Who is Dave Davidson?

Who is Dave Davidson? Something seems to be going on at the Royal Court Theatre.

The Royal Court theatre’s latest play That is Not Who I Am is apparently written by a secretive, first-time playwright who refuses to have his (?) photo taken. The full biography for Dave Davidson that accompanies the play’s press release -

‘Dave Davidson has worked in the security industry for 38 years. This is his first play.’

That’s it. Mysterious. Can it be true? Have the Royal Court given such an opportunity to an untested writer who must be at least in his fifties? Aspiring playwrights everywhere will rejoice at the news - if Dave Davidson can do it, then there’s hope for us all.

However, the Royal Court seem to be balancing an antinomy: telling us that this is a play by Dave Davidson but also heavily hinting that it’s written by someone else (someone more used to having their work performed at major theatres?): the title; the dodgy pseudonym; a couple of recondite YouTube videos…

My own punt is that it’s a collaboration between several playwrights dreamed up in the bar and perhaps foolishly scaled up all the way to a full production. A theatrical equivalent to The Traveling Wilburys. I hope I’m wrong because such a project gives me a queasy feeling. Dreaming up an improbable alias might just have the unfortunate consequence of highlighting the ossification of routes for new writers into the industry.

Or maybe that will be the point. I wanted to get this out before any facts emerge and engage with the game of peek-a-boo that seems to be being played. It will be interesting to see if more is revealed in the weeks ahead.

That is Not Who I Am is on at the Royal Court Theatre until 16th July.