David Byrne (playwright)

David Byrne (b. 1983 in Stevenage^[1]) is a British playwright and formerly the artistic director of the New Diorama Theatre in Camden, London,^[2] and currently Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre.^[3] Byrne has also written for radio and television.^[4]

Byrne has won the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and the List Awards for Drama,^[2] a Les Enfants Terribles Prize and the London Off West End Award for Best Artistic Director.^[5]

Byrne's adaptation of Down and Out in Paris and London sold out at the Edinburgh Festival in 2015 and received multiple four and five star reviews^[6] before transferring to London.^[7]

The New Diorama Theatre, under Byrne's artistic directorship, has won two Empty Space Peter Brook Awards.^[8]

At New Diorama, Byrne developed relationships throughout the small and emergent theatre communities, using the theatre's resources to offer support for the development of new and challenging work, and new voices.^[9]

In July 2023, it was announced that David Byrne would assume the role of Artistic Director of The English Stage Company/Royal Court in early 2024.^[3]

In July 2024, Byrne received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hull.^{[citation needed]}