John Byrne (Scottish playwright)
| John Byrne | |
|---|---|
| Born |
6 January 1940 Paisley, Scotland |
| Alma mater | Glasgow School of Art |
| Child(ren) | 4 (Cecile, John, Xavier and Honor) |
John "Patrick" Byrne (born 6 January 1940) is a Scottish playwright and artist. Probably best known for writing The Slab Boys Trilogy of plays about working-class life in Scotland, he has been described as the first postmodern poet from Paisley.
John Byrne was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, where he grew up in the Ferguslie Park housing scheme and was educated at the town's St Mirin's Academy before attending Glasgow School of Art (1958–63). After the death of Byrne's mother, he was informed by a cousin that he was born of an incestuous relationship. He is thus the biological son of his mother, Alice, and his grandfather, Patrick McShane. Byrne first discussed this in early 2017.
Byrne has received several Honorary Doctorates: In 1997, from the University of Paisley; in 2006, from the Robert Gordon University Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen; in 2011, from the University of Dundee; and in 2015, from the University of Stirling. In 2004, he was made an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy.
Byrne was in a relationship with actress Tilda Swinton from 1989 to 2003. They have two sons.[1] As of 2017, Byrne was dating theatrical lighting specialist Jeanine Davies.
John Byrne is best known as a playwright for The Slab Boys Trilogy. He has also been regarded as one of Scotland's foremost television writers. He had also designed for the Traverse, 7:84, Hampstead Theatre, Bush Theatre, Scottish Opera and the Citizens Theatre. For the original 7:84 production of The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil he designed a seven-foot-high pop-up book of stage designs, which is now held in the National Library of Scotland.
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