Motivational Speaker – David Wood
Motivational Speaker – David Wood
| Born | February 21, 1944 (age 69) Sutton, Surrey, England |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Education | Chichester High School for Boys |
| Alma mater | Worcester College, Oxford |
| Genres | Children’s literature |
| Notable work(s) | The Gingerbread Man (1976) |
| Notable award(s) | Order of the British Empire |
David Wood, OBE (born 21 February 1944 in Sutton, Surrey, England) is an actor and writer whom The Times called “the National Children’s Dramatist”.[1] Along with John Gould, he founded the Whirligig Theatre, a touring children’s theatre company.[2]
He was educated at Chichester High School for Boys and Worcester College, Oxford.
Wood has been an actor, composer, producer, director, lyric writer, magician, author, and playwright.
His most famous story, The Gingerbread Man (1976), has been all around the world since its premiere at the Towngate Theatre inBasildon. Wood, FilmFair, and Central Independent Television adapted the musical into an animated children’s television series. The adaptation, also called The Gingerbread Man, aired on ITV in 1992.
Among his film roles are Johnny in Lindsay Anderson‘s If…. (1968) and Thompson in Aces High (1976). He appeared as the character Bingo Little in the original London cast of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alan Ayckbourn musical Jeeves in 1975.
He wrote the screenplay for Arthur Ransome‘s Swallows and Amazons, released by Anglo EMI in 1974.
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2004 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, for his services to literature and drama.
Contents
[show]Plays[edit source | editbeta]
Original works:
- The Gingerbread Man (1976), a musical inspired by the 19th-century fairy tale “The Gingerbread Man“
- The See-Saw Tree
- Spot’s Birthday Party
Adaptations of Roald Dahl‘s books for children:
- The BFG (1991), adapted from The BFG (1982)
- Fantastic Mr Fox (2001), adapted from Fantastic Mr Fox (1970)
- The Twits, adapted from The Twits (1979)
- The Witches, adapted from The Witches (1983)
Other adaptations of English authors of children’s literature:
- Babe, the Sheep-Pig, adapted from Dick King-Smith‘s The Sheep-Pig (1983)
- Meg and Mog, adapted from Helen Nicoll’s books about her characters Meg and Mog
- Noddy, adapted from Enid Blyton‘s books about her character Noddy
- Rupert Bear, adapted from Mary Tourtel‘s comic strip Rupert Bear (1920)
Notes[edit source | editbeta]
- ^ David Wood: The National Children’s Dramatist
- ^ Wood, David; Grant, Janet (15 March 1999). Theatre for Children: A Guide to Writing, Adapting, Directing, and Acting. Ivan R. Dee. pp. 22–. ISBN 978-1-4616-6449-9. Retrieved 27 March 2013.