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John Byrne

  • John Byrne at the Edinburgh international book festival, 2011.

    John Byrne obituary

    Playwright and artist who wrote the BBC series Tutti Frutti and Your Cheatin’ Heart, and plays including The Slab Boys
  • John Byrne

    Renowned Scottish playwright and artist John Byrne dies aged 83

    Byrne described as ‘one of the most inventive and versatile of all Scotland’s modern artists’
  • John Byrne pictured in 2014.

    John Byrne: the maverick Scottish playwright and artist was a master observer

    Byrne, who has died aged 83, used his life as a constant source of inspiration for exuberant plays and paintings

July 2022

  • Marc McMillan in Underwood Lane.

    Underwood Lane review – John Byrne’s devilish divine comedy hits the right notes

  • Underwood Lane, Johnstone Town Hall, 2022. L-R: Marc McMillan as Dessie, Dylan Wood as Gil and Dani Heron as Maureen

    Underwood Lane review – John Byrne’s rock’n’roll musical has pure heart

May 2021

  • John Byrne

    Lockdown culture
    Tennis Elbow review – a nonstop rally of jokes

    John Byrne revisits the terrain of his 1977 hit spoof Writer’s Cramp to follow the fortunes of artist Pamela Crichton Capers

April 2021

  • John Byrne in 2011.

    Lockdown culture
    Tennis Elbow review – rambunctious ride through an awful artist’s life

    In a twist on John Byrne’s debut Writer’s Cramp, this is a fast-paced spoof hagiography of pulpy romance author Pamela Crichton Capers

February 2015

  • … Sammy Hayman and Jamie Quinn in The Slab Boys

    The Slab Boys review – banter without the bite

  • john byrne david hayman slab boys citizens

    The Slab Boys are back: John Byrne and David Hayman mix some fresh mayhem

August 2011

May 2009

  • Tutti Frutti

    TV and radio blog
    At last, another chance to see Tutti Frutti

    Veronica Lee: Tutti Frutti, John Byrne's wonderfully acerbic 1987 TV drama, launched the careers of Emma Thompson, Robbie Coltrane and Richard Wilson. Why has it been so long neglected by the BBC?

July 2008

  • Media Monkey
    Just good friends

    Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre loves nothing more than the idea of love triangles to titillate his readers with. Cue numerous tales involving Tilda Swinton since she won big at the Oscars. Those stories had their coda in a rather sheepish apology in today's Mail: "Following our article on June 2, we are happy to clarify that Tilda Swinton and John Byrne have not been a couple for over five years but are bring up their children together. They both have new partners but remain good friends."

May 2008

  • Nova Scotia

    This sequel to The Slab Boys finds John Byrne's angry young man grown into a passive role, writes Mark Fisher

April 2008

  • Tilda, the Slab Boys and me

    Could John Byrne's new play be based on his unorthodox relationship with Tilda Swinton? Mind your own business, he tells Mark Fisher

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