Diane Samuels
Diane Samuels (born 1960) is a British author and playwright.
Samuels was born into a Jewish family in Liverpool[1] in 1960. She was educated at King David High School, Liverpool, studied history at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and then studied for a PGCE in drama at Goldsmiths, University of London. She worked as a drama teacher in inner London secondary schools for five years and as an education officer at the Unicorn Theatre for children.[2][3]
Samuels lives in London[4] and has been a full-time writer since 1992. She was a Pearson Creative Research Fellow at the British Library[5] and is a visiting lecturer at Regent's University London[5] and a reviewer of books for The Guardian newspaper.[6]
Works
Her works include:
- Frankie's Monster (1991), an adaptation of Vivien Alcock's children's book The Monster Garden[7]
- Kindertransport (1993)[1] examines the life, during World War II and afterwards, of a Kindertransport child. Though fictitious, it is based upon many real kindertransport stories.[8]
- The True Life Fiction of Mata Hari (2001) was first performed at the Palace Theatre, Watford, in 2002, with Greta Scacchi in the lead role.[9]
- 3 Sisters on Hope Street (2008), co-written with Tracy-Ann Oberman, is a reinterpretation of Chekhov's The Three Sisters, transferring events to Liverpool after World War II and re-casting the Pozorov sisters as three Jewish Englishwomen. It was first staged at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool in 2008.[10]
- The A-Z of Mrs P (2011), a musical co-written with composer Gwyneth Herbert, tells the story of Phyllis Pearsall's creation of the London A to Z street atlas.[11] It opened in London at Southwark Playhouse on 21 February 2014, starring Peep Show actress Isy Suttie[12][13][14] and Frances Ruffelle.[15]
- Poppy + George (2016), another collaboration with Gwyneth Herbert, was performed at the Palace Theatre, Watford in February 2016.[16][17]
- This is Me (2018), an autobiographical monologue, was performed at Chickenshed in Southgate, London in 2018.[18]
- The Rhythm Method (2018), a musical about contraception,[19][20][21] was performed at the Landor Space in Clapham, London in May 2018.[22] It was yet another collaboration with Gwyneth Herbert.[19]
References
- ^ a b Johnston, Lucy (February 2014). "Safety lines". The Richmond Magazine: 16–17.
- ^ Kremer, S. Lillian. Holocaust Literature: An Encyclopedia of Writers and Their Work, Taylor & Francis, 2003, ISBN 0-415-92984-9
- ^ "Diane Samuels interview". Write Words. 14 April 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
- ^ "Diane Samuels". Drama Online. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Diane Samuels". Regent's University London. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "Review: Toby Alone by Timothée de Fombelle". The Guardian. 25 April 2008. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Poster". Victoria and Albert Museum. 2 March 1991. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ^ Samuels, Diane (1 January 1995). Kindertransport. Nick Hern Books. ISBN 9781854592279 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The True Life Fiction of Mata Hari". Nick Hern Books. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ "Three Sisters On Hope Street". Nick Hern Books. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ Suttie, Isy (5 February 2014). "Isy Suttie: Phyllis Pearsall, the A–Z mapper who was right up my street". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- ^ Pritchard, Claudia (9 February 2014). "Charting a course in song: The musical dedicated to the humble A to Z". The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
- ^ Dex, Robert (8 November 2013). "Peep Show star Isy Suttie hits the street for new musical". The Independent. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
- ^ Jury, Louise (11 December 2013). "Peep Show geek Isy Suttie's musical move in London A-Z show". Evening Standard. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- ^ "The A-Z of Mrs P – new British musical opens in February 2014". Musical Theatre Review. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- ^ "Poppy + George". What's on. Watford Palace Theatre. February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ^ Samuels, Diane (2016). "Cast biographies" in Poppy + George. Nick Hern Books. ISBN 978-1-84842-545-3.
- ^ Brown, Peter (February 2018). "Review: monolog Chickenshed Theatre". ActDrop. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ a b Dagan, Ori (1 June 2016). "Gwyneth Herbert's Toronto Honeymoon". The Whole Note. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- ^ "About". Gwyneth Herbert. 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ Firscht, Naomi (19 November 2015). "The show must go on – all 10 of them, as production company offers fresh way to invest in musicals". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ^ "The Rhythm Method". Landor Space. 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
External links
Categories:
- 1960 births
- Living people
- Diane Samuels
- 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century English women writers
- 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights
- 21st-century English women writers
- Academics of Regent's University London
- Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
- Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
- Dramatists and playwrights from Liverpool
- Jewish English writers
- English women dramatists and playwrights
- Jewish dramatists and playwrights
- Jewish women writers
- People educated at King David High School, Liverpool
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