Diane Samuels

Diane Samuels is a British author and playwright.

Biography

Early life

She was born into a Jewish family in Liverpool^[1] in 1960. Samuels studied history at Sidney Sussex College at the University of Cambridge and then studied for a PGCE in drama at Goldsmiths, University of London. She worked as a drama teacher in inner London secondary schools for five years and as an education officer at the Unicorn Theatre for children.^[2][3]

Career

Samuels has been a full-time writer since 1992. Her works include Kindertransport^[1] (1993), Frankie’s Monster – an adaptation of Vivien Alcock's The Monster Garden, The True Life Fiction of Mata Hari (2001), and Three Sisters on Hope Street, co-written with Tracy-Ann Oberman.^[4]

With singer-songwriter Gwyneth Herbert she has written a musical, The A-Z of Mrs P, which tells the story of Phyllis Pearsall's creation of the London A to Z street atlas. The play was performed in workshop with actress Sophie Thompson in May 2011^[5] and was performed at Southwark Playhouse from 21 February to 29 March 2014,^[6][7] starring Peep Show actress Isy Suttie.^[8][9]

Samuels was a Pearson Creative Research Fellow at the British Library^[10] and is a reviewer of books for The Guardian newspaper.^[11]

References

External links

• Official website