About David Wood 

In the 1960s, David Wood began publishing works while he was a student at Oxford University. He was born in Sutton, Surrey, England in 1944. 

After creating his debut children's play in 1967, he went on to write more than sixty others. The plays, which are presented all over the world, include THE GINGERBREAD MAN, THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT WENT TO SEE... (written in collaboration with Sheila Ruskin), THE SELFISH SHELLFISH, THE SEE-SAW TREE, SAVE THE HUMAN (based on a story he co-wrote with cartoonist Tony Husband), THE IDEAL GNOME EXPEDITION, and THE PLOTTERS OF CABBAGE PATCH CORNER. 

Dick King-Smith's BABE THE SHEEP-PIG, Roald Dahl's THE BFG and THE WITCHES (which both had lengthy tours and two West End seasons), THE TWITS, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH and FANTASTIC MR FOX, DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD and GEORGE'S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE, 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), Philippa Pearce's TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN and Judith Kerr's THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA. It began touring in 2008, participated in many West End seasons, and received an Olivier nomination in 2012. After playing two West End seasons and going on tour, David's adaption of Michelle Magorian's GOODNIGHT MISTER TOM took home the 2013 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and Family. 

Written in conjunction with Janet Grant, THEATRE FOR CHILDREN: GUIDE TO WRITING, ADAPTING, DIRECTING AND ACTING (Faber), was released in The Times to rave ratings. It is now mandatory reading on the topic in the US, UK, and China.  

The majority of his works were staged by him for his own company, Whirligig Theatre (formed in 1979 with John Gould), which traveled to major theaters around the country for 25 years, including London's Sadler's Wells. 

Movie scripts include BACK HOME, which took home the top prize at the 1991 New York Film and TV Festival, and SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS. His television writing has appeared in the shows CHIPS' COMIC, CHISH 'N' FIPS, and THE GINGERBREAD MAN. He has also received multiple national prizes for his film drama TIDE RACE, which was produced for Central Television and the European Broadcasting Union. He did an adaptation of Arthur Ransome's SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS for BBC Radio 4. 

In addition to his work for children, he co-wrote novelty stories with Richard Fowler, which include 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 authored A PRESENT FOR FATHER CHRISTMAS and SIDNEY THE MONSTER (Nottinghamshire Children's Book of the Year) for Walker Books. He also drew THE PHANTOM CAT OF THE OPERA. Four of Roald Dahl's plays for children were published by Puffin, while THE PORRIDGE PINCHER, CINDERELLA, and JACK AND THE BAKED BEANSTALK were released by Big Cat, HarperCollins' educational division. 

In addition, David Wood pursued a career in acting. He is most known for his role as Johnny in Lindsay Anderson's beloved movie IF. He released the memoir FILMING IF in 2018 to commemorate the film's 50th milestone. 

David Wood's thoughts about theater: "Since 1967 I have written approximately 60 plays for children. It is still a passion and a real challenge. It never gets easier! My plays are usually written for professional adult actors to perform in theatres for audiences of children in family and school parties; but an increasing number of schools put on productions of their own. I write original plays and adaptations of popular books. For musical plays I often write the music and lyrics of the songs.

My aims haven't changed. I am trying to give children an exciting, memorable theatre experience by triggering their imaginations, making them laugh and sometimes cry, emotionally involving them in a really good story. I want to use the magic of theatre - the lighting, the sound, the scenery, the costumes, the music, the movement, to provide a unique, special event; this is why I prefer to work in theatres rather than schools - in theatres I have more control! I produce and direct many of my plays for my own company, Whirligig Theatre (founded with John Gould in 1979), and for other companies, both commercial and subsidised.

Over the years, children's theatre in the UK has achieved a somewhat higher status and profile than in the days when I started. There are more companies and more dedicated practitioners. But the attitude shown towards children's theatre by everyone - the public, the theatrical profession, critics and funding bodies, still relegates it to the second division rather than hailing it as the exciting and groundbreaking art form it can be. Children's theatre is not just a means to an end, a way of building up an audience for adult theatre of the future. It is an important branch of theatre which should be celebrated and supported now. It should not be an optional extra, nourished when funds allow, but the first to be dropped when money is tight. One of the problems is always money, because children's theatre is often costly to mount, yet the rightly low seat price yields far less at the box office than an equivalent adult show.

But, in fairness, over the 35 years I have specialised in this area, the quantity and quality of theatre for children in the UK has undoubtedly gone up considerably.

I am fortunate in that many of my plays are performed all over the world; my work is becoming more popular now in the United States. And, since writing my book, THEATRE FOR CHILDREN : GUIDE TO WRITING, ADAPTING, DIRECTING AND ACTING, published by Faber and Faber in the UK and Ivan R. Dee Inc. in the United States, I have been asked to lecture and do workshops in Chicago, San Diego, Shreveport and New York.

Since the late 1980s I have also written children's books, many in collaboration with Richard Fowler, illustrator and paper engineer. School visits give me great pleasure. I try to enthuse children with the message, "Books are Fun", using my own books and stories. For the last 20 years I have also toured THE DAVID WOOD MAGIC AND MUSIC SHOW to theatres all over the UK. This takes me back to my roots- entertaining at children's parties was how I started my career in my teens. In 2002 I was delighted to be promoted by the Magic Circle to become Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star, for my services to children's magic.”

For more information about David Wood visit his website- All About Me - David Wood