‘Who said smashing things up was a bad thing?’
Three strangers are about to face their demons head on. Balanced precariously on the tipping point, they might just be able to save one another – if they can only overcome their urge to self-destruct.
Passionate, painful and playful, Stef Smith’s Swallow takes a long, hard look at the extremes of everyday life. The play premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, as part of the 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it received a Scotsman Fringe First Award. It was directed by Traverse Artistic Director Orla O’Loughlin, and featured original music by LAWholt.
'[A] bloody great bruise of a play which borrows, magpie-like, from Sarah Kane but which is always distinctively itself. It has a shard-like lyricism that tears through the heart. It finds the comic in the tragic... a shattering 80 minutes'
— Guardian
'In a relatively short space of time Stef Smith has established herself as a remarkably diverse and elusive playwright… her most assured to date'
— The Times
'Dazzlingly deft… there are so many reasons to love this piece… a must-see'
— Independent
'Smith's script is dense with tense and memorable imagery… packed with powerful language'
— The Stage
Edinburgh Fringe First Award
About the Author :
Stef Smith is a playwright whose work includes: The Outrun, adapted from Amy Liptrot's memoir (Edinburgh International Festival, 2024); Enough (Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 2019); Nora : A Doll's House (Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, 2019; revived at Young Vic, London, 2020); Girl in the Machine (Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 2017); Human Animals (Royal Court Theatre, London, 2016); Swallow (Traverse Theatre, 2015); Remote (NT Connections 2015); And The Beat Goes On (Random Accomplice/Horsecross); Cured (The Arches, Glasgow); Woman of the Year (Òran Mór); Grey Matter (Lemon Tree, Aberdeen); Falling/Flying (Tron, Glasgow); Roadkill (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2010 & 2011).
Awards include: Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre, Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland for Best New Production, Amnesty International Expression of Freedom Award, Herald Angel Award, Total Theatre Award for Innovation, The Scotsman Fringe First Award (Roadkill); Scottish Arts Club Theatre Award for Drama, The Scotsman Fringe First Award (Swallow).
She has been awarded the New Playwright Award by Playwrights Studio, Scotland. Stef was a member of the Royal Court National Writers Group in 2013. She is an Associate Artist at the Traverse Theatre.
Review :
'An elegant and glowing piece of 21st-century magic realism… [a] rich mix of drama and poetry, comedy and tragedy'
'[A] bloody great bruise of a play which borrows, magpie-like, from Sarah Kane but which is always distinctively itself. It has a shard-like lyricism that tears through the heart. It finds the comic in the tragic... a shattering 80 minutes'
'In a relatively short space of time Stef Smith has established herself as a remarkably diverse and elusive playwright… her most assured to date'
'Dazzlingly deft… there are so many reasons to love this piece… a must-see'
'Smith's script is dense with tense and memorable imagery… packed with powerful language'
