Biography of David Wood

DAVID WOOD is an actor, playwright, composer, theatre producer and director, author and magician. He began acting and writing at Oxford University in the sixties, including HANG DOWN YOUR HEAD AND DIE and FOUR DEGREES OVER. Since then he has become "the national children's dramatist" (Irving Wardle, The Times). He wrote his first play for children in 1967 and has since written about fifty more. They are performed worldwide and include THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT WENT TO SEE. . . (six London seasons, co-written with Sheila Ruskin), THE SELFISH SHELLFISH, THE SEE-SAW TREE, SAVE THE HUMAN (from the story he wrote with cartoonist Tony Husband), THE IDEAL GNOME EXPEDITION, NUTCRACKER SWEET and THE PLOTTERS OF CABBAGE PATCH CORNER. His stage adaptations of well-known books include Dick King-Smith's BABE, THE SHEEP-PIG, Roald Dahl's THE TWITS, FANTASTIC MR FOX, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD, THE BFG and THE WITCHES (both of which played long tours and three West End seasons), HRH The Prince of Wales' THE OLD MAN OF LOCHNAGAR, Michael Foreman's DINOSAURS AND ALL THAT RUBBISH, Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski's MEG AND MOG SHOW (five London seasons for Unicorn Theatre), Eric Hill's SPOT'S BIRTHDAY PARTY and Philippa Pearce's TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN - the Unicorn Theatre production won the Best Show for Children and Young People awarded by the Theatre Managers Association 2001 and played a very successful season on Broadway. In 2003 the Manchester Library Theatre production won the same award. He has published, to rave reviews, THEATRE FOR CHILDREN : GUIDE TO WRITING, ADAPTING, DIRECTING AND ACTING (Faber), co-written with Janet Grant; this has become a set text in many colleges in the UK and the US. He directed many of his plays for his own company, Whirligig Theatre (founded with John Gould in 1979), which toured to major theatres nationwide including Sadler's Wells in London. Film screenplays include SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS and BACK HOME which won a gold award at the New York Film and TV Festival 1991. Writing for television includes the series CHIPS' COMIC, WATCH, and CHISH 'N' FIPS. TIDE RACE, his filmed drama for Central Television and the European Broadcasting Union, won several international awards. For BBC Radio 4 he adapted Arthur Ransome's SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS. He also writes children's books; they include THE GINGERBREAD MAN, SIDNEY THE MONSTER (Nottinghamshire Children's Book of the Year) and SAVE THE HUMAN. With Richard Fowler he has co-created novelty books including BEDTIME STORY, MOLE'S SUMMER STORY, MOLE'S WINTER STORY, SILLY SPIDER, THE MAGIC SHOW, FUNNY BUNNY'S MAGIC SHOW and THE TOY CUPBOARD. He regularly visits schools as a storyteller, with the message 'Books are Fun'. David Wood has followed a parallel career as an actor, best remembered as Johnny in Lindsay Anderson's cult film IF& On the stage he played opposite Sir Michael Redgrave in A VOYAGE ROUND MY FATHER (Best Newcomer nomination) and on television opposite Shelley Winters in THE VAMP. Other television credits include LONGITUDE, MAD JACK, FATHERS AND SONS, CHERIE, THE LOVE SCHOOL, DISRAELI, VAN DER VALK, THE NEW AVENGERS, THE TROUBLESHOOTERS, PLAYAWAY, JACKANORY, and ALL-STAR RECORD BREAKERS. His children's entertainment THE DAVID WOOD MAGIC AND MUSIC SHOW plays in theatres in London and all over the UK. On television he performed magic in the BBC series TRICKY BUSINESS. He was made a member of the Inner Magic Circle (with Gold Star) for his services to children's magic. He is married to Jacqueline Stanbury; they have two grown-up daughters, Katherine and Rebecca. In the Queen's Birthday Honours, 2004, David was awarded the O.B.E for his services to literature and drama, and in 2006 he wrote THE QUEEN'S HANDBAG, a play to celebrate British children's literature, performed at the Children's Party at the Palace to mark the Queen's 80th birthday, and seen live on BBC Television by 8,000,000 viewers.