Diane Samuels – författare

As Long As We Are Breathing is a multi-sensory, mixed media and timely evocation of the true-life story of Miriam Freedman.The piece depicts Miriam's childhood experience of living in danger, hiding in Slovakia during the Holocaust and charts her journey to London where, in adulthood, she discovered yoga and meditation which enabled her to face and begin to process the depths of her trauma and grief.Audiences are invited to delve within to contemplate Miriam’s loss and search for healing, peace and forgiveness in a shared theatrical experience.

Diane Samuels' play about families, secrets and survival takes us to the days of the impending Holocaust. As conditions deteriorated in Germany in the 1930s, many tried in vain to escape. But thanks to a British humanitarian effort, about 10,000 Jewish children from Germany and neighboring countries were relocated to live with families in the United Kingdom, while their parents stayed behind. This passage to freedom became known as Kindertransport. Runtime: 1:52

When Maggie Byrne attends the retirement dinner of her old music teacher at the convent school she attended, she discovers she has more in common with the founding nun, Cornelia Connelly, than she previously realised. As events in Maggie's world progress and relationships break down, Cornelia's remarkable life waltzes and weaves through Maggie's, bringing them together through their shared love for music.Inspired by true stories of the nineteenth-century educational pioneer and reverend mother Cornelia Connelly and an ex-student of one of the schools she founded, Waltz With Me paints a moving picture of the challenges of marriage and motherhood, the calling of vocation, the nature of personal sacrifice for a greater cause and the impact of faith, infusing live waltz, sacred and folk music through the unfolding drama.

The author's guide to Kindertransport, an invaluable and uniquely authoritative resource for anyone studying, teaching or performing the play.Since it was first staged by the Soho Theatre Company in London in 1993, Diane Samuels’ Kindertransport has enjoyed huge success around the world, has been revived numerous times, and is widely studied in schools and colleges.The play tells the story of how nine-year-old Eva, a German Jewish girl, is sent by her parents on the Kindertransport to start a new life with a foster family in Britain just before the outbreak of World War Two. Over forty years later, she has changed her name to Evelyn and denied her roots. When her own daughter discovers some old letters and photos in the attic, she is forced to confront the truth about who she really is and to reveal a dark secret that she has done everything to keep hidden.In this author’s guide to the play, Diane Samuels investigates the historical background, drawing on the personal testimony of those whose lives were transformed by the Kindertransport. She explores the creative process that shaped the play through successive drafts. And she presents detailed accounts from the actors, directors, a composer and designer who have contributed to the play’s most notable productions.

A romantic drama with music inspired by the days of music hall and beyond, from the author of the modern classic Kindertransport.It is 1919. The Great War is over and Poppy Wright arrives in London from the north of England to make her mark in the world. Deep in the heart of the East End she finds work in Smith's tailor and costumiers workshop, where she meets dashing chauffeur George, and falls in love.This is a time of change and opportunity, emerging from the losses of war, when all are questioning who they are and what roles they can play in forging a new, modern era. It’s time to ditch the corset and discover who really wears the trousers.Poppy + George is a beguiling romance that draws on a world of female impersonators, popular song and double entendre. It was first performed at the Watford Palace Theatre in February 2016.

A modern classic about one woman's struggle to come to terms with her past.Brutally separated from her German Jewish parents at the age of nine, Eva is brought to England with the promise of a new life...Between 1939 until the outbreak of World War II, nearly 10,000 Jewish children were taken from their families in Nazi-occupied Germany and sent to live with foster families in Britain. Diane Samuels’ seminal play, Kindertransport, imagines the fate of one such child. Now widely considered a modern classic, Kindertransport has been read and studied the world over.Kindertransport won the 1992 Verity Bargate Award and was subsequently staged by the Soho Theatre Company at the Cockpit Theatre in London in 1993. It also won the Meyer-Whitworth Award in 1993.Since its premiere the play has been revived several times. Watford Palace Theatre staged it in 1996, in a production that transferred to the West End. Renowned theatre company Shared Experience also revived the play to great acclaim for a regional tour in 2007.This edition includes several personal memoirs by German-born children whose lives were saved, and transformed, by the Kindertransport.Kindertransport is a SET TEXT for GCSE English Literature (AQA) and AS/A-Level English Literature (WJEC).

A funny, vibrant and moving version of Chekhov's Three Sisters, set amongst the Jewish community in wartime Liverpool. From the award-winning writer Diane Samuels (Kindertransport) and well-known actress and writer Tracy-Ann Oberman.Liverpool, 1946. A year after the sudden death of their father, sisters Gertie, May and Rita Lasky share their once grand home on Hope Street with their asthmatic brother Arnold, Auntie Biel (who still keeps her packed suitcase under the spare bed) and old family friend Dr Nate Weinberg (who claims, hand on heart, to be on the wagon).As the sisters regularly welcome GIs and pilots from the nearby American base, each continues her own search for meaning amidst the shattered remains of their city, in a rapidly changing world.Three Sisters on Hope Street was first staged at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, in 2008, transferring to Hampstead Theatre, London.