Neil Duffield – författare

Charles Dickens’ timeless story is brought to life in this vibrant new version by the award-winning playwright Neil Duffield.Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year! Well, it is for everyone except the miserable Scrooge. He prefers to spend Christmas all alone in his large house, instead of celebrating with mistletoe and merriment. Bah, humbug!But one cold, dark Christmas Eve Scrooge is surprised by the ghost of Marley, his former business partner. Marley warns Scrooge that he will be called upon by three spirits – each will take him on a mysterious and magical journey to show him the error of his ways…Can Scrooge discover the true wonder and meaning of Christmas before it’s too late?

A group of young villagers, some of them teenagers are persuaded to enlist in King Henry’s army. They set sail from Southampton to claim the throne of France for England. Each has a different reason for going to war and their expectations vary, but none has any experience of fighting in a real battle.

Combining fact and fantasy, the play takes us on a journey from the peace of rural England to the bloody battlefields of Agincourt in France, where the young villagers finally come face to face with the mightiest army in Europe. The reality is both shocking and brutal.

What happens changes their lives forever.

Ideal play for schools,colleges and youth theatres which questions the need for war and its consequences.

Reviews of previous work

"... an extraordinarily moving and effective play, so dramatic that, at times, it is almost assaulting." The Guardian

"... this blazingly adventurous show." The Scotsman

"... no doubting the show''s mesmerising appeal to the imagination, which seized the audience with rapt delight." Daily Telegraph

"... there is not a moment which isn''t magical." Yorkshire Post

"... a marvellous play, a complex dramatic story, challenging in both form and content" Times Educational Supplement

About the author

Neil Duffield has written more than 50 plays which have been produced extensively throughout Britain and abroad. His play The Lost Warrior, commissioned by the Dukes Lancaster, won the 2006 Arts Council of England Award for work which displays excellence, inspiration and innovation in children''s theatre.

Recent productions include: The Ugly Duckling (Sheffield Crucible and Nottingham Playhouse 2007), Leopard (Sheffield Crucible 2007), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Dukes Theatre, Lancaster 2006). The Snow Queen (Watermill Theatre, Newbury 2006), The Firebird (Northumberland Theatre Company 2006), The Secret Garden (Helix Theatre Dublin 2005) and The Emperor''s New Clothes(Midlands Arts Centre, 2005).

Neil is married to freelance theatre director Eileen Murphy and lives in Bolton.

The Snow Queen

Original by Hans Christian Andersen

Adapted for the stage by Neil Duffield

Acclaimed musical stage version of The Snow Queen is a hit with theatres in the UK and abroad.

This timeless classic is brought to life for the 21st century by award-winning children’s playwright Neil Duffield.

Seasonal favourite for Christmas and winter productions.

 This vibrant adaptation of beloved children’s author Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen stays true in plot to the original and is ideal for use in schools, amateur groups, youth theatre groups, etc.

“…Children’s theatre at its best – and there is enough to keep the adults entertained too.” The Times

“…Full of frost bright colours, crunchy tunes and tangy originality … a quality show for children … so potent that ancient symbols really seemed to work in new ways…” The Guardian

“…Simple, unaffected theatrical magic…about keeping faith with your beliefs.” The Sunday Times

“… A sizzling seasonal show to melt the hearts of the whole family…great Christmas entertainment. What more could you ask?” Manchester Evening News

Neil Duffield has worked as a full-time professional playwright for almost 35 years and his plays have been staged extensively in theatres throughout Britain and abroad. Recent work includes: The Machine Stops (York Theatre Royal); The Ugly Duckling (Northumberland Theatre Company); The Road to Glory (The Point, Eastleigh); A Christmas Carol (Derby Theatre, Edinburgh Lyceum, Bolton Octagon); The Firebird (Dundee Rep); Dancing in My Dreams (Oxfordshire Theatre Company); The Minotaur and Leopard (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (the Dukes Theatre, Lancaster). His play The Lost Warrior (commissioned by the Dukes Theatre, Lancaster) won the Arts Council England Children''s Award in 2006 for work that displays excellence, inspiration and innovation in children''s theatre. Neil lives in Bolton with his partner, Eileen Murphy, and loves to spend as much time as possible with their four young grandchildren, Toby, Gabriel, Clyde and Beatrice.   Neil Duffield has written more than sixty plays and adaptations which have been staged extensively throughout Britain and abroad. Plays include The Machine Stops (for York Theatre Royal), A Christmas Carol (Bolton Octagon Theatre); Twice upon a Time (Dundee Rep), Dancing in my Dreams (Oxfordshire Theatre Company), The Minotaur and Leopard (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield); The Emperor and the Nightingale, The Firebird (Dukes Theatre, Lancaster); The Secret Garden (Polka Theatre for Children); and Talking with Angels (Quicksilver Theatre, London). The Lost Warrior (for The Dukes Theatre, Lancaster) won the 2006 Arts Council England Children''s Award for work which displays excellence, inspiration and innovation in children''s theatre. www.neilduffield.co.uk The Snow Queen, The Jungle Book, The Road to Glory, A Christmas Carol, The Emperor and the Nightingale, and the collection Plays for Youth Theatres and Large Casts are also published by Aurora Metro Books.About the authorNeil Duffield has written more than 50 plays which have been produced extensively throughout Britain and abroad. His play The Lost Warrior, commissioned by the Dukes Lancaster, won the 2006 Arts Council of England Award for work which displays excellence, inspiration and innovation in children''s theatre. Recent productions include: The Ugly Duckling (Sheffield Crucible and Nottingham Playhouse 2007), Leopard (Sheffield Crucible 2007), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Dukes Theatre, Lancaster 2006). The Snow Queen (Watermill Theatre, Newbury 2006), The Firebird (Northumberland Theatre Company 2006), The Secret Garden (Helix Theatre Dublin 2005) and The Emperor''s New Clothes (Midlands Arts Centre, 2005). Neil is married to freelance theatre director Eileen Murphy and lives in Bolton.

From beautiful adaptations of classics to exciting new writing, Duffield is a master of storytelling. Commissioned by theatres and community groups in the UK, these plays offer strong roles for both men and women, as well as the opportunity for song and dance. They will appeal to schools andyouth theatres as well as both amateur and professional performers.Using a mixture of storytelling, theatre and song, BROTHERS IN ARMS draws on the true story of two brothers from a Yorkshire pit village – one of whom steadfastly refused to fight in World War I, while the other volunteered and served on the front line in France. Cast 8 minimum.Adapted from Hugo’s novel, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME is ‘remarkably faithful to the author’s original intention… a faultless production.’ – THE MORNING STAR Cast 8 minimum.WITH ALL MY LOVE is a tale of conspiracy and betrayal, of family feuds and deep-held secrets, of a woman’s struggle to keep faith with a husband transported to the other side of the world. Suitable for large cast productions, aimed at a general audience.

From a story by Hans Christian Andersen

In ancient China, young emperor Wu is kept a virtual prisoner in his palace by his devious guardian, Li Si. Wu believes the world outside the Forbidden City is an evil and dangerous place. But when Xiao, a young servant girl, tells him of the most beautiful sound on earth – the song of the nightingale – it’s too much to resist. The two embark on an adventure that will take them across mountain tops and waterfalls, past chattering monkeys and magical dragons to the far reaches of his kingdom. When Wu returns with the nightingale, and starts to overturn the old palace customs, Li Si plots to restore things to the way they were before.Featuring puppetry, music and all the colour, movement and spectacle of Chinese theatre, this joyful adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale is a feast for the senses that will delight the whole family.

Neil Duffield has written more than fifty plays and adaptations which have been staged extensively throughout Britain and abroad. In 2006, he won the Arts Council England Children''s Award for Small Fry ''for work which displays excellence, inspiration and innovation in children''s theatre.'' Neil lives in Bolton with his wife, theatre director Eileen Murphy.

Reviews of Plays for Youth Theatres and Large Casts 

“Neil Duffield is a highly successful writer of plays for children and young people, with over fifty productions under his belt, many of these commissioned by leading UK theatres and touring companies… Having worked closely with Neil during my career as a theatre director, I can vouch for his understanding of young audiences by the spellbound silences (and roars of laughter) that greet his productions.”

— David Farmer, Drama Resource