Ross Howard

Ross Howard

​Ross Howard's work has been seen in London (Theatre 503, Old Vic Tunnels, Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Riverside Studios, Menier Gallery, Old Red Lion, Park Theatre, Finborough Theatre, Canal Cafe Theatre, Southwark Playhouse), New York City (Cherry Lane Theatre, Theatre Row, Access Theater and Urban Stages), Cork (Cork Arts Centre), Las Vegas (Onyx Theatre, Las Vegas Little Theatre, Nevada Conservatory...
​Ross Howard's work has been seen in London (Theatre 503, Old Vic Tunnels, Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Riverside Studios, Menier Gallery, Old Red Lion, Park Theatre, Finborough Theatre, Canal Cafe Theatre, Southwark Playhouse), New York City (Cherry Lane Theatre, Theatre Row, Access Theater and Urban Stages), Cork (Cork Arts Centre), Las Vegas (Onyx Theatre, Las Vegas Little Theatre, Nevada Conservatory Theatre), Minneapolis (Pillsbury House Theatre), San Francisco (The Phoenix Theatre), Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre) and developed at Last Frontier Conference and Great Plains Theatre Conference.

In 2002, he was invited to join the Royal Court Theatre Young Writer's Group. In 2008, he received a Fellowship from the Edward F. Albee Foundation. ARTHUR AND ESTHER was awarded “Best of Fringe” at Las Vegas Fringe Festival 2010, while NO ONE LOVES US HERE was a finalist for the New York Stage and Film Founders Award 2012.

FRISKY & THE PANDA MAN was a winning finalist at the 38th Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival in the summer of 2013. Later that year, his evening of short plays OUR WALK THROUGH THE WORLD premiered in London at the Old Red Lion, directed by Timothy Trimingham Lee.

PICTURE OURSELVES IN LATVIA directed by Sarah Norris opened in New York City the following summer, and was listed in L Magazine as "Best of Theater 2014"

In October 2016, TWO OF US showcased off-Broadway alongside OUR WALK THROUGH THE WORLD and ARTHUR AND ESTHER. THE ROSS HOWARD FESTIVAL was in recognition of the three years spent as the Resident Playwright of New Light Theater Project.

THE AMAZING ALWAYS received a public reading in New York at The Drama Book Shop in April 2018.

Recent projects include working with Dream Shark Films on a screen adaptation of his short play THE HANKERBOX, directed by Abbie Lucas.

A dramatic work on the life and death of the former NFL player Mike Webster was created in collaboration with Dr. Randall Benson, a globally regarded behavioral neurologist. 12:52 THE MIKE WEBSTER STORY was produced by Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company in June 2023.

ARTHUR AND ESTHER, NO ONE LOVES US HERE, PICTURE OURSELVES IN LATVIA, TWO OF US and OUR WALK THROUGH THE WORLD are published by Samuel French.

Ross holds an M.F.A in Playwriting from UNLV and is a member of New Play Exchange, The Finborough Forum and has regularly tutored at the Actor's Centre in London.

He now lives by the seaside in Whitstable, Kent.

Plays

  • 12:52 (The Mike Webster Story) by Ross Howard
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: football, American football + 3 more
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama
    Keyword: football, American football, brain injury, a marriage in crisis, both physical and mental health
    12:52 is a sprawling journey through the mind, body, and soul of Mike Webster. The Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers center, whose premature death and resulting autopsy first revealed the permanent and neurological risks involved in playing Pro Football.

    *Based on a true story, 12:52 was written in collaboration with Dr. Randall Benson, a globally regarded behavioral neurologist and imaging...
    12:52 is a sprawling journey through the mind, body, and soul of Mike Webster. The Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers center, whose premature death and resulting autopsy first revealed the permanent and neurological risks involved in playing Pro Football.

    *Based on a true story, 12:52 was written in collaboration with Dr. Randall Benson, a globally regarded behavioral neurologist and imaging neuroscientist who is recognized for pioneering effective treatments for incapacitating brain disorders with an unprecedented understanding of brain function and disease.*



  • The Amazing Always by Ross Howard
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: paranormal, football + 6 more
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller, period
    Keyword: paranormal, football, civil rights, Vietnam era, 9/11, Iraq war, men versus women, American football
    When you are in the game of America’s Game and your family own a team, you already have a golden ticket to one of the nation’s most exclusive clubs. But through three generations, the Always have been a house divided. The Amazing Always is a dark and haunting family epic spanning 40 years, around the intrigue and the occult of Pro Football.
  • The Making of She and I by Ross Howard
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: self-help, new media + 6 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: self-help, new media, individualism, sibling rivalry, strength, weakness, greed, envy
    A self-help women’s podcast out of Indiana divides two sisters in England. When online alternative thinking manifests into the rise of a movement, its cult leader in America is confronted and the survival of a family hangs in the balance.

    "I’d like to firstly thank you for submitting your play to me to read, since reading it, your play has been tumbling around my head, I do not think that I...
    A self-help women’s podcast out of Indiana divides two sisters in England. When online alternative thinking manifests into the rise of a movement, its cult leader in America is confronted and the survival of a family hangs in the balance.

    "I’d like to firstly thank you for submitting your play to me to read, since reading it, your play has been tumbling around my head, I do not think that I have read a play quite like this, with four such detailed and distinct female characters." - Gareth Nicholls, Traverse Theatre

    "I admired its unique and timely premise, as well as the sharply observed dialogue and finely textured relationships. It’s compelling to get a behind-the-scenes look at a cultural phenomenon such as Lucia and Kim’s podcast, and to see how someone like Lucia works. I wish you the best of luck in finding a production soon." - Jessica Reese, Actors Theatre of Louisville

    "This is an impressive and confidently written whip-smart drama with a political edge about two separate stories: one involving a set of alt-right American female podcasters and a set of British sisters. The storylines intersect thematically with scenes from both plots alternating throughout the play. The characters are sharply drawn and the dialogue sparks nicely off the page." - Papatango Prize
  • Two of Us by Ross Howard
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: Mental Health, gun control + 6 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama, fantasy
    Keyword: Mental Health, gun control, celebrity, religion, gender parity, economy, multi-ethnic, questioning faith
    Listed as one of the 5 Out-of-the Box shows to see Off-Broadway from Playbill, TWO OF US, flashes between Honolulu and New York City, shining a spotlight on the lives of He and She and the social and domestic pressures leading to the destructive act of He assassinating John Lennon in December 1980. A showdown between the real and the fantastic, through a haunting cast of characters, Two of Us is a mind-bending...
    Listed as one of the 5 Out-of-the Box shows to see Off-Broadway from Playbill, TWO OF US, flashes between Honolulu and New York City, shining a spotlight on the lives of He and She and the social and domestic pressures leading to the destructive act of He assassinating John Lennon in December 1980. A showdown between the real and the fantastic, through a haunting cast of characters, Two of Us is a mind-bending parable of contemporary relevance speaking to gender expectations, celebrity culture and gun violence.
  • No One Loves Us Here by Ross Howard
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller
    Central Valley, California. When the Native American Washington is invited to stay in the Beaumonts' guest house, Mr. Beaumont thinks he'll get one thing from the arrangement. But just as Mrs. Beaumont avidly tends to her front yard, Washington decides to do some pruning himself. A contest for territory, No One Loves Us Here is a black comic portrait of love and obsession, the aspiration of displaced...
    Central Valley, California. When the Native American Washington is invited to stay in the Beaumonts' guest house, Mr. Beaumont thinks he'll get one thing from the arrangement. But just as Mrs. Beaumont avidly tends to her front yard, Washington decides to do some pruning himself. A contest for territory, No One Loves Us Here is a black comic portrait of love and obsession, the aspiration of displaced youth, and a crumbling white-collar class.

    **Finalist for New York Stage and Film Founders Award 2012**

    ​​​"Howard’s great accomplishment is creating a skewed world that’s entirely consistent and self-contained...amoral yet compelling characters, Seinfeld-like but with even more nastiness; tight-lipped commentary on the explosive potential of family dynamics; and subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle comedy...at just the right length and pace, this compact play ought to find a welcome on a bigger stage."
    Blog Critics

    "Like a bored 19-year-old burning ants alive on a summer’s day, No One Loves Us Here takes a magnifying glass to an already disintegrating notion of white class and laughs as gleefully as Bart Simpson...congratulations to Ross Howard for playing me like a violin the entire length of the play."
    OnStage Magazine

    "Howard’s new work illustrates the characteristically 21st Century sentiments of unbridled selfishness, feigned apathy, and perennial discontent. His pointed, political indictment of our skewed American values is simultaneously too hard to watch and too illuminating to ignore."
    Theatrescene.net

    "A mind bending thriller with twists at every turn…No One Loves Us Here is a comedic, dark bloodbath of the carnage that once was the delusional American Dream and it deserves a longer run."
    Times Square Chronicles




  • Arthur and Esther (US version) by Ross Howard
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, romantic comedy
    ·
    Keyword: betrayal, aging + 3 more
    Genre: dark comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: betrayal, aging, memory, library closure, nostalgia
    Arthur wrestles with the methods set out in Montgomery Swank’s "28 Ways to Terminate Your Existence and Questions You May Have", the one book he has salvaged from the closure of his beloved library. In the wake of her own death, his wife Esther reconciles the ghosts of the past with a hope for the future. A play of two worlds. This elemental and affecting two-hander explores love, its loss, and the...
    Arthur wrestles with the methods set out in Montgomery Swank’s "28 Ways to Terminate Your Existence and Questions You May Have", the one book he has salvaged from the closure of his beloved library. In the wake of her own death, his wife Esther reconciles the ghosts of the past with a hope for the future. A play of two worlds. This elemental and affecting two-hander explores love, its loss, and the lives we inherit and impose on others.

    ​​​​"Howard's script sprints along with observation and humor... this is a special script..."
    Las Vegas Review Journal

    “ …full of both outrageous dark comedy and deep sincerity…an ultimately compelling night of theatre”
    nytheatre.com

    "Their story is tragic, but is told with warmth and hope. The language is poetic with hauntingly beautiful rhythms that capture the spectator's imagination with vivid imagery."
    Theatre Is Easy
  • A Funhouse of Mirrors by Ross Howard
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: Relationships, control + 5 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: Relationships, control, Fantasy, abuse, dating horror stories, college age, duologues
    Intimacy can lead to distortion. Six people. Familiar environments transformed by laughs, silences, touches, and glances. Attraction caught up in manipulation. The said and the unsaid are pieces in a puzzle. An immersive experience in the obsessive games that can rule us.
  • Our Walk Through The World by Ross Howard
    Cast: 
    6–12
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, fantasy, mystery/thriller, political
    Our Walk Through The World is a collection of six short plays examining the absurdities, tragedies and small triumphs of modern life. In Tilly (An Introduction), a young woman films herself auditioning to become a surrogate mother. Colour-coded jelly beans prove the saving of one man’s career in Rules of Assortment, and a football manager introduces his latest acquisition to an assembled press in Our Prospects...
    Our Walk Through The World is a collection of six short plays examining the absurdities, tragedies and small triumphs of modern life. In Tilly (An Introduction), a young woman films herself auditioning to become a surrogate mother. Colour-coded jelly beans prove the saving of one man’s career in Rules of Assortment, and a football manager introduces his latest acquisition to an assembled press in Our Prospects For The Coming Season. A son is reunited with his biological mother in Relinquish, while in The Viewing an estate agent shows a couple around their dream home to a soundscape of gunfire and screaming. Finally, in Frisky & The Panda Man, a conservationist struggles to rationalise his feelings for the last female panda on earth.

    **Frisky & The Panda Man was a winning finalist ​at the
    38th Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival**
    ​
    "An entertaining and fast-paced night of quirky comedy sprinkled with poignant emotional observations...a playwright who clearly has a unique and promising ability to combine humour and drama. The push and pull created by Howard's habit of addressing everyday human issues and emotions within peculiar and uncanny situations makes for a night of pleasing theatre."
    One Stop Arts

    "The six short plays were excellent throughout, all added up all in all to a very funny often challenging and not always easy to watch night at the theatre...a roller coaster of emotions. Big hearty laughs throughout then touching tender moments slapped us in the chops... an epic evening indeed."
    Remotegoat

    "‘The World of Ross Howard may not be that of yours and mine – it is anarchic, irreverent and often very funny. A challenge waiting to​ be picked up."
    Prompt Magazine​​
  • Picture Ourselves in Latvia by Ross Howard
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, political, romantic comedy
    A contemporary comedy on contemporary England. Desires are suppressed and aspirations thwarted for both the staff and patients of a psychiatric ward. Orderly Oliver pines for Margaret Thatcher. Dr Rupert wants Nurse Whitehall who wants Dr Rupert. But Dr Rupert and his wife are trying for a baby and Nurse Whitehall, who is also married, has just returned from maternity leave. As for the patients, Duncan secretly...
    A contemporary comedy on contemporary England. Desires are suppressed and aspirations thwarted for both the staff and patients of a psychiatric ward. Orderly Oliver pines for Margaret Thatcher. Dr Rupert wants Nurse Whitehall who wants Dr Rupert. But Dr Rupert and his wife are trying for a baby and Nurse Whitehall, who is also married, has just returned from maternity leave. As for the patients, Duncan secretly loves Anna who secretly loves Martin who openly loves no one. Both a love story and a modern allegory of the state, Picture Ourselves in Latvia confronts the impossibility of categorizing people as either sane or insane.

    Named "Best of Theater 2014" - L Magazine


    "This play is the real deal: both light and heavy, romantic and cynical, and always bracingly unpredictable...It seems like a romantic comedy sometimes, but then this recedes and some kind of dangerous political point emerges like the fin of a shark in the water. It's the kind of play that can transform itself into something else entirely on a dime...a little miracle."
    L Magazine

    "Picture Ourselves in Latvia is at times charming, surprising, uncomfortable, hilarious and terrifying...an extraordinary experience."
    Charged FM

    "The characterizations are rich, and Mr Howard’s script, punctuated with absurdist deadpan opportunities, has a promising Monty Pythonesque tone. "
    The New York Times