He attended Stokesley School before studying Drama at The University of Manchester, graduating in 2008.
Captain Amazing went on to the Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre that year, before embarking on a tour.
Pomona[3] premiered at the Royal Wesh College of Music & Drama, before a slightly rewritten version was staged at the Orange Tree Theatre[4] in 2014, then transferring to the National Theatre and the Royal Exchange in Autumn 2015.
McDowall's next three plays would also premiere at the Royal Court: all of it, a one act monologue performed by Kate O'Flynn, was staged in Spring 2019; The Glow, described as a fairy tale, premiered in Spring 2022 and was award the Harold Pinter Commission; and all of it returned in Summer 2023, this time accompanied by two new pieces written for O'Flynn.
This triptych transferred to Festival d'Avignon, and was published in a large-format book as Three Poems.