Nick Stafford Explained

Nick Stafford (born Nicholas Thomas, 1959 in Staffordshire) is a British playwright and writer.^[1] He is best known for writing the stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel War Horse, which garnered him a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best New Play in 2008,^{[2] [3]} and the Tony Award for Best Play in 2011.^[4]

Career

Stafford trained at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance,^[5] and his first professionally produced play was commissioned in 1987 by the Half Moon Young People's Theatre, where Stafford was writer-in-residence. He also got commissions from other small companies, before going to the Young Vic, also as writer-in-residence.^[6] His first play there, The Snow Queen, ran for two years.^[6] He has had several plays produced at the National Theatre and at Birmingham Rep.^[7] Stafford's adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel War Horse was first produced in London in 2007, where it is still running; other productions have been staged on Broadway, and in Toronto, Canada. Five of his plays have been published by Faber and Faber.^[1]

Stafford also has had several plays produced on BBC Radio 4,^[1] and has been commissioned to write movies and television drama; none of these bar a BBC short has been filmed.^[6]

Stafford was a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Roehampton University from 2003–06 and at the University of Southampton from 2007–09.^{[1] [6]}

Stafford's first novel, Armistice, was published in 2009.

Works

Plays

• 1987–1988 Five plays written for the Half Moon Young People's Theatre when Writer-in-residence.^[8]
• 1989 Easy Prey, first produced by Avon Touring.^[8]
• 1990 Back of the Bus, first produced at the New Perspectives Theatre.^[8]
• 1990 The Canal Ghost, first produced at the Birmingham Rep Studio.^[8]
• 1991 The Hopeful, first produced at the Young Vic, London.^[8]
• 1991 The Snow Queen, first produced at the Young Vic, London. Adapted from the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen^[7]
• 1992 Moll Cutpurse, first produced at The Drill Hall, London.^[7]
• 1992 The Devil's Only Sleeping, first produced at Birmingham Rep.^[7]
• 1993 Listen With Da Da, first produced at the Serpentine Gallery^[9]
• 1995 The Go-Between, first produced at the Royal Theatre, Northampton. Adapted from the novel by L. P. Hartley.^[8]
• 1995 Grab The Dog, first produced at the National Theatre Studio.^[8]
• 1996 That Day at the Beach, first produced at the National Theatre Studio.^[8]
• 1997 Whisper of Angel's Wings, first produced at Birmingham Rep.^[8]
• 1999 Battle Royal, first produced at the Lyttelton Theatre at the National Theatre in London.^[7]
• 2001 The Chain Play, first produced at the Olivier Theatre, also at the National Theatre, London.^[7]
• 2001 Luminosity, first produced at The Pit, Barbican Centre, London, by the Royal Shakespeare Company.^[7]
• 2004 Love Me Tonight, first produced at Hampstead Theatre, London.^[7]
• 2006 Katherine Desouza, first produced at The Door at Birmingham Rep.^[7]
• 2007 War Horse, first produced at the Olivier Theatre, at the National Theatre, London. Adapted from the novel by Michael Morpurgo.^{[7] [10]}

Radio plays

All were produced for BBC Radio 4.

• The Fire Inside.
• Birdsong, adapted from the novel by Sebastian Faulks.
• A Thousand Acres, adapted from the novel by Jane Smiley.
• A Year and a Day.
• The List Two plays for VE Day.
• Frankenstein, adapted from the novel by Mary Shelley.
• La Petite Mort.
• Ring of Roses.
• A Matter of Sex Winner of Sony Award Best Original Script.^[8]

Novels

• 2009 Armistice novel.

External links

• Nick Stafford page at The Agency
• Review of Armistice in The Observer

Notes and References

1. Web site: Nick Stafford. Royal Literary Fund. 3 April 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110928031156/http://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowshipscheme/profile.cfm?fellow=48&menu=4. 28 September 2011. dmy-all.
2. Web site: Hairspray leads the nominations at the Laurence Olivier Awards. The Stage. Alistair. Smith. 7 February 2008. 3 April 2011.
3. Web site: Interview: Nick Stafford. Quercus Books. Mark. Thwaite. 3 April 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110326115531/http://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/blog/2010/09/20/interview-nick-stafford/. 26 March 2011. dmy-all.
4. Web site: Winners List – All Categories. Tony Awards. 14 June 2011.
5. Web site: News: Rose Bruford College would like to congratulate all those involved in War Horse. Rose Bruford College. 13 June 2011. 14 June 2011.
6. Web site: Nick Stafford Interview. WriteWords. 16 January 2006. 3 April 2011.
7. Web site: Nick Stafford. Doollee.com. 3 April 2011.
8. Web site: Nick Stafford. The Agency. 5 April 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110726065822/http://www.theagency.co.uk/clients/clientdisplay.html?viewListing=Mjkx. 26 July 2011. dmy-all.
9. Web site: Playback: The Bulletin of the National Sound Archive. The National Sound Archive. Summer 1993. 5 April 2011.
10. Web site: War Horse: Nick Stafford. Faber and Faber. 3 April 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120330150427/http://www.faber.co.uk/work/war-horse/9780571240159/. 30 March 2012. dmy-all.