Duane Kelly

Emma Thompson on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Nov. 14, 2025

November 2025
Artificial Intelligence, with its rapidly growing capabilities and the massive financial investment in it, is all over the news. Many people are in a panic over…

August 2025
These days, one need not be a pessimist to be distressed by conditions in America.

For much of the world, however, there is good news. A Gallup survey periodically asks residents of 142 countries to gauge where they…

July 2023
The world premiere of my play Enquiry Concerning Hereafter runs August 4-27 for 21 performances, as part of the Edinburgh Fringe, the world's largest theatre festival. Producing Enquiry is Panmure House, an international academic institution centered…

(This essay, written by Duane Kelly, was originally published July, 2023 by AdamSmithWorks as part of its Speaking of Smith series. Reprinted by permission. Photo is of Kelly at Adam Smith's grave in Edinburgh in 2022.)

August 2023
While travelling…

September 2022
British playwright Tom Stoppard, 85 years old and still working, has long been a hero to me. I would go so far as to declare him our finest living playwright. Leopoldstadt, his latest play, opened in London’s…

September 2022
Last month The New Yorker magazine sent a decree throughout the land that my cartoon caption for its August 29 contest was one of three finalists. I guess the sheer brilliance of “Try using a different can” could…

(from an essay by Duane Kelly first published October, 2017; photo of George Souvall by Bella Souvall)

September 2022
Youth who find themselves in challenging circumstances can sometimes catch a break. The fates drop into their path a gift in…

August 2022
I find myself at a high-water mark in my theatre life. My play Visiting Cezanne is now on as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world’s largest theatre festival. I have taken up residence in this lovely…

April 2022
The world premiere of my play Patrimony opens in Seattle May 5, 2022 for eight performances. If you’re in the neighborhood we’d love to see you at the theater.  

Patrimony, a new play whose secrets never seem…

March 2019
A hearty thank-you to all the impassioned staff and volunteers at Burien Actors Theatre! That company’s 2018-19 season just closed out with a four-week run of my play Visiting Cezanne. Attendance was strong with audience response…