Meet playwright, Oliver Emanuel: The Monstrous Heart

Written by Oliver Emanuel, The Monstrous Heart is thrilling, chilling, witty and surreal, examining afresh the eternal question of whether we ever really change how we’re made.

Ahead of welcoming his latest play to our stages this Autumn we took a look at some of playwright Oliver Emanuel's previous work.

[ 2 minute read]

The Monstrous Heart is Oliver Emanuel’s first play for the Traverse Theatre and Stephen Joseph Theatre, but he’s no stranger to creating epic and imaginative drama for both stage and radio and has previously collaborated with director Gareth Nicholls on The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot at Stirling’s Macrobert Arts Centre.

Oliver was the creative driving force behind the National Theatre of Scotland’s ambitious The 306 project to mark the centenary of World War I, penning all three instalments of the moving and powerful trilogy – Dawn, Day and Dusk. His play Dragon won the 2014 UK Theatre Award for Best Show for Children and Young People and toured internationally, as did his widely acclaimed 2017 play Flight, which proved an audience hit at the 2017 Edinburgh International Festival.

His award-winning dramas for Radio 4 include When the Pips Stop, The Truth About Hawaii, Emile Zola: Blood, Sex & Money among many others. As well as his writing work, Oliver is also a part-time lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of St Andrews.

Oliver's work includes...

The 306 Trilogy

2016-18, Various locations

The 306: Dawn
★★★★★
‘The most brilliantly moving of elegies’
The Herald

The 306: Day
★★★★
‘A heady, emotional power and a near-perfect blend of voices from the six-strong ensemble’
The Times

The 306: Dusk
★★★★★
‘Powerful ending to the 306 trilogy provides fitting remembrance without glorifying war’
The Stage

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