Andrew Dallmeyer (10 January 1945 – 21 May 2017) was a Scottish playwright, theatre director and actor. He wrote over 75 plays, including the Opium Eater and directed more than 50 productions. His plays have won a number of awards, including a Scottish BAFTA, and they have been played on BBC Radio. Some of Dallmeyer's plays have been considered controversial, for example Wanted: Dead or Alive which focused on Osama Bin Laden's motives and was released on the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Some of his other plays celebrate the life and works of historical figures such as John Muir and Salvador Dalí. As an actor, Dallmeyer had a recurring role in Scottish cult comedy, Rab C. Nesbitt. Early life Dallmeyer was born on 10 January 1945 in St Boswells in Roxburghshire, Scotland. He spent most of his childhood in Aberlady, East Lothian where he was a keen Hibernian F.C. supporter (later inspiring his interest to write Playing a Blinder). Dallmeyer learnt drama at the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, London. His father served in the British Army during the Second World War and was twice awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Career Dallmeyer, described as a veteran actor and playwright, began his theatre work in the 1960s as an actor in Bristol Old Vic and Nottingham Playhouse performances. At the age of 26 he was the artistic director at Liverpool Playhouse, although he didn't enjoy it and instead wanted to focus on writing his own plays. He subsequently directed many productions at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, Sheffield Crucible, Dundee Rep, Leeds Playhouse and several more. As a playwright, Dallmeyer has written over 75 plays despite admitting he is unable to type and has directed over 50 productions. He was commissioned by the Baron of Prestongrange and has written a number of plays for him. He won three Fringe First awards as well as a BAFTA Scotland Award for the Best Radio Play of 1985 in Scotland. In 1982, The Times pointed out that he was able to put on three separate successful Fringe shows each year. Much of Dallmeyer's work has not been published or put into print and therefore he holds the only copy of many plays. 1980s The Opium Eater, based on Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De Quincey, has had more than a dozen performances across the United Kingdom.