Diane Samuels (born 1960) is a British author and playwright. Samuels was born into a Jewish family in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

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 ...

, studied history at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and then studied for a PGCE in drama at

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

. 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 ...

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 and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' 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 (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...

'' (1993) examines the life, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and afterwards, of a

child. Though fictitious, it is based upon many real kindertransport stories. * ''The True Life Fiction of

Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed ...

'' (2001) was first performed at the Palace Theatre, Watford, in 2002, with

Greta Scacchi Greta Scacchi, OMRI (; born 18 February 1960) is an Italian-Australian actress. She holds dual Italian and Australian citizenship. She is best known for her roles in the films '' White Mischief'' (1987), '' Presumed Innocent'' (1990), '' The Pl ...

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 widely known for roles including Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2004–2005) and Valerie Lewis or "Auntie ...

, is a reinterpretation of Chekhov's '' The Three Sisters'', transferring events to Liverpool after

and re-casting the Pozorov sisters as three Jewish Englishwomen. It was first staged at the Everyman Theatre,

in 2008. * '' The A-Z of Mrs P'' (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 comp ...

, tells the story of

Phyllis Pearsall Phyllis Isobella Pearsall 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 people of the twentieth cen ...

's creation of the London A to Z street atlas. It opened in London at

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London, 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 identified the need for a ...

on 21 February 2014, starring ''

Peep Show A peep show or peepshow 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 development of the c ...

'' actress

Isy Suttie Isobel Jane "Isy" Suttie (; born 11 August 1978) is a British musical comedian, actress, and writer. She played Dobby in the British sitcom ''Peep Show'', and in 2013 won the gold Sony Radio Academy Award for her radio show ''Pearl And Dave''. ...

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. Chickenshed's membership programme comprises four Children's theatre groups and two Youth theatre groups for you ...

Southgate, London Southgate is a suburban area of North London, England in the London Borough of Enfield. It is located around north of Charing Cross. The name is derived from being the south gate to Enfield Chase. History Southgate was originally the ''South ...

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 unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

, was performed at the Landor Space in

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

, London in May 2018. It was yet another collaboration with Gwyneth Herbert.

References

External links

* 1960 births Living people 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English women writers 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English women writers Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Dramatists and playwrights from Liverpool English Jewish writers English women dramatists and playwrights Jewish dramatists and playwrights Jewish women writers People educated at King David High School, Liverpool {{England-writer-stub