Anja Müller and Clare Wallace on David Greig

I’ve never really understood why playwright David Greig — surely one of the top five British playwrights to have emerged in the 1990s — isn’t better known in London. Could the reason be that he is Scottish, and Scottish playwrights have had much less success in the metropolis than Irish or American talents? Whatever the reason, there are many signs that he is appreciated by the academy, if not always by London directors: so it’s really good to be able to welcome a new book, Cosmotopia, a collection of short essays about his work edited by Anja Müller and Clare Wallace (published by the excellent Litteraria Pragensia). These 12 clearly written and accessible contributions offer numerous insights into the intellectual and emotional aspects of Greig’s plays. In particular the theme of globalisation and its effect on identity politics is thoroughly investigated. Let’s hope that there are more such explorations of the work of this always stimulating playwright — and more revivals of his plays.

© Aleks Sierz

Anja Müller Clare Wallace Cosmotopia David Greig national identity new writing playwriting Scotland