David Henry Wilson (1937, London - ) is an English writer. As an author he is best known for his children's stories such as the Jeremy James series. Wilson has also had a number of plays produced in the United Kingdom, both for children and adults.
Wilson was educated at Dulwich College and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He has lived in France, Ghana, Germany and Switzerland, and for many years was a lecturer at the universities of Bristol and Konstanz (where he founded and ran the university theatre). He is married, has three grown-up children, and now lives in Taunton, Somerset.
Wilson has had many books published in the United Kingdom. A number of these have also been translated into other languages. He also translates many works from French and German, ranging from children’s books by Kirsten Boie to travel guides by Peter Sager, art history by Werner Hofmann, and literary theory by Wolfgang Iser. He is also a prolific playwright, writing both short and full length works. A common theme appears to be sequels to works by Shakespeare.
The Jeremy James series, comprising Elephants Don’t Sit on Cars, Never Say Moo to a Bull, How the Lion Lost his Lunch, Can a Spider Learn to Fly?, Do Goldfish Play the Violin?, Please Keep Off the Dinosaur, Do Gerbils Go to Heaven?, Never Steal Wheels from a Dog.
The Fastest Gun Alive
The Superdog series - Superdog, Superdog the Hero, Superdog in Trouble
Gander of the Yard, Gideon Gander Solves the World’s Greatest Mysteries
We’re Looking for Mary Pickford. Two ancient children rebel against their mother, and break out into an unexpectedly claustrophobic and frightening world. (3m, 1f. Full length, first produced at The King's Head Theatre, Islington). “Mr Wilson gets plenty of comic mileage out of the anachronistic absurdity” (The Times).
Jones v Jones. The disintegration of a marriage. (1m, 1f. Full length, first produced at the Sheffield Crucible Studio). “The play was received with great attentiveness by a packed audience” (Financial Times). “Stunning drama” (The Star).
Who Cares? A farcical tragedy, in which two pensioners prepare to donate their meagre savings to charity, while the unions take on management, management takes on the unions, the media meddle and the Prime Minister muddles. Then tragedy strikes, the innocent suffer, the guilty play innocent, but who cares? (7m, 5f. Full length, first produced at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington.)
People in Cages. Have you ever felt trapped? By your job, your family, your background, your circumstances? Then you may recognize the killer, the babes, the couple, the green man, or even the sinister keeper who presides over this strange exhibition. Four short comedies-behind-bars that can be performed separately or as a complete programme. (4m, 2f, first produced at the Union Theatre, Southwark.)
Are You Normal, Mr Norman? & other short plays, including the title play, in which Mr Norman visits a demon dentist (4m, 2f, first produced at the Hampstead Theatre.) “Mr Wilson’s touch is as light as it is sure” (Financial Times). Wendlebury Day. Tom Wendlebury mixes his life and his fantasies in “a solo, virtuoso piece[an] awe-inspiring concoction” (The Scotsman) (1m, first produced at the Edinburgh Festival). If Yer Take a Short Cut, Yer Might Lose the Way. An elderly couple look for truth and love in a skeleton and the glamorous world of TV. (4m, 1f, first produced at the Hampstead Theatre). “Mr Wilson’s writing has a freshness and individuality of its own. He clearly has an instinct for what ‘comes off’ on the stage” (Financial Times).
The Death Artist, a 30-minute play in which a rich old man must face the truth about himself and his end. (2m, first produced in Konstanz, subsequently published and produced in UK and USA).
Gas and Candles, a full-length comedy set in the late 1970s, when a pair of pensioners draw attention to their plight by staging a mock siege. (2m, 1f. First produced at the Leicester Haymarket, and subsequently at the Cheltenham Everyman, Theatre Royal Stratford East and many other theatres in Britain and abroad.) “Its theme digs into the imagination and stays there long after the play is over” (Daily Telegraph). “Comedy explodes from the smallest incident.” (Guardian)
Shylock’s Revenge, a full-length sequel to The Merchant of Venice (Shakespearian—sized cast, first produced at University of Hamburg).
Iago, The Villain of Venice, a full-length sequel to Othello (another large cast).
Excellent Beauty & other short plays, including How To Avoid A Tragedy, a 30-minute, happy-ending romp through Shakespeare’s four great tragedies (3m, 1f, winner of the Hydrae Prize 2003.) “Very witty, light and entertaining” (Royal Shakespeare Company).
Lear’s Fool / The Tragedy of Lady Macbeth. Two one-hour plays, exploring two of Shakespeare’s most enigmatic characters. (4m, 1f and a minimum of 4m, 2f, first produced at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London.) “Rewriting Shakespeare requires a fair amount of courage, not to mention talent — both of which David Henry Wilson appears to possess in considerable amounts” (West End Extra).
