David Wood (actor)


David Bernard Wood, OBE is an actor, author, composer, magician and stage producer and director. The Times called him "the National Children's Dramatist".

Early life

He was educated at Chichester High School for Boys and Worcester College, Oxford.

Stage work

Along with John Gould, he founded the Whirligig Theatre, a touring children's theatre company.
His most famous story, The Gingerbread Man, has been all across the world since its premiere at the Towngate Theatre in Basildon. Wood, FilmFair, and Central adapted the musical into an animated children's television series. The adaptation, also called The Gingerbread Man, aired on ITV in 1992.
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours List, for his services to literature and drama.

Film career

Among his film roles are Johnny in Lindsay Anderson's If.... and Thompson in Aces High. He appeared as the character Bingo Little in the original London cast of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alan Ayckbourn musical Jeeves in 1975.
He wrote the screenplay for Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons, released by Anglo EMI in 1974.

Plays

Original works:
Adaptations of Roald Dahl's books for children:
Other adaptations of English authors of children's literature: