The Glow

People find me. When it’s dark.

1863. An asylum.

A woman locked in a windowless cell, with no memory as to who she is, or how she arrived there.

When spiritualist medium Mrs Lyall requires a new assistant, this nameless woman seems the perfect candidate.

But as the woman’s past begins to reveal itself, so do new powers neither are prepared for.

Alistair McDowall’s haunting new play The Glow was the 2018 Pinter Commission, an award given annually by Lady Antonia Fraser to support a new commission at the Royal Court Theatre.

This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at London’s Royal Court Theatre in January 2022.

Alistair McDowall grew up in the North East of England. Plays include: The Glow (Royal Court Theatre 2022); all of it (Royal Court Theatre 2020); Zero for the Young Dudes! (National Theatre Connections 2017); X (Royal Court Theatre 2016); Pomona (RWCMD/Gate 2014; Orange Tree Theatre/Royal Exchange/National Theatre 2014/5); Talk Show (Royal Court Theatre 2013); Brilliant Adventures (Royal Court Young Writers’ Festival 2012; Royal Exchange, Manchester and Live Theatre, Newcastle 2013) and Captain Amazing (Live Theatre, Newcastle and Edinburgh Fringe 2013; UK tour 2014). He is a MacDowell fellow, and a recipient of the Harold Pinter Commission. His work has been translated and produced internationally.