Rona Munro
Encyclopedia
Rona Munro is a Scottish
writer
. She has written plays for theatre
, radio
, and television
; was the author of the screenplay
of Ken Loach
's Ladybird, Ladybird
and co-author of Aimée & Jaguar
by German
director Max Färberböck
.
Munro is also known for being the author of the last Doctor Who
television serial of the original run to air, Survival
(1989). She later novelised this serial for Target Books
.
Her most recent credits include the theatre play Iron which has received many productions worldwide. Other theatre works include plays for the Traverse Theatre
Edinburgh, ('Strawberries in January' translation) Manchester Royal Exchange, ('Mary Barton'), Plymouth Drum Theatre and Paines Plough
, ('Long Time Dead') and the Royal Shakespeare Company
, ('The Indian Boy')
Munro has also contributed seven 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 and The German Pilot.
In 2006 the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith presented Munro's adaptation of Richard Adams
' classic book, Watership Down
.
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 London
. Her new play, "The Last Witch", was performed at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival
, directed by Dominic Hill, and in 2011 by Dumbarton People's Theatre
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. She has written plays for theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
; was the author of the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
of Ken Loach
Ken Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
's Ladybird, Ladybird
Ladybird, Ladybird (film)
Ladybird, Ladybird is a 1994 British drama film directed by Ken Loach.It is a drama-documentary about a British woman's dispute with Social Services over the care and custody of her four children. The title comes from a traditional nursery verse...
and co-author of Aimée & Jaguar
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, based upon Erica Fischer's book, chronicling the actual lives of Lilly Wust and Felice Schragenheim during that time period. The book was based on the work of the American...
by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
director Max Färberböck
Max Färberböck
Max Färberböck is a German film director and writer. He was born in Degerndorf, Münsing, Bavaria. He began his career at theaters in Buenos Aires and in Italy. He later studied at the University of Television and Film in Munich and worked for Constantin Film and as an assistant for Peter Zadek at...
.
Munro is also known for being the author of the last Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
television serial of the original run to air, Survival
Survival (Doctor Who)
-Writing:Writer Rona Munro approached script editor Andrew Cartmel at a BBC scriptwriting workshop and said that she'd "kill to write for Doctor Who." The story Munro developed incorporated themes including the morals of hunting...
(1989). She later novelised this serial for Target Books
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 well known for their highly successful range of...
.
Her most recent credits include the theatre play Iron which has received many productions worldwide. Other theatre works include plays for the Traverse Theatre
Traverse Theatre
The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963.The Traverse Theatre commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary playwrights. It also presents a large number of productions from visiting companies from across the UK. These include new plays,...
Edinburgh, ('Strawberries in January' translation) Manchester Royal Exchange, ('Mary Barton'), Plymouth Drum Theatre and Paines Plough
Paines Plough
Paines Plough is a London-based British touring theatre company founded in 1974 by writer David Pownall and director John Adams. They named the company after their favourite pub, the Plough, where they would drink pints of Paines....
, ('Long Time Dead') and the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, ('The Indian Boy')
Munro has also contributed seven dramas to Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
'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 and The German Pilot.
In 2006 the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith presented Munro's adaptation of Richard Adams
Richard Adams
Richard Adams was a non-conforming English Presbyterian divine, known as author of sermons and other theological writings.-Life:...
' classic book, Watership Down
Watership Down
Watership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...
.
Her early television work includes episodes of the drama series Casualty (BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
) and, more recently, a BBC film Rehab. directed by Antonia Bird.
Rona Munro currently lives and works in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Her new play, "The Last Witch", was performed at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
, directed by Dominic Hill, and in 2011 by Dumbarton People's Theatre
Dumbarton People's Theatre
Dumbarton People's Theatre is an amateur theatre group which exists in the town of Dumbarton in Scotland.It was formed in 1945. Since then they have normally performed four plays a year...
.
Awards
- Giles Cooper Award for Dirt Under The Carpet, 1988
- She won the 1991 Susan Smith Blackburn PrizeSusan Smith Blackburn PrizeThe Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is for English-language women playwrights. Named for Susan Smith, alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer.-Winners:* 1978-79 Mary O'Malley* 1979-80 Barbara Schneider...
.
Works
- The Bang And The Whimper, 1982
- Biggest Party In The World, 1986
- Bold Girls, 1990
- Bus, 1984
- Catch A Falling Star!, 2004
- Dirt Under The Carpet, 2007
- Dust And Dreams, 1986
- Fugue, 1983
- Ghost Story, 1985
- Gilt, 2003
- Haunted, 1999
- Indian Boy, 2006
- Long Story Short, 1989
- Long Time Dead, 2006
- The Maiden Stone, 2006
- Mary Barton, 2006
- Off The Road, 1988
- Piper's Cave, 1985
- The Salesman, 1982
- Saturday At The Commodore, 1989
- Scotland Matters, 1992
- Snake, 1999
- Stick Granny On The Roofrack
- Strawberries in January, 2006
- Touchwood, 1984
- Watching Waiters, 1985
- Watership Down, 2006
- The Way To Go Home, 1987
- Winners, 1987
- Women On The Verge Of A T Junction, 2004
- Your Turn To Clean The Stair, 1992