Sir Ronald Harwood was a South African-born British author, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for The Dresser and The Pianist, for which he won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007).
Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as War Horse (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytelling", for recurring themes such as the triumph of an outsider or survival, for characters' relationships with nature, and for vivid settings such as the Cornish coast or the trenches of the First World War. Morpurgo was the third Children's Laureate, from 2003 to 2005, and is President of BookTrust, a children's reading charity.
Deborah Hopkinson is an American writer of over seventy children's books, primarily historical fiction, nonfiction and picture books.
Private Peaceful is a novel for older children by British author Michael Morpurgo first published in 2003. It is about a fictional young soldier called Thomas "Tommo" Peaceful, who is looking back on his life so far and his going to war. The story focuses on the harsh realities of English rural life and warfare, and highlights the British Army's practice of executing its own soldiers during the First World War. Morpurgo was inspired to write the novel after learning about the around 300 British and Commonwealth soldiers who were shot for crimes like desertion and cowardice. The novel helped further the campaign to grant posthumous pardons to the men, which were agreed and implemented by the UK Government in 2006.
Carey Harrison is an English novelist and dramatist.
The Boy Who Grew Flowers is a children's picture book written by Jennifer Wojtowicz and illustrated by Steve Adams. Wojtowicz has stated that she was inspired to write the book due to her relationship with her autistic brother. The book has been adapted into a stage play.
War Horse is a British war novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published in Great Britain by Kaye & Ward in 1982. The story recounts the experiences of Joey, a horse bought by the Army for service in World War I in France and the attempts of 15-year-old Albert, his previous owner, to bring him safely home. It formed the basis of both an award-winning play (2007) and an acclaimed film adaptation (2011) by Steven Spielberg. The novel is often considered one of Morpurgo's best works, and its success spawned a sequel titled Farm Boy, which was published in October 1997.
War Horse is a play based on the book of the same name by writer Michael Morpurgo, adapted for stage by Nick Stafford. Originally Morpurgo thought "they must be mad" to try to make a play from his best-selling 1982 novel; but the play was a great success. The play's West End and Broadway productions are directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris; it features life-size horse puppets by the Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa, the movements of which were choreographed by Toby Sedgwick.
Elisa Kleven is an American children's writer and illustrator of 30 books. She grew up in Los Angeles and currently resides near San Francisco. Her titles have been Booklist editor's choices, and PBS and Rainbow Book selections.
The Mercury Theatre is a theatre in Colchester, producing highly regarded original work under the title "Mercury Productions" and also receiving touring shows. The theatre has two auditoria, and is led by Steve Mannix. The theatre also contains The Digby Gallery, which showcases local art.
Betty Blue Eyes is a 2011 stage musical comedy based on the 1984 film A Private Function, and features music by George Stiles, with lyrics by Anthony Drewe. The book was written for the stage by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, adapted from Alan Bennett's original screenplay.
Robert Hugh Carvel is a British film and theatre actor. He has twice won a Laurence Olivier Award: for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda the Musical, and for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Rupert Murdoch in Ink. For the latter role, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Play.
Daniel Buckroyd is a British theatre director and current Artistic Director of the Exeter Northcott Theatre.
Running Wild is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo first published in 2009. It recounts the adventures of a boy who has to survive in the Indonesian jungle after being rescued from a tsunami by an elephant.
Farm Boy is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo, best known as being the sequel to the popular novel War Horse. The book was first published in the United Kingdom in 1997 by Pavilion Books Limited and is illustrated by Michael Foreman. It was not initially planned for Morpurgo to write a sequel to War Horse, but the story was inspired after receiving many enquiries about what happens to Joey, a horse in service of the Army after the Great War. In an article in ChronicleLive Michael Morpurgo also stated that his favourite of his own works was Farm Boy. The book captures modern life on a farm in rural Devon, where Michael Morpurgo lives, while having retrospective flashbacks to the lives of Albert and Joey. He stated in the article in ChronicleLive:
Me and My Cat? is a 1999 children's picture book by Satoshi Kitamura. It is about a boy, Nicholas, who switches bodies with his cat, Leonardo. Nicolas's story appeared in a PBS/PBS Kids show. That is, Between the Lions.
Brandy Colbert is an American author of young adult fiction and nonfiction.
Bang Bang! is a comedy play by John Cleese. It is an adaptation of the French play Monsieur chasse! by Georges Feydeau
Andrew Bridgmont is an English actor, playwright and stage director, son of thespian and author Peter Bridgmont. He is primarily known for his theatre work like at the Globe Theatre and appearing in such films as Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), James Marsh's The Theory of Everything (2014) or TV series like Penny Dreadful (2014-2016) or Grandchester. Bridgmont was the winner of the International Playwriting Festival award for Red on Black.
Shaun David Hutchinson is an American author of young adult texts. His novels often "combine speculative elements with LGBT characters and themes."
