Diane Samuels
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Diane Samuels (born 1960) is a British author and playwright. Samuels was born into a Jewish family in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in 1960. She was educated at
King David High School, Liverpool King David High School is a mixed voluntary aided Jewish ethos-based secondary school located in the Wavertree district of Liverpool, England. It provides Jewish education, but also admits and caters to students of other faiths. Facilities In S ...
, studied history at
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...
and then studied for a PGCE in drama at
Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by ...
. She worked as a drama teacher in inner London secondary schools for five years and as an education officer at the
Unicorn Theatre The Unicorn Theatre is a children's theatre in the London Borough of Southwark, in England. It is a custom-built, RIBA Award–winning building on Tooley Street, which opened in 2005. The theatre was designed by Keith Williams, built by Arup an ...
for children. Samuels lives in London and has been a full-time writer since 1992. She was a Pearson Creative Research Fellow at the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
and is a visiting lecturer at
Regent's University London Regent's University London (formerly Regent's College) is a private university located in London, England. It is part of Galileo Global Education, Europe’s largest higher education provider. Regent's University London was established in 1984 ...
and a reviewer of books for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' newspaper.


Works

Her works include: * ''Frankie's Monster'' (1991), an adaptation of
Vivien Alcock Vivien Alcock (23 September 1924 – 11 October 2003) was an English writer of children's books. Life and career Alcock was born in Worthing, now in West Sussex, England, and her family moved to Devizes in Wiltshire when she was ten years o ...
's children's book ''The Monster Garden'' * ''
Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children from Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, total ...
'' (1993) examines the life, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and afterwards, of a
Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children from Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, total ...
child. Though fictitious, it is based upon many real kindertransport stories. * ''The True Life Fiction of
Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (, ; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari ( , ; , ), was a Dutch Stripper, exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for German Empire, Germany during World War ...
'' (2001) was first performed at the Palace Theatre, Watford, in 2002, with
Greta Scacchi Greta Scacchi ( , ; born 18 February 1960) is an actress. Born in Italy to a British-Italian couple, she was raised in Britain and finally settled in Australia, becoming a naturalized citizen. Scacchi had her first leading role in the romanti ...
in the lead role. * '' 3 Sisters on Hope Street'' (2008), co-written with
Tracy-Ann Oberman Tracy-Ann Oberman (born Tracy Anne Oberman; 25 August 1966) is an English actress, playwright and narrator. She is known for roles including Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2004–2005, 2024) and Valerie Lewis or "Auntie Va ...
, is a reinterpretation of Chekhov's '' The Three Sisters'', transferring events to Liverpool after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and re-casting the Pozorov sisters as three Jewish Englishwomen. It was first staged at the Everyman Theatre,
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in 2008. * ''
The A-Z of Mrs P ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...
'' (2011), a musical co-written with composer
Gwyneth Herbert Gwyneth Herbert (born 26 August 1981) is a British singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Initially known for her interpretation of jazz and swing standards, she is now established as a writer of original compo ...
, tells the story of
Phyllis Pearsall Phyllis Isobella Pearsall Order of the British Empire, MBE (25 September 1906 – 28 August 1996) was a British painter and writer who founded the Geographers' A-Z Map Company, for which she is regarded as one of the most successful business ...
's creation of the London A to Z street atlas. It opened in London at
Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London with two venues, both located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations. History The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They ident ...
on 21 February 2014, starring ''
Peep Show A peep show, peepshow, or, a peep booth is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the devel ...
'' actress
Isy Suttie Isobel Jane Suttie (; born 11 August 1978) is a British musical comedian, actress and writer. She played Dobby in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Peep Show'', and in 2013 won the gold Sony Radio Academy Award for her radio show ''Pearl And Dave''. Ear ...
and
Frances Ruffelle Frances Ruffelle (born 29 August 1965) is an English musical theatre actress and singer. She won a Tony Award in 1987, and represented the United Kingdom in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Lonely Symphony (We Will Be Free)", ...
. * ''Poppy + George'' (2016), another collaboration with Gwyneth Herbert, was performed at the Palace Theatre, Watford in February 2016. *''This is Me'' (2018), an autobiographical monologue, was performed at
Chickenshed Chickenshed (also known as Chicken Shed or the Chicken Shed Theatre Company) is a British theatre company based in Southgate, London. History Chickenshed was founded by teacher Mary Ward and composer Jo Collins in 1974. Mary and Jo hosted their ...
in
Southgate, London Southgate is a suburban area of north London, England, in the London Borough of Enfield, north of Charing Cross. History Southgate was originally the south gate of Enfield Chase, the King's hunting grounds. This is reflected in the street n ...
in 2018. * ''The Rhythm Method'' (2018), a musical about
contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...
, was performed at the Landor Space in
Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...
, London in May 2018. It was yet another collaboration with Gwyneth Herbert.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels, Diane 1960 births Living people 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English women writers Academics of Regent's University London Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Dramatists and playwrights from Liverpool Jewish English writers English women dramatists and playwrights Jewish dramatists and playwrights Jewish women writers People educated at King David High School, Liverpool