John Byrne

1940 -

Dramatist and artist. Born in Paisley, he attended the Edinburgh and Glasgow Colleges of Art. His first play Writer's Cramp debuted on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1977. This was followed by the award-winning Slab Boys (1978) which examined the lives of workers in a carpet factory and was followed by Cuttin' A Rug (1980) and Still Life (1983). His BBC television comedy drama Tutti Frutti (1987) starred Robbie Coltrane (b.1950) and gained a BAFTA award. Your Cheatin' Heart (1989) followed in a similar vein and starred John Gordon Sinclair (b.1962).

Byrne has exhibited his art in Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, New York, Sweden and Croatia and was chosen as an artist for one of the Royal Mail's Millennium Stamps.

Byrne now lives in Tain (Highland).

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