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David Holman

DAVID HOLMAN

  (1942 - )
Nationality:    English
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    The Agency (London) Ltd  represented by Nick Quinn

David Holman is an English playwright with over seventy plays to his credit. He has been granted resident status in Australia, and has worked between Australia and england since l983, when he was first commissioned by the State Theatre Company of South Australia to write the acclaimed and much performed No Worries for Magpie Theatre which was produced at the l984 Adelaide Festival. the Small Poppies was commissioned by State Theatre for the l986 Adelaide Festival. Beauty and the Beast completed his trilogy of plays for the State Theatre Company of South Australia/Magpie Theatre, and was launched at their Bicentennial Adelaide Festival in l988. Holman's plays are performed all over the world and have been translated into many languages.

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below is a list of David Holman's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         1983         A B C         Adventure In the Deep         Beauty And the Beast         Big Cat, Big Coat         Billy Budd         Christmas Carol, A         Diary Of A Madman, The         Disappeared, The         Drink the Mercury         Frankie's Friends         Jack And the Beanstalk         No Pasaran         No Worries         O.U.T. Spells Out         One In A Million         Operation Holy Mountain         Peacemaker         Small Poppies         Solomon And the Big Cat         Susummu's Story         Tractor Girls, The         Whale         Wildfire
1983

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
-     1983

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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Genre:
-

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Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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A B C

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Almeida Theatre, London     07 Oct 1989

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Adventure In the Deep

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1973

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Beauty And the Beast

Beauty And the Beast
Holman transposes an old fairy tale into an Australian colonial setting.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Odeon Theatre, Norwood, Sa, Adelaide Festival Of The Arts     05 Mar 1988

Organisations:
Magpie Theatre Company

1st Published:
in No Worries: Three Plays for Children, Currency Press (1 May 1989)   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Childrens 60 mins One act

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  doubling possible

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/495; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XII (1992) Page 0736

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Big Cat, Big Coat

Synopsis:
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Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1980

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Billy Budd

Synopsis:
Handsome Billy Budd is press ganged into the Navy. Master-At-Arms Claggart feels an "abnormal emotion" towards Billy. Claggart reports Billy to the Captain for plotting mutiny. Due to his stammer and shock at this Billy is unable to speak - but in frustration strikes Claggart and kills him

Notes:
Based on the novel Billy Budd by Herman Melville

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XI (1991) Page 0793

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Christmas Carol, A

Christmas Carol, A
traces Scrooge's conversion from miserliness to benevolence

Notes:
novel by Charles Dickens

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Heinemann, London, 1994   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  Large Cast

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol VIII (1988) Page 1755; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol IX (1989) Page 1731; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XII (1992) Page 1557; http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXI (2001) Page 1690

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Diary Of A Madman, The

Synopsis:
the Diary of a Madman is based on Nikolai Gogol's darkly comic 1853 short story centered on the life of a minor civil servant, Poprischin, in the repressive era of Nicholas I. Written in first-person, diary entry format, the story follows the protagonist's yearning for a senior official's daughter and his elaborate delusions, among them his imagined royal status and communication between animals. Only as Poprischin descends into madness does he attain a measure of greatness. the story satirizes state bureaucracy in 1830s St. Petersburg and relates an average man's quest for individuality in an indifferent world.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
adapted by David Holman with Neil Armfield And Geoffrey Rush

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/12184

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Disappeared, The

Synopsis:
subject is political imprisonment, and his setting is Argentina at the time of the World Cup soccer in Buenos Aires in 1978. 15000 people have disappeared in the country since the military regime came to power, many of them arrested in the clean up of likely dissidents before the playing of the Cup. the play tells the story of a history teacher at a shanty town school, who with one of his students is arrested for allegedly helping another teacher to escape from a detention centre.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1979

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Drink the Mercury

Synopsis:
the tragedy of the small Japanese fishing village of Minamata whose main food supply was poisoned with mercury by a local chemical factory.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1972

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
TYA

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Frankie's Friends

Synopsis:
Peer pressure at school

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Balladong Farm, York, Wa     31 May 1986

Organisations:
York Theatre Festival

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/103182

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Jack And the Beanstalk

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol IV (1984) Page 1159

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No Pasaran

Synopsis:
they Shall Not Pass!]. a young Jewish boxers dream of competing in the 1936 Olympics is dashed by the rise of the Nazis so he flees to London only to face Oswald Mosely and the Blackshirts.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1976

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol II (1982) Page 0142

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No Worries

No Worries
One of the world's most popular plays for children, No Worries tells the tale of Matilda Bell who has an idyllic life growing-up on an Australian farm, surrounded by animals and open spaces. But drought strikes, the farm fails and her family are forced to leave the country for the city to find a new life. Matty is heart-broken. She must say goodbye to her beloved animals and to her friends. She does the only thing she can think of to register her anger and anguish..Told through narration, song and exhilarating action, this is a moving and joyful play for younger children. a classic!

Notes:
Winner 1986 Australian Writers' Guild AWGIE Award for Best Children's Drama 1983

1st Produced:
Theatre 62, Hilton, Sa, Adelaide Festival Of The Arts     06 Mar 1984

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in No Worries: Three Plays for Children, Currency Press (1 May 1989)   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Childrens 85 min Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol VII (1987) Page 0279

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O.U.T. Spells Out

Synopsis:
Based on the true stories of real-life 'Child Migrants', O.U.T. Spells Out charts the stories of Billy and alice, brother and sister separated for forty years and by 12,000 miles.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Spring Arts And Heritage Centre, Havant     06 Apr 2004

Organisations:
Havant Arts Centre's Youth Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
TYA

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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One In A Million

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1987

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Operation Holy Mountain

Synopsis:
Survival, animal liberation and mysticism

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Everest Theatre, Chippendale, Nsw     13 May 1989

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/1799

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Peacemaker

Synopsis:
Designed to show the possibility of co-operation overcoming conflict, told with drama, music, juggling and dance

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1983

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Small Poppies

Small Poppies
Tells of that traumatic first day of school.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theatre 62, Hilton, Sa, Adelaide Festival Of The Arts     01 Mar 1986

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in No Worries: Three Plays for Children, Currency Press (1 May 1989)   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Childrens 100 mins One act

Parts:
Male:  12            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol VII (1987) Page 1390

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Solomon And the Big Cat

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1987

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Susummu's Story

Synopsis:
Set in Hiroshima between 1941 and 1945 the play tells the story of the war between Japan and the USA and its effect on the civilian population as seen through the eyes of two Japanese school children.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1983

Organisations:
Acting Out

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/103141

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Tractor Girls, The

Synopsis:
Caz and Mo attend every Ipswich Town football match they can. Now the team are playing in europe and they have gone to watch their team

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Salberg Studio, Salisbury     31 Jan 2002

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol XXII (2002) Page 0163

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Whale

Whale
an arctic winter in alaska - three Grey whales are trapped under a spreading ice-cap as they try to head south to Mexico. the whales' fate is highlighted in a local news splash, causing global waves that pit corporations against communities and bring American, Russian and Inuit people together in a united protest. Whale cleverly weaves this true story with Inuit myths and legends, raising issues of individual, corporate and global responsibility and the power of community action when supported by the media.

Notes:
the Story of Putu, Siku And K'nik

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Childrens Play Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  51 characters

Further Reference:
http://www.Theatrerecord.org/, Theatre Record Vol IX (1989) Page 1693

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Wildfire

Synopsis:
Bush fires in Australia in 1967

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Peacock Theatre, Hobart, Tasmania     19 Mar 1987

Organisations:
Salamanca Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/138

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