David Gooderson: Playwright, Actor
Director
Drama Tutor
David Gooderson – Playwright, Actor…
About David
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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 (below)
Writing
David’s stage plays (summaries) 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 (stage play summaries), 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 …more.
Directing
David started by directing J.M.Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World at Salisbury Playhouse, starring Stephanie Cole. More recently he has directed Oliver Gray's version of Robin Hood (Farnham Maltings) and his own play So Great a Crime (Finborough Theatre, London) …more.
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 2015 David's play Hector (aka So Great a Crime) went on a UK tour, ending at the Ambassadors Theatre, London.
In 2016 his play Quarry was premiered in Hertfordshire, UK.
In 2017 he played the lead in the award-winning short film Cicatrix and, on stage, Willie Gregson in A Day by the Sea at Southwark Playhouse. In November his new play Sherlock the Traitor was given a staged reading at the Tristan Bates Theatre, London.
In 2018 David recorded an extended biographical interview for the Dr Who Myth Makers series, produced by Keith Barnfather for Reeltime Pictures. In November, to commemorate the end of the Great War, he gave a one-man performance of his play War, Lies and a Packet of Fags at St Paul’s Church, Wimbledon Park.
In 2019 David has twice played the leading part of Henri in Heroes by Gerald Sibleyras (translated by Tom Stoppard) in staged readings at the Ivy Club, Farnham and the Phoenix Theatre, Bordon.
David's Stage Plays
Stage Plays
Hector
(originally So Great a Crime) – the true story of Sir Hector Macdonald, the famous
Scottish general “Fighting Mac”, who was destroyed by accusations of liaisons with
young boys.
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 true 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 Young People
Quarry - the true story of a teenager,
Andreas Frohlich, caught up in the Holocaust.
The
Wind in the Willows – fast-moving, 50-minute, 4-actor version with chases, songs
and audience participation.
Plays 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.
Play Scripts & Other 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.
- The Killing of Mr Toad – stage play by David Gooderson. Finborough Theatre, 2009 (copies available from David, via the e-mail link below).
- So Great a Crime – stage play by David Gooderson. Oberon Books, 2012.
Fuller descriptions, and links to booksellers
To Contact David
e-Mail: david@david-gooderson.co.uk