Rona Munro (born 7 September 1959) is a Scottish writer. She has written plays for theatre, radio, and television. Her film work includes

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

's '' Ladybird, Ladybird'' (1994), ''

Oranges and Sunshine ''Oranges and Sunshine'' is a 2010 Australian drama film directed by Jim Loach as his directorial debut. It stars Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham, with a screenplay by Rona Munro, based on the 1994 book ''Empty Cradles'' by Margaret Hu ...

'' (2010) for

Jim Loach James Loach (born 6 June 1969) is a British film director. Early life Jim Loach was born in London to Ken Loach and Lesley Ashton in June 1969, one of five children. He studied philosophy at University College London. Career Loach intended t ...

and ''

Aimée & Jaguar ''Aimée & Jaguar'' is a 1999 German drama film set in Berlin during World War II. It was written and directed by Max Färberböck and based on Erica Fischer's book chronicling the actual lives of Lilly Wust and Felice Schragenheim during t ...

'' (1999), co-authored by German director

Max Färberböck Max Färberböck (born 22 September 1950) is a German film director and writer. He was born in Brannenburg, Bavaria. He began his career at theaters in Buenos Aires and in Italy. He later studied at the University of Television and Film in Muni ...

. Munro is the second cousin (once removed) of Scottish author

Angus MacVicar Angus MacVicar (28 October 1908, Argyll – 31 October 2001, Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute) was a Scottish author with a wide-ranging output. His greatest successes came in three separate genres: crime thrillers, juvenile science fiction, and ...

. She was famous for writing the last serial of the original ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' in 1989, and then writing an

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning th ...

for the tenth series of the revived ''Doctor Who'' in 2017, making her the only writer to work in both the classic and revival eras of ''Doctor Who''.

Career

Munro's work on ''

'' was not limited to just ''

Survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...

'' (1989) and " The Eaters of Light" (2016). She later novelised both stories for the original and revived range of

Target Books Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became wel ...

, respectively. Her history cycle The James Plays, ''James I'', ''James II'', and ''James III'', were first performed by the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

in summer 2014 in a co-production with

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

and the National Theatre UK. The plays were staged again in early 2016. She followed this up with ''James IV - The Queen of the Fight'' in 2022. Her other credits include the theatre play ''Iron'' which has received many productions worldwide. Other theatre works include plays for the

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary p ...

Edinburgh (''Fugue'', ''Your Turn To Clean The Stair'', ''Strawberries in January'' translation), Manchester Royal Exchange (''Mary Barton'', ''Scuttlers''), Plymouth Drum Theatre and

Paines Plough Paines Plough is a touring theatre company founded in 1974 by writer David Pownall and director John Adams. The company specialises exclusively in commissioning and producing new plays and helping playwrights develop their craft. Over the past f ...

(''Long Time Dead''), and the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

(''The Indian Boy'', ''The Astronaut's Chair''). Munro has also contributed eleven dramas to Radio 4's ''Stanley Baxter Playhouse'': '' First Impressions'', '' Wheeling Them In'', '' The King's Kilt'', '' Pasta Alfreddo at Cafe Alessandro'', '' The Man in the Garden'', '' The Porter's Story'', '' The German Pilot'', ''

The Spider The Spider is an American pulp-magazine hero of the 1930s and 1940s. The character was created by editor Harry Steeger and written by a variety of authors for 118 monthly issues of '' The Spider'' from 1933 to 1943. A 119th Spider novel manuscr ...

'', ''

The Showman ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', '' Meg's Tale'', and '' The Flying Scotsman''. In 2006 the

Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

presented Munro's adaptation of

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (9 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist and writer of the books ''Watership Down'', '' Maia'', ''Shardik'' and '' The Plague Dogs''. He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Ar ...

' classic book ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural ...

''. Her early television work includes episodes of the drama series '' Casualty'' ( BBC) and, more recently, a BBC film, ''Rehab'', directed by Antonia Bird. Rona Munro currently lives and works in Scotland. Her play ''The Last Witch'' was performed at the 2009

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh F ...

, directed by

Dominic Hill Dominic Hill is Artistic Director at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. He took up post in October 2011. Early life Hill was born in Wimbledon on 22 April 1969. Career From 2008 to 2011 he was artistic director at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh ...

, and in 2011 by

Dumbarton People's Theatre Dumbarton People's Theatre (often abbreviated to DPT) is an amateur theatre group which exists in the town of Dumbarton in Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island o ...

. In 2018, a production of her adaptation of '' My Name Is Lucy Barton'' starring

Laura Linney Laura Leggett Linney (born February 5, 1964) is an American actress. Having studied acting at Juilliard School (1986-1990), she became known for her complex and multilayered performances on stage and screen. She has received various accolades, ...

opened in London.

Awards

Giles Cooper Award The Giles Cooper Awards were honours given to plays written for BBC Radio. Sponsored by the BBC and Methuen Drama, the awards were specifically focused on the script of the best radio drama produced in the past year. Five or six winners were chos ...

for ''Dirt Under The Carpet'', 1988 *

Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...

, 1991 * Evening Standard Award, NOOK Award for Best Play for ''The James Plays'', 2014 *

Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The un ...

Award, Best Play for ''The James Plays'', 2014

Works

Plays

* ''The Bang and the Whimper'', 1982 * ''The Salesman'', 1982 * ''Fugue'', 1983 * ''Bus'', 1984 * ''Touchwood'', 1984 * ''Ghost Story'', 1985 * ''Piper's Cave'', 1985 * ''Watching Waiters'', 1985 * ''Biggest Party in the World'', 1986 * ''Dust And Dreams'', 1986 * ''The Way To Go Home'', 1987 * ''Winners'', 1987 * ''Off The Road'', 1988 * ''Long Story Short'', 1989 * ''Saturday at the Commodore'', 1989 * ''Bold Girls'', 1990 * ''Scotland Matters'', 1992 * ''Your Turn To Clean The Stair'', 1992 * ''Haunted'', 1999 * * ''Snake'', 1999 * * ''Stick Granny on the Roofrack'', 2002 * ''Gilt'', 2003 * ''Catch A Falling Star!'', 2004 * ''Women on the Verge of a T Junction'', 2004 * ''Indian Boy'', 2006 * ''Long Time Dead'', 2006 * ''The Maiden Stone'', 2006 * ''Mary Barton'', 2006 * ''Strawberries in January'', (translation) 2006 * ''Watership Down'', 2006 * ''Dirt Under The Carpet'', 2007 *''

The Last Witch Janet Horne (died 1727) was the last person to be executed legally for witchcraft in the British Isles. Horne and her daughter were arrested in Dornoch in Sutherland and imprisoned on the accusations of her neighbours. Horne was showing signs o ...

'', 2009 * ''Little Eagles'', 2011 *''The Astronaut's Chair'', 2012 * ''Donny's Brain'', 2012 * ''The James Plays'', 2014 * '' Scuttlers'', 2015 * '' Rebus: Long Shadows'', 2018' *'' My Name Is Lucy Barton'', 2018 *''Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'', 2019 *''James IV - Queen of the Fight'', based on the life of the courtier

Ellen More Ellen or Elen More () was an African servant at the Scottish royal court. There are records of clothing and gifts given to her, although her roles and status are unclear. Some recent scholarship suggests she was enslaved. She is associated with a ...

for performance in 2022.

Screen

* ''

'', "

" (1989) *'' Casualty'', Say It with Flowers (1990) *'' Ladybird, Ladybird'' (1994) *''

'' (1999) *''

'' (2010) * ''Doctor Who'', " The Eaters of Light" (2017)

References

External links

*
Biography of Rona Munro at On TargetInterviewinterview preceding Edinburgh festival 2009.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munro, Rona 1959 births Living people People from Aberdeen Writers from Edinburgh Scottish dramatists and playwrights Scottish television writers Scottish women dramatists and playwrights British women screenwriters British women television writers 20th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Scottish women writers 21st-century Scottish writers 21st-century Scottish women writers Scottish radio writers Women radio writers