Biography - Claire Dowie
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Biography
Award winning writer and performer Claire Dowie has a reputation for work that defies categorisation.
Originally trained as a dancer, she started writing poetry (published by Faber and Apples and Snakes) and quickly gained a reputation as an outspoken and hilarious stand up comic and on the cabaret circuit in the early eighties. She felt limited by the need for punchlines and started writing plays, inventing her own genre:
stand up theatre.
RECENT PROJECTS
In 2012 Claire revived H to He (I'm turning into a man) for the Face to Face Festival of Solo Theatre
and Edinburgh 2013 performing it alongside BUY LITTLE BUY LESS BUY NOTHING AT ALL
(aka See Primark and Die!)
In 2013 Claire revived Why is John Lennon Wearing a Skirt? for the Face to Face Festival of Solo Theatre
and the Hill Street Solo Theatre Festival in Edinburgh where she received five and six star reviews
In 2014 ADULT CHILD DEAD CHILD was revived with Claire performing alongside a company of seven for
Face to Face and a UK tour which is continuing ....
Claire’s first novel Creating Chaos is now published in both German and Italian and her play BUY LITTLE BUY LESS BUY NOTHING AT ALL has just been translated into German as: Primark, See it and Die! She has also received international awards at the Thespis Festival in Germany and the Grand Prix at the MonoAkt International Festival in Kosova
“Claire Dowie combines the smoothness and audience rapport of a stand-
(The Stage)
“A superb spiky performer who transcends gender and even the notion of acting itself …
sad sane serious and very funny” (The Guardian)
H to He (I’m turning into a Man),
Buy Little Buy Less Buy Nothing At All (now with its German subtitle
"See Primark and Die!"),
Why Is John Lennon Wearing A Skirt? and Adult Child/Dead Child
continue to tour in the UK
and beyond.
CHRONOLOGY
1987/89
ADULT CHILD/DEAD CHILD
Finborough Theatre, Kings Head
and UK tour
(1988 Time Out Theatre Award
2010 Best Drama Fringe Report)
1990/91
WHY IS JOHN LENNON
WEARING A SKIRT?
Traverse Theatre,
UK & International tour.
(1991 London Fringe Award)
1992/93
DEATH AND DANCING
Honolulu Hawaii, BAC London
and tour.
1993/94
LEAKING FROM EVERY ORIFICE
tour to Europe America & UK.
1996/97
ALL OVER LOVELY
Traverse Theatre, Drill Hall
and UK tour.
1998
EASY ACCESS (for the boys)
written and directed for the Drill Hall.
1998/2000
EASY ACCESS (solo remix)
the solo version -
2001
DESIGNS FOR LIVING
Drill Hall and UK tour
2001/3
THE YEAR OF THE MONKEY
four short stories live on tour.
2002 SODOM
(commissioned by ATC)
BAC (2003)
Drill Hall (2006)
2004/5
CREATING CHAOS (LIVE REMIX)
her first novel live on tour.
2005/6
H TO HE (I’M TURNING INTO A MAN) The Drill Hall & UK tour.
2007/8 Revival of
DEATH AND DANCING
Homotopia, Drill Hall and tour
2010/11
BUY LITLE BUY LESS
BUY NOTHING AT ALL
(aka See Primark and Die!)
Drill Hall and Tour
The short play Jenny on the Block
(at Birmingham Rep)
and the musical comedy
What Shall We Do With Mother?
(at the Finborough and Drill Hall)
are still in development.
RADIO and TELEVISION
Claire has also written extensively for BBC radio and television drama:
THE YEAR OF THE MONKEY
with Janet Suzman for BBC R3
FROM THE BOTTOM OF A WELL
with Stephen Moore for BBC R4
THE BARNES ORIGINALS
with Stephen Moore for BBC R4
BONFIRE NIGHT
performed by Claire Dowie for BBC R4
CAME OUT, IT RAINED,
WENT BACK IN AGAIN
Claire`s first original film for television
featured Jane Horrocks and Gwen Taylor.
KEVIN
teleplay filmed by Central Children`s Television for EBU.
MIND THE GAP (2005)
Claire`s series of five plays for BBC radio featured Prunella Scales, Gwen Taylor, Dinah Stabb and Sian Phillips
FAR FROM PAST IT (2006)
a second series of five radio plays for the BBC broadcast May 2006.
PUBLICATIONS
Methuen have published 3 collections of Claire Dowie`s plays:
THE YEAR OF THE MONKEY and other plays
(with DESIGNS FOR LIVING and SODOM)
WHY IS JOHN LENNON WEARING A SKIRT? & other plays,
(with ADULT CHILD/DEAD CHILD, DEATH AND DANCING, DRAG ACT and LEAKING FROM EVERY ORIFICE)
EASY ACCESS (for the boys)
& ALL OVER LOVELY
Methuen also published Claire`s first novel: CREATING CHAOS which
Is published in Italy by Gremese and in Germany by Merlin Verlag.
Gremese have also published 2 collections of her plays in Italian.
Claire`s plays continue to be performed regularly not only in English but also in Italian, Spanish, Portugese and German.
Claire has performed -
There have been productions in Italian at Teatro Franco Parenti in Milan and German at the Deutsches Theater in Gottingen.