David Henry Wilson
Encyclopedia
David Henry Wilson is an English
writer. As an author he is best known for his children's stories
such as the Jeremy James series. Wilson has also had a number of plays produced in the United Kingdom
, both for children and adults.
and Pembroke College, Cambridge
. He has lived in France
, Ghana
, Germany
and Switzerland
, and for many years was a lecturer at the universities of Bristol
and Konstanz
(where he founded and ran the university theatre). He is married, has three grown-up children, and now lives in Taunton
, Somerset
.
Wilson has had many books published in the United Kingdom
. A number of these have also been translated into other languages. He also translates many works from French and German, ranging from children’s books by Kirsten Boie to travel guides by Peter Sager, art history by Werner Hofmann, and literary theory by Wolfgang Iser
. He is also a prolific playwright, writing both short and full length works. A common theme appears to be sequels to works by Shakespeare.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
writer. As an author he is best known for his children's stories
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
such as the Jeremy James series. Wilson has also had a number of plays produced in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, both for children and adults.
Biography
Wilson was educated at Dulwich CollegeDulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
and Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
. He has lived in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and for many years was a lecturer at the universities of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
and Konstanz
University of Konstanz
The University of Konstanz is a university in the city of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was founded in 1966, and the main campus on the Gießberg was opened in 1972. As one of nine German Excellence Universities today University of Konstanz is counted among Germany's most prestigious...
(where he founded and ran the university theatre). He is married, has three grown-up children, and now lives in Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
.
Wilson has had many books published in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. A number of these have also been translated into other languages. He also translates many works from French and German, ranging from children’s books by Kirsten Boie to travel guides by Peter Sager, art history by Werner Hofmann, and literary theory by Wolfgang Iser
Wolfgang Iser
-Biography:He was born in Marienberg, Germany. His parents were Paul and Else Iser. He studied literature in the universities of Leipzig and Tübingen before receiving his PhD in English at Heidelberg with a dissertation on the world view of Henry Fielding...
. He is also a prolific playwright, writing both short and full length works. A common theme appears to be sequels to works by Shakespeare.
Selected works for children
- The Jeremy James series, comprising Elephants Don’t Sit on Cars, Never Say Moo to a Bull, How the Lion Lost his Lunch, Can a Spider Learn to Fly?, Do Goldfish Play the Violin?, Please Keep Off the Dinosaur, Do Gerbils Go to Heaven?, Never Steal Wheels from a Dog.
- The Fastest Gun Alive
- The Superdog series - Superdog, Superdog the Hero, Superdog in Trouble
- Gander of the Yard, Gideon Gander Solves the World’s Greatest Mysteries
- The Coachman RatThe Coachman RatThe Coachman Rat is an alternative account of the classic fairy tale Cinderella. It was published in 1989 and written by esteemed children's author David Henry Wilson. The narrative follows the life of Robert, the rat that was transformed into the coachman on that fateful night when Amadea fell...
, a novel.
Selected plays
- We’re Looking for Mary Pickford. Two ancient children rebel against their mother, and break out into an unexpectedly claustrophobic and frightening world. (3m, 1f. Full length, first produced at The King's Head TheatreThe King's Head TheatreThe King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an Off-West End venue in London. It was the first pub theatre in the UK. Adam Spreadbury-Maher became Artistic Director in March 2010 .-Background:...
, Islington). “Mr Wilson gets plenty of comic mileage out of the anachronistic absurdity” (The Times).
- Jones v Jones. The disintegration of a marriage. (1m, 1f. Full length, first produced at the Sheffield Crucible StudioStudio Theatre (Sheffield)The Studio Theatre is a studio theatre that forms part of the Sheffield Theatres complex in Sheffield, England. The theatre, which was opened in 1971, is situated in the same building as the Crucible Theatre and holds a maximum capacity of 400 people. The present artistic director is Samuel West....
). “The play was received with great attentiveness by a packed audience” (Financial Times). “Stunning drama” (The Star).
- Who Cares? A farcical tragedy, in which two pensioners prepare to donate their meagre savings to charity, while the unions take on management, management takes on the unions, the media meddle and the Prime Minister muddles. Then tragedy strikes, the innocent suffer, the guilty play innocent, but who cares? (7m, 5f. Full length, first produced at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington.)
- People in CagesPeople in CagesPeople in Cages is a short play by British writer, David Henry Wilson, first performed in 2000. The play consists of four short vignettes, each of which revolves around different individuals or groups of people locked inside a cage for the entertainment of paying visitors, reminiscent of a...
. Have you ever felt trapped? By your job, your family, your background, your circumstances? Then you may recognize the killer, the babes, the couple, the green man, or even the sinister keeper who presides over this strange exhibition. Four short comedies-behind-bars that can be performed separately or as a complete programme. (4m, 2f, first produced at the Union Theatre, Southwark.)
- Are You Normal, Mr Norman? & other short plays, including the title play, in which Mr Norman visits a demon dentist (4m, 2f, first produced at the Hampstead TheatreHampstead TheatreHampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
.) “Mr Wilson’s touch is as light as it is sure” (Financial Times). Wendlebury Day. Tom Wendlebury mixes his life and his fantasies in “a solo, virtuoso piece…[an] awe-inspiring concoction” (The Scotsman) (1m, first produced at the Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh FestivalThe Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
). If Yer Take a Short Cut, Yer Might Lose the Way. An elderly couple look for truth and love in a skeleton and the glamorous world of TV. (4m, 1f, first produced at the Hampstead Theatre). “Mr Wilson’s writing has a freshness and individuality of its own. He clearly has an instinct for what ‘comes off’ on the stage” (Financial Times).
- The Death Artist, a 30-minute play in which a rich old man must face the truth about himself and his end. (2m, first produced in Konstanz, subsequently published and produced in UK and US).
- Gas and Candles, a full-length comedy set in the late 1970s, when a pair of pensioners draw attention to their plight by staging a mock siege. (2m, 1f. First produced at the Leicester HaymarketHaymarket Theatre (Leicester)The Haymarket Theatre was a theatre in Leicester, England, based in the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Belgrave Gate in Leicester city centre. The theatre closed at the end of 2006 and has been replaced by the Curve Theatre...
, and subsequently at the Cheltenham Everyman, Theatre Royal Stratford EastTheatre Royal Stratford EastThe Theatre Royal Stratford East is a theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company.-History:...
and many other theatres in Britain and abroad.) “Its theme digs into the imagination and stays there long after the play is over” (Daily Telegraph). “Comedy explodes from the smallest incident.” (Guardian)
Selected Shakespearian themed plays
- Shylock’s Revenge, a full-length sequel to The Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
(Shakespearian–sized cast, first produced at University of HamburgUniversity of HamburgThe University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...
).
- Iago, The Villain of Venice, a full-length sequel to OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
(another large cast).
- Excellent Beauty & other short plays, including How To Avoid A Tragedy, a 30-minute, happy-ending romp through Shakespeare’s four great tragedies (3m, 1f, winner of the Hydrae Prize 2003.) “Very witty, light and entertaining” (Royal Shakespeare Company).
- Lear’s Fool / The Tragedy of Lady Macbeth. Two one-hour plays, exploring two of Shakespeare’s most enigmatic characters. (4m, 1f and a minimum of 4m, 2f, first produced at the Jermyn Street TheatreJermyn Street TheatreJermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated in Jermyn Street, London.Formerly a restaurant, under the leadership of Howard Jameson, it was transformed into a 70-seat studio theatre right in the heart of London's West End...
, London.) “Rewriting Shakespeare requires a fair amount of courage, not to mention talent – both of which David Henry Wilson appears to possess in considerable amounts” (West End Extra).