Royal Court to premiere work by first time playwright Dave Davidson

The Royal Court will give a premiere to a new playwright, Dave Davidson, in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs this summer.

Davidson has reportedly worked in the security industry for the last 38 years, and That Is Not Who I Am is his first play. It's described as a "slippery new thriller in which nothing is as it seems and nobody is who they are".

It will run from 16 June to 16 July 2022 (with previews from 10 June), directed by Royal Court associate Lucy Morrison.

Playwright Dennis Kelly described Davidson as "quite simply the best playwright that this country has never produced", adding: "The fact that this is his first major production is a shocking indictment of the system. His voice genuinely has the capacity to change everything."

He has also been endorsed by playwright Simon Stephens, who commented: "Davidson had been working steadily in the fringes of the London new writing scene when I first met him on a writers' group. His work always showed striking potential. But the force and brilliance of That is Not Who I Am has completely astonished me."

No photos of Davidson were provided by the Court, who described him as "highly security conscious".

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