Anthony Neilson

Anthony Neilson is a Scottish playwright and director known for his collaborative way of writing. His work is characterized by the exploration of sex and violence. Though often considered a pioneer of In-yer-face theatre, he has stated that he has “never liked the term because it implies an attempt to repel the audience, which was never my aim”. Instead, he prefers his work to be categorised as “experimental theatre”.

As his writing involves collaborations, he has a massive directorial role in the creation of his plays, but in 2007 he was credited as director of his play God in Ruins at the Soho Theatre. At the RSC he directed the world premiere of The Drunks by the Durnenkov Brothers in 2009. In 2010 he directed Caledonia by Alistair Beaton at the Edinburgh Festival.

His other plays include Welfare My Lovely (1990), Normal (1991), Penetrator (1993), The Year of the Family (1994), The Censor (1997), Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness (2002), The Lying Kind (2002), The Wonderful World of Dissocia (2004), Realism (2006), Relocated (2008), The Seance (2009), Stitching (2009), Get Santa! (2010), Sixty Six (2011), Narrative (2013) and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (2016), among others.

He was also writer of the popular BBC series Spooks.