 149-seat Salberg, a rehearsal room and a community & education space. It is part of Arts Council En ...

and Plymouth Theatre Royal. A two-man adaptation by Townsend Productions of his play

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists ''The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists'' (1914) is a semi-autobiographical novel by Irish house painter and sign writer Robert Noonan, who wrote the book in his spare time under the pen name Robert Tressell. Published after Tressell's death f ...

toured throughout the country in 2011 to 2013 and again in 2015. Many of his plays were first produced in his home-town at Nottingham Playhouse, at

Lakeside Arts Centre Lakeside or Lake Side may refer to: Places Australia * Lakeside College, Pakenham, Victoria * Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City, Joondalup, Western Australia * Lakeside, near Reservoir, Victoria * Lakeside International Raceway, Pine Rivers, Que ...

or by Lowe’s own company, Meeting Ground Theatre Company. Lowe moved back to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

in 1985 to start Meeting Ground, with a group including his wife Tanya Myers. In February 2017, a revival of Touched was staged at Nottingham Playhouse, starring

Vicky McClure Victoria Lee McClure (born 8 May 1983) is an English actress, model and presenter. She is known for her roles as Detective Inspector Kate Fleming in the BBC series ''Line of Duty'' (2012–present) and Lol Jenkins in Shane Meadows' film ''Thi ...

. This new production celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the original production at the same theatre. Lowe has worked with many leading directors including Bill Alexander, Alan Ayckbourn, Annie Castledine, Jonathan Chadwick, Anthony Clark,

Stephen Daldry Stephen David Daldry CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three Olivier Awards for his work in the West End and three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway. He has received thr ...

, Alan Dossor,

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Mar ...

, Bill Gaskill,

David Leveaux David Leveaux (born 13 December 1957)this source shows 195filmreference.com. Retrieved 9 May 2009 is a British theatre director who has been nominated for five Tony Awards as director of both plays and musicals. He directs in the UK, working at ...

, and

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including '' Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel '' T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', ''28 Days Later'', '' S ...

, who early in his career was assistant director on Lowe’s play ''Tibetan Inroads''. His theatre and television work has featured actors such as Bruce Alexander,

Warren Clarke Warren Clarke (born Alan James Clarke; 26 April 1947 – 12 November 2014) was an English actor. He appeared in many films after a significant role as Dim in Stanley Kubrick's ''A Clockwork Orange''. His television appearances included '' Dalz ...

George Costigan George J. Costigan (born 8 August 1947) is an English actor who is best known for portraying Bob in the 1987 film ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too'' and for roles in TV series such as '' Happy Valley'' and '' So Haunt Me''. Early life Born in Portsmouth ...

Kenneth Cranham Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a Scottish film, television, radio and stage actor. Early life Cranham was born in Dunfermline, Fife, the son of Lochgelly-born Margaret McKay Cranham (née Ferguson) and Ronald Cranham, a London-bor ...

Sharon Duce Sharon Duce (born 17 January 1950) is a British actress. Born in Sheffield, she trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art then became a stage actress at the Sheffield Repertory Theatre, the York Theatre Royal, and the Theatre in t ...

Emma Fielding Emma Georgina Annalies Fielding (born 07 October 1964 in Catterick, North Riding of Yorkshire) is an English actress. Biography The daughter of a British Army officer, Colonel Johnny Fielding, and Sheila Fielding, she was raised Catholic and ...

Brian Glover Brian Glover (2 April 1934 – 24 July 1997) was an English actor and writer. He worked as a teacher and professional wrestler before commencing an acting career which included films, many roles on British television and work on the stage. His ...

Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was an English actor. He is most known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom '' Yes Minister'' and the Cabi ...

, Bill Paterson,

Neil Pearson Neil John Pearson (born 27 April 1959) is a British actor, known for his work on television. He was nominated for the 1994 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor for '' Between the Lines'' (1992–1994). His other television roles include ''Drop the D ...

Kathryn Pogson Kathryn Pogson (born 1954) is an English film and stage actress. She appeared in Terry Gilliam's 1985 cult film ''Brazil''. She won a Best Actress Drama Desk Award for her performance in the 1986 New York production of '' Aunt Dan and Lemon'' ...

Linus Roache Linus William Roache (born 1 February 1964) is a British actor. He is known for playing Executive ADA Michael Cutter in the NBC dramas ''Law & Order'' (2008–2010) and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2011–2012). More recently, Roach ...

, Colin Tarrant,

Marjorie Yates Marjorie Yates (born 13 April 1941) is a British actress best known for her role as Carol Fisher in the Channel 4 drama '' Shameless''. Yates was born in Birmingham, West Midlands, and studied at the Bournville College of Art. An early TV ...

Harriet Walter Dame Harriet Mary Walter (born 24 September 1950) is a British actress. She has received a Laurence Olivier Award as well as numerous nominations including for a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011 ...

and

Rachel Weisz Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award. Weisz began acting in British stage and television in the ...

. Lowe was writer in residence at Riverside Studios from 1982 to 1984, and he has led numerous theatre and writing workshops, including at the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, BBC Television, the

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, Patricia Cumper is Cha ...

, Liverpool Playhouse, Nottingham Playhouse and Riverside Studios. He has lectured at

Dartington College of Arts Dartington College of Arts was a specialist arts college located at Dartington Hall in the south-west of England, offering courses at degree and postgraduate level together with an arts research programme. It existed for a period of almost 50 ...

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

(on the MA in Playwriting Studies programme), Nottingham Trent University, Charles University in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

and at the Performance Art Academy in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

. Lowe has been a member of various theatre boards and advisory panels, including Great Eastern Stage Company. He was on the council of Arts Council England, and was Chair of Arts Council England - East Midlands from 2004 to 2010. Lowe's play ''Touched'' was joint winner of the

George Devine Award George Alexander Cassady Devine (20 November 1910 – 20 January 1966) was an English theatrical manager, director, teacher, and actor based in London from the early 1930s until his death. He also worked in TV and film. Early life and education ...

in 1977, and he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Nottingham in July 2011. In July 2015, Nottingham Express Transit named one of their new trams "Stephen Lowe" in his honour.

Early life

Lowe was born Stephen James Wright in

Sneinton Sneinton (pronounced "Snenton") is a suburb of Nottingham, England. The area is bounded by Nottingham city centre to the west, Bakersfield to the north, Colwick to the east, and the River Trent to the south. Sneinton lies within the unitary au ...

, where his father was a labourer and his mother was a machinist in Nottingham's

Lace Market The Lace Market is a historic quarter-mile square area of Nottingham, England. It was the centre of the world's lace industry during the British Empire and is now a protected heritage area. It was an area of salesrooms and warehouses for storin ...

. He graduated from

in English and Theatre Studies. After university, Lowe worked in various jobs while writing, including part-time lecturer, clerk, hospital receptionist, newspaper distributor, advertising manager, housepainter, barman and civil servant. While working as a part-time shepherd in the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills rising from the Vale of York w ...

, he was commissioned by Alan Ayckbourn to write a comedy double-bill, ''Comic Pictures'', and joined his Scarborough Theatre in the Round company as an actor and writer. Ayckbourn produced ''Comic Pictures'' in 1976. Lowe took his mother's maiden name as a professional identity in 1976, when he joined Ayckbourn's company.

Peace plays

In the 1980s, Lowe edited two anthologies of peace plays for Methuen. The first volume was of plays by British playwrights, including

Deborah Levy Deborah Levy (born 6 August 1959) is a British novelist, playwright and poet. She initially concentrated on writing for the theatre – her plays were staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company – before focusing on prose fiction. Her early nov ...

Adrian Mitchell Adrian Mitchell FRSL (24 October 1932 – 20 December 2008) was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's C ...

, and Lowe himself (Keeping Body and Soul Together). It was published in 1985 during a period of increased tension towards the end of the Cold War, and Lowe's introduction quoted from Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Nobel acceptance speech, "we, the inventors of tales, who will believe anything, feel entitled to believe that it is not yet too late to engage in the creation of a utopia of a very different kind." The second volume, published in 1990, came out of the new era of glasnost and a thaw in relations between the two superpowers. For this volume Lowe selected plays by two American playwrights,

Arthur Kopit Arthur Lee Kopit (' Koenig; May 10, 1937 – April 2, 2021) was an American playwright. He was a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for '' Indians'' and '' Wings''. He was also nominated for three Tony Awards: Best Play for ''Indians'' (1970) a ...

and Richard Stayton; and by two Russian playwrights, Fyodor Burlatsky, a former adviser to Khrushchev and

Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Comm ...

, and Mikhail Bulgakov.

Works

Plays

* ''Cards'', Act Inn Theatre, London (1973) * ''Comic Pictures (Stars and Cards)'', Scarborough Theatre-in-the-Round (1976) * ''Shooting Fishing and Riding'', Scarborough Theatre-in-the-Round (1977) * ''Touched'', Nottingham Playhouse (1977); Royal Court (1981) * ''Sally Ann Hallelujah Band'', Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Roundabout (1978) * ''The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists'', Joint Stock (1978) * ''Glasshouses'', Royal Court Theatre Upstairs (1981) ; (later retitled:) ''Moving Pictures'', Leeds Playhouse * '' Tibetan Inroads'', Royal Court (1981) * ''The Trial of Frankenstein'', Plymouth Theatre Royal (1982) * ''Strive'', Sheffield Crucible Studio (1983) * ''Seachange'', Riverside Studios (1984) * ''Keeping Body and Soul Together'', Royal Court Theatre Upstairs (1984) * ''The Storm'' (adaptation, from Ostrovsky), RSC Barbican The Pit (1985) * ''Desire'', Meeting Ground Theatre national tour (1986) * ''Demon Lovers'', Meeting Ground Theatre national tour (1987) * ''William Tell'' (adaptation, from Schiller), Sheffield Crucible (1987) * ''Divine Gossip'', RSC Barbican The Pit (1988) * ''Paradise'', Nottingham Playhouse (1990) * ''The Alchemical Wedding'', Salisbury Playhouse (1998) * ''Revelations'', Hampstead Theatre (2003) * ''It's Not Personal'', Nottingham Playhouse (2004) * '' Old Big 'Ead in The Spirit of the Man'', Nottingham Playhouse and national tour (2005-6) * ''The Fox and the Little Vixen'', Tangere Arts tour (2005) * ''The Devil's League'', in rehearsal at Derby Playhouse when theatre went into receivership; not yet produced (2008) * ''Smile'', Lakeside Arts Nottingham (2008) * ''Glamour'', Nottingham Playhouse (2009) * ''Empty Bed Blues'', Lakeside Arts Nottingham (2009) * ''Seance on a Sunday Afternoon'', Lakeside Arts Nottingham (2011) * ''Just a Gigolo'', Edinburgh Festival and Lakeside Arts Nottingham (2012) * ''Altitude Sickness'', rehearsed reading, Lakeside Arts Nottingham (2016)

Screenplays

* ''Cries From A Watchtower'', BBC TV Play for Today (1979) Producer

. - A small-time watchmaker is hit by the new silicon chip technology. * ''Fred Karno's Bloody Circus'', rehearsed reading by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Warehouse Theatre (1979); part of ''Plays that Television Would Not Do'' series. * ''Shades'', BBC 2 60 minutes as part of PLAYS FOR TOMORROW series (1981). - The youth of 2001 re-connect with 80's Peace Protestors. Starring

. * ''Unstable Elements'', Film NewsReel/ Channel 4. (1983) * ''Kisses on the Bottom'', BBC 2 (1984). - A comedy in which the characters of

sea-side postcards come alive (adapted from Lowe's play ''Cards''). * ''Tell Tale Hearts'', Three part thriller BBC Scotland (1990) Starring

, Bill Patterson. Directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan. - Investigations of a serial child murderer expose hidden fears in all involved. * ''Ice Dance'', BBC 1 (1990). Director Alan Dossor. Starring

. Producer Mike Wearing. - Two young Nottingham kids try to emulate

Torvill and Dean Torvill and Dean (Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean) are English ice dancers and former British, European, Olympic, and World champions. At the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics the pair won gold and became the highest-scoring figure skaters of a ...

. * ''Flea Bites'', BBC 1 (1992). Director Alan Dossor. starring

. Producer Mike Wearing. - A Survivor of the camps teaches a young boy the mystery of a flea-circus. * ''Scarlet & Black'', BBC classical Four hour adaptation (1993). Director Ben Bolt. Starring

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...

and

. Producer Mike Wearing. - Stendhal's masterpiece of young love & passion * ''Greenstone'', ABC/ NZ TV. Eight-hour historical drama with Communicado, the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

producers of

Once Were Warriors ''Once Were Warriors'' is New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling first novel, published in 1990. It tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and portrays the reality of domestic violence in New Zealand. It was the basis of a 1 ...

. (1999). - The 'adventure' story of the first white settlers and the subsequent colonisation of the land.

Directing

* ''Shooting Fishing and Riding'', Scarborough Theatre-in-the-Round (1977) * ''Strive'', Meeting Ground Theatre national tour (1985) * ''Desire'', Meeting Ground Theatre national tour (1986) * ''Demon Lovers'', Meeting Ground Theatre national tour (1987) * ''Inside Out of Mind'' by Tanya Myers, Meeting Ground Theatre workshop presentation for Nottingham Institute of Mental Health (2011) http://www.insideoutofmind.co.uk

Sources

* ''Faith, hope, and human decency'', interview with Lowe by John Cunningham; ''The Guardian'', 19 Jan 1981; p9. * ''Lowe, Stephen'', Who's Who 2011, A & C Black, 2011; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2010 ; online edn, Oct 2010. * ''Moving Pictures'', Four Plays by Stephen Lowe. London, Methuen, 1985. * ''Old Big 'Ead in The Spirit of the Man'', by Stephen Lowe. London, Methuen, 2005. * Work CV
Stephen Lowe website
* ''Lowe, Stephen.'' Entry by Dan Rebellato, in ''Companion to 20th Century Theatre'', edited by Colin Chambers. Continuum International, 2002; p 457.
www.insideoutofmind.co.uk
* ''New play focuses on role of carers'', article fro

* Donohue, Walter (edited), ''The Warehouse: A Writer's Theatre''. Theatre Papers no. 8, Dartington College of Arts, 1980.

References

External links

Stephen Lowe's websiteMethuen edition of Old Big 'Ead...
* ttp://www.insideoutofmind.co.uk/ Inside Out of Mind website* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Stephen People from Sneinton 1947 births English dramatists and playwrights Living people Alumni of the University of Birmingham English male dramatists and playwrights