The Playwrights Database
TOM WELLS
Nationality:
English
email:
n/a
Website:
n/a
Literary Agent:
Casarotto Ramsay and Associates Ltd represented by Rachel Taylor
Tom Wells is a playwright whose work has been staged by the West Yorkshire Playhouse, the Arcola, Paines Plough, and the Bush Theatre, amongst others. He is Associate Playwright at Hull Truck.
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About a Goth
A short play about a young man who volunteers in old people's homes, and suffers paroxyms of love and hate for the residents.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Organisations:
Northern Exposure 2009
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Music:
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Genre:
short play
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: - Other: -
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Astronauts
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
Paines Plough
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Beardy
the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) is a foundation stone of the English language. the KJV was composed as a collective project and written to be spoken. Sixty-Six Books has been created, in the spirit of the original, in the same way. Pulpit to print; stage to page; mediated through many forms oral and written, the KJV has, since its inception, been a fundamental part of written and spoken English.This is a work that has travelled to every continent of the globe. It has been shared as a melodic instrument of inspiration, illumination and mutual understanding; and it has also been wielded as a tool of colonial oppression. Sixty-Six Books is a fresh interpretation of the KJV for the new millennium, celebrating and challenging the traditions and achievements of this great work on the occasion of its 400th anniversary. the curators of this project have gathered together a formidable and inspiring line-up of the best established and emerging writing talent to produce a new version of the KJV for thetwenty-first century. Each writer has created anew a book of the KJV - as prose, poetry, Drama, performance, song, or ground-breaking digital form. Each writer has spoken back to the KJV with untrammeled inventiveness of the imagination. the voices of Sixty-Six Books, drawn from across five continents, innovate, transmute, transpose, reinvent and talk back to four hundredyears of history. All the works that make up Sixty-Six Books are written to be spoken. Culminating in major performance events at the Bush theatre and Westminster Abbey in 2011 in London, Sixty-Six Books is a contribution towards the mutual curiosity, tolerance, and force of collective enterprise and shared humanity that characterizes the international and ancient Arts of writing and spoken performance
Notes:
Part of Sixty-Six Books: 21st-century writers speak to the King James Bible. Play is A response to the King James Bible book of Judges
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Broken Biscuits
Megan, Holly and Ben are not cool. They plan do become so by singing. During the summer holiday they practise in a garden shed
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1st Published:
Nick Hern Books 2016
Music:
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Genre:
Drama
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
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Cinderella
Synopsis:
Traditional panto is back for another sensational year with plenty of festive fun in true Lyric style. Grab your glittery Converse and put the pumpkin into top gear as Cinderella heads to the biggest party of the season to meet a very charming Prince.
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Genre:
pantomime 135 min
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: 3 Other: ensemble
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Cosmic
Synopsis:
A new comedy about love, loss and outer space set in Withernsea, a small town with a big night sky.
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Genre:
comedy
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
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Dick Whittington and His Cat
Synopsis:
Pantomime about a boy and his cat who set off to London to make their fortune - usually with Dick's Brother (Idle Jack) and mother - there they usually meet Baron Fitzwarren and sail away to seek treasure. In some versions King Rat goes with them to steal the treasure, in others they reach a land infested with rats where they haven't heard of cats and Dick does a deal, returning home rich he becomes Lord Mayor of London. Based extremely loosely on a real person (Richard Whittington, 1350 to 1423), there is a statue of the cat outside the Whittington Hospital in North London where Dick is supposed to have heard the bells say "Turn again Whittington, Lord Mayor of London" as he trudged away from the city. First recorded panto on this theme was in 1814. The streets of Hammersmith will be paved with gold this Christmas as the Lyric's traditional panto returns for a 6th spectacular year. We are delighted to welcome Dick Whittington and his Cat to W6 for some festive fun in true Lyric style
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Genre:
Pantomime
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: 3 Other: -
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Drip
Liam is fifteen and has joined his friend Caz's synchronised swimming team. Trouble is he cannot swim
Notes:
Music by Matthew Robins; book by Tom Wells. Part of "back To Ours", Hull
1st Produced:
Hull City of Culture
2017
Organisations:
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1st Published:
Nick Hern Books 2018
Music:
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Genre:
Monologue play
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: - Other: -
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Folk
Synopsis:
Winnie's no ordinary nun. A swearing, smoking, Guinness fan, who loves a sing-song with Stephen. She lives life to the fullest. But she's got a secret. Stephen's lost his job - and lost his way. Finding solace in music, he knows he must start again. . . but how? Ballsy and outspoken, teenager Kayleigh is in charge of her life. No one tells her what to do. However, when unexpected circumstances lead her to Winnie and Stephen, they start a journey that will transform their lives forever. Surprising and poignant, Folk is a hilarious and not-so-holy story of hope, coming together and finding your feet when your world is turned upside down.
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Genre:
comedy
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
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Fossils
Synopsis:
Fossils features a couple of geriatrics played by Miss Annis and Richard Cordery, each on top form. In the long ago, they so nearly got together and, using deadpan delivery, relive the near misses of lives that have consisted of little else. the theme makes this a bittersweet comedy and the random props and instructions then add a veneer of welcome absurdism.
- Philip Fisher, British theatre Guide
Notes:
part of Where's My Seat?
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Genre:
short comedy
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
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Hwaet!
Synopsis:
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Notes:
part of "Table Plays". Drama brought to your table by members of our Hoard Festival company; short monologues from characters inspired by the Staffordshire Hoard.
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Genre:
short monologue
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
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Jack and the Beanstalk
Synopsis:
Magic beans, a journey to an enchanted kingdom in the clouds, an evil giant, and some zumba, Jack and the Beanstalk has all the ingredients of a classic panto.
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Genre:
pantomime
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: 2 Other: ensemble
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Jonesy
Jonesy by Tom Wells recreates the chaotic drive of teenage years, where crashing pressure is only outweighed by optimism and indefatigable energy.
Notes:
part of "Symphony"
1st Produced:
Organisations:
Nabokov Theatre Company
1st Published:
Contained in:"Jumpers For Goal Posts" published by Nick Hern Books 2013
Music:
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Genre:
short play
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 2 Other: -
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Jumpers for Goalposts
Luke wants Danny, but Danny's got a secret. Joe's happy in goal but Geoff wants a headline gig. Viv just wants to beat the lesbians to the league title. Game on.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Organisations:
Watford Palace Theatre, Paines Plough and Hull Truck
1st Published:
Music:
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Genre:
comedy
Parts:
Male: 5 Female: 1 Other: -
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Kitchen Sink, The
This is a very good place to come from. Cos it's knackered and funny and it's falling in the sea. . . But it's not a good place to end up. Things aren't going to plan for one family in Withernsea. Pieces are falling off Martin's milk float as quickly as he's losing customers and something's up with Kath's kitchen sink. Billy is pinning his hopes of a place at art college on a revealing portrait of Dolly Parton, whilst Sophie's dreams of becoming a Jiu-Jitsu teacher might be disappearing down the plug hole. And amid the dreaming, Dramas and dirty dishes, something has to give. But will it be Kath or the kitchen sink? An irresistibly funny and tender play about big dreams and small changes, by Bush Associate Playwright Tom Wells.
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Genre:
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 2 Other: -
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London - Let's Get Visceral
Synopsis:
A showcase of new writing inspired by our capital city.
Notes:
written by Tom Wells, Rachel De-Lahay, Molly Naylor, Lola Stephenson and Roxy Dunn
1st Produced:
The Old Vic Tunnels, London
04 Jun 2012
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Music:
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Genre:
showcase
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
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Me, As a Penguin
Stitch, a young man from a tiny village in East Yorkshire, leaves behind the comforts of his job in a knitting shop, in search of the bright city lights and the gay scene of Hull. But, when staying with his heavily pregnant sister Liz and her partner Mark doesn't turn out to be quite what he hoped, Stitch gets caught up in a rather sticky situation involving a zoo keeper, a man in a giant penguin suit, and an overdose of kelp.
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1st Produced:
Organisations:
Northern Exposure
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Genre:
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 1 Other: -
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Night Lights
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
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1st Produced:
West Yorkshire Playhouse
01 Oct 2001
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Male: - Female: - Other: -
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Notes for First Time Astronauts
A comic monologue warning of the perils of self-abuse in zero gravity conditions.
Notes:
part of Paines Plough's LATER programme
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Organisations:
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Genre:
short play
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: - Other: -
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Puff Of Smoke, A
Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Actors Centre, London
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Music:
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
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Spacewang
A teenage girl wanders the streets looking for aliens
Notes:
Part of Miniaturists 30 - Bringing you more of the best short plays by some of the most exciting playwrights in the UK today. Originally Commissioned For Hull Truck theatre
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Genre:
short play
Parts:
Male: - Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Stuff
Teenagers get an old hall to do up for their club
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
Contained in: "National Theatre Connections 2019 " Methuen Drama 2019
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:
Youth play
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
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Symphony
Synopsis:
Theatre meets live gig as 3 of the UK's hottest and most successful young writers collaborate with the award winning new writing company nabokov to present an eclectic mix of stories told through the innovative use of music and spoken word.
Notes:
written by Ella Hickson, Nick Payne & Tom Wells; music by Ed Gaughan
1st Produced:
The Vault Festival, London
18 Feb 2014
Organisations:
nabokov
1st Published:
-
Music:
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Genre:
piece 60 min
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
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there Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
Actors Touring Centre
1st Published:
-
Music:
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Genre:
Drama
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Traces
Synopsis:
It's the hottest day of the year. Leanne returns home to a small town in search of the past. Meet the frappuccino-swilling Goth, the young girl longing to meet her idol, the guitar-playing agoraphobic, and the man just looking for love, as they come together on a day that will change all their lives forever.
Notes:
Written by Lucinda Cardey, Laura Lomas, Penelope Skinner, Adam Taylor, Danielle Sibley And Tom Wells
1st Produced:
The North Wall, Oxford, Oxfordshire
17/2009
Organisations:
National Youth Theatre with Future Perfect 2009, Paines Plough
1st Published:
-
Music:
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Genre:
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 5 Female: 4 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Unusual Unions
Synopsis:
Five new short plays about the bonds we form with each other, performed in five unusual spaces around our building. Please note that this is a promenade performance and will involve walking, standing and stairs, with no seating available.
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Genre:
short promenade piece
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
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We Planted Some Sunflowers
Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Unicorn Theatre, London
2010
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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-
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Male: - Female: - Other: -
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Where's My Seat?
Synopsis:
One new theatre, three experts, three playwrights and you. As the Bush prepares to open the doors of our new home in Autumn this year, we're asking you to test drive the space and be a part of its transformation from library to theatre. Over the course of one evening, you'll see three short plays by three hot Bush playwrights performed in three different layouts. Each play will be inspired by nine curious props chosen by the National theatre and a set of challenging stage directions created by Alan Ayckbourn, Michael Grandage and Bush Artistic Director Josie Rourke. As the stage transforms and the seats move around, we'll ask you to feedback your views from the stalls - and to put to test other areas of the building from the bathrooms to the bar. Part of the Bush's 32 Degree West Season - the angle from the front door of our old home of 39 years to our new home at 7 Uxbridge Road
Notes:
written by Deirdre Kinahan, Jack Thorne And Tom Wells
1st Produced:
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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Genre:
short plays
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 3 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Yeti
Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Bush Theatre, London
01 Mar 2010
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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