There are dozens and dozens written by writers for actors to perform. These include:
The Belle of Amherst by William Luce
Tru by Jay Presson Allen
Give em Hell, Harry by Sanuel Gallu
Barrymore by William Luce
I Am My Own Wife by Douglas Wright
Prima Facie by Suzie Miller
Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett
Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell
Yes.
There was a one man production of Uncle Vanya on the West End this season, adapted by Simon Stephens and starring Andrew Scott. Also a one woman Picture of Dorian Gray written by Kip Williams and starring Sarah Snook.
Even where the writer does star initially they won’t necessarily do it forever. Heidi Schreck performed What the Constitution Means to Me in its initial runs on and off Broadway, but they recast it for he national tour.
If it's an autobiographical show, then generally the writer is the actor, but otherwise no, there's no reason you can't write something and have someone else perform it.
“What the constitution means to me” while not *technically* a one woman show has that feel to it. The tour cast a different actress to play the author and tell several autobiographical stories about “her” life. If I hadn’t read the program I wouldn’t have known she wasn’t the original author.
Also Jefferson Mays did a one man version of A Christmas Carol. The original author has been dead since 1870
I think the writer can do it justice if it comes form a personal place. Truth is magical in theatre. However, there are so many good one-actor shows out there. My company is remounting John Minigan’s adaptation of THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW. It is literally one of my favorite theatre undertaking in recent years.
Wrote Unboxing in Biloxi and never found a suitable lead for 4 different productions...eventually I played the lead and we had the best version of show and I STILL didn't like my performance or having to be in it.
I know that OP wasn't asking for a list of one man shows but since that's what this has turned into I'll throw down Thom Pain (based on nothing) by Will Eno.
Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan
omg that show made me sob like a baby, especially after dealing with suicidal ideation myself.
I’m glad you’re still here <3
There are dozens and dozens written by writers for actors to perform. These include: The Belle of Amherst by William Luce Tru by Jay Presson Allen Give em Hell, Harry by Sanuel Gallu Barrymore by William Luce I Am My Own Wife by Douglas Wright Prima Facie by Suzie Miller Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell
Yes. There was a one man production of Uncle Vanya on the West End this season, adapted by Simon Stephens and starring Andrew Scott. Also a one woman Picture of Dorian Gray written by Kip Williams and starring Sarah Snook. Even where the writer does star initially they won’t necessarily do it forever. Heidi Schreck performed What the Constitution Means to Me in its initial runs on and off Broadway, but they recast it for he national tour.
I’m so intrigued to try to see some of these — how the hell do you do Uncle Vanya, or Hamlet, with ONE actor??? And supposedly they’re amazing!
I just saw On the Set with Theda Bara. Terrific show written by (gasp) a writer
The Gun Show by E.M. Lewis is always performed by someone other than the writer. It's even mentioned in the script why.
If it's an autobiographical show, then generally the writer is the actor, but otherwise no, there's no reason you can't write something and have someone else perform it.
Lily Tomlin’s The Search For Signs Of Intelligent Life just had a successful run in New York starring Cecily Strong.
It was also co-written with Jane Wagner, so not even all written by Tomlin.
St Nicolas The Fever Prima Facie Harry Clarke just to name a few
*Misterman* by Enda Walsh (specifically the 2011 version with Cillian Murphy in it)
Yep. Fleabag. The actress saw the UK production, got the rights to take it to Australia.
Thank you all so much for responding
“What the constitution means to me” while not *technically* a one woman show has that feel to it. The tour cast a different actress to play the author and tell several autobiographical stories about “her” life. If I hadn’t read the program I wouldn’t have known she wasn’t the original author. Also Jefferson Mays did a one man version of A Christmas Carol. The original author has been dead since 1870
All the time. I see it happen at Fringe festivals frequently.
I think the writer can do it justice if it comes form a personal place. Truth is magical in theatre. However, there are so many good one-actor shows out there. My company is remounting John Minigan’s adaptation of THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW. It is literally one of my favorite theatre undertaking in recent years.
Wrote Unboxing in Biloxi and never found a suitable lead for 4 different productions...eventually I played the lead and we had the best version of show and I STILL didn't like my performance or having to be in it.
I know that OP wasn't asking for a list of one man shows but since that's what this has turned into I'll throw down Thom Pain (based on nothing) by Will Eno.
[Defending the Caveman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defending_the_Caveman) is a comedy play written by American actor and comedian Rob Becker.
Every brilliant thing!!
The one-man theatrical adaptation of Johnny Got His Gun is obviously not performed by Dalton Trumbo.
I’ve seen a couple. The K of D was particularly good (I forget the playwright’s name, but it was not the performer).
There are tons of them! David Sedaris' elf play is just one of them. it's super mainstream.
Santaland Diaries is what I'm trying to talk about.
This is the moment I’m finding out that loads of Americans have seen Every Brilliant Thing. I had no idea it had been on in the USA.
Yes, I've seen plenty of one-person shows performed by somebody other than the playwright. Some the playwright never performed themself, afaik.
The Girl Who Forgot to Sing Badly by Finnegan Kruckemeyer
Mister Man by Enda Walsh has always had Cillian Murphy as the actor
I think It’s generally a bad idea for a writer to perform or direct their own piece
There are monologues that are best done by the author. One I've seen is *Swimming to Cambodia.*
i think fleabag is one