David Gooderson: Playwright, Actor
Director
Drama Tutor
David Gooderson – Playwright, Actor…
About David Gooderson
Comedy with the Cambridge Footlights, playing the scariest monster in Dr Who, penning searing drama about the Great War and the Holocaust – London-based David Gooderson has combined all these and much more in his career as playwright, actor, director, and drama tutor. (David's recent work)
Writing
David’s stage plays (right) tell true stories that are powerful and resonant for today, receiving critical acclaim such as:
Excellent
Alan Bennett on The Killing of Mr Toad.
For children, adaptations of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows have particularly pleased audiences:
- Twice broke Box Office records and played two Christmas seasons in London's West End – full-length musical adaptation (co-written with David Conville, music by Carl Davis)
- Sell-out success at Farnham Maltings – small-scale, 50-minute version.
David has also written a number of plays broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
Acting
Best known as Davros in Dr Who and Simpkins the Pathologist in A Touch of Frost, David is one of the most versatile character actors in the UK. His credits range from playing a “parcel” in a TV commercial to King Lear. (Career in full: David Gooderson, actor)
Directing
David started by directing J.M.Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World at Salisbury Playhouse, starring Stephanie Cole. Most recently he directed his 50-minute The Wind in the Willows (Farnham Maltings) and his play, The Killing of Mr Toad (Finborough Theatre, London). (Career in full: David Gooderson, director)
Drama Tutoring
David has directed courses in acting for radio and voice-over technique at the City Literary Institute in London since 2001. For twenty-one years he was the Radio Tutor at Guildford School of Acting and prepared students for the prestigious BBC Carleton Hobbs Radio Drama Award.
Recent Work
In December David directed Pinocchio at the Maltings Arts Centre, Farnham. Previously he had appeared in two productions at the Finborough Theatre, London: as George Bernard Shaw in Portraits by William Douglas Home and as the psychiatrist Dr Kreuzer in Graham Greene's The Potting Shed. He is currently in The Conquering Hero by Allan Monkhouse at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond.
David's Plays and Publications
Stage Plays
The Killing of Mr Toad – the extraordinary true story behind The Wind in the Willows.
War! Lies! And a Packet of Fags! – the Great War and its aftermath–the story of “Woodbine Willie”.
Kolbe's Gift – the inspiring true story of St. Maximilian Kolbe and his self-sacrifice in Auschwitz.
The Castaway – a one-man play about William Cowper, who wrote a comic masterpiece, a favourite hymn and died in lonely despair.
Stage Plays for Children
The Wind in the Willows – fast-moving, 50-minute, 4-actor version with chases, songs and audience participation.
Co-written with David Conville:
- The Wind in the Willows – full-length adaptation – all the fun of Kenneth Grahame’s famous story with songs by celebrated composer Carl Davis.
- Kids of Sherwood – kids on an outing are whisked back in time to the days of Robin Hood.
- Kids of the Wild West – kids in a theme park tamper with a time machine which plunges them into an adventure of the American West.
- The Curse of the Egyptian Mummy – adapted from the novel by Pat Hutchins – a body, a deadly snake, the Cub Scouts’ weekend in the country is fun-filled and action-packed.
- The Mona Lisa Mystery – adapted from the novel by Pat Hutchins – cops, crooks and disguises galore on a school trip to Paris.
Publications
- My Dearest Mouse – The Wind in the Willows letters by Kenneth Grahame. Introduction and notes by David Gooderson. Pavilion Books, 1988
- The Curse of the Egyptian Mummy – adapted by David Conville and David Gooderson from the novel by Pat Hutchins. Samuel French, 1993 (copies available from Amazon and Samuel French)
- The Killing of Mr Toad – stage play by David Gooderson. Finborough Theatre, 2009 (Copies available via e-mail link below).
Fuller descriptions of the Publications
To Contact David
e-Mail: david@david-gooderson.co.uk