Harm (NHB Modern Plays)

Douglas Maxwell was born in 1974 in Girvan, a small town on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. He is the author of many plays including Decky Does a Bronco, Our Bad Magnet, Variety, If Destroyed True, Backpacker Blues, Melody, The Ballad of James II and Harm. His work for young people includes Helmet, Beyond (with Nicola McCartney), Mancub and The Mother Ship (Brian Way Award for Best Play for a Younger Audience, 2009). 2010 saw three of his plays tour Scotland and abroad: Promises Promises for Random Accomplice; The Miracle Man for the National Theatre of Scotland; and a musical for Cumbernauld Theatre called The Bookie. His iconic play Decky Does a Bronco was also remounted for a major tour by Grid Iron. The Scotsman called it 'one of the finest plays to emerge from a Scottish working-class story in the last ten years'. Other productions include his version of Wedekind's Spring Awakening for Grid Iron and the Traverse Theatre; a play for young performers called Too Fast for the Royal National Theatre's New Connections; a comedy called Small Town co-written with Johnny McKnight and DC Jackson; and a television adaptation of his play Mancub for BBC Scotland. Douglas Maxwell lives in Glasgow with his wife, Caroline Newall and his daughter Ellis.