Dear Nick, The good news is that MOLE'S BEDTIME STORY will be re-published by Random House in January 2007.  Richard Fowler has even done some new illustrations for it!  But the story is the same. Incidentally, the other two MOLE books - MOLE'S SUMMER STORY and MOLE'S WINTER STORY are available from Amazon. Sometimes a second-hand copy of the original BEDTIME STORY becomes availably on eBay or Amazon but I am glad to say that most people who have bought the book like to hang on to it! Hope you can wait until January! Best wishes, David

Dear Kate, Thank you for your message.  I too have fond memories of THE OLD MAN OF LOCHNAGAR.  Sadly it didn't quite take off, and there have not been many productions since the original one. I will send you a separate e-mail as soon as I can discover if I can find you the copy of the audio tape version of the show. It is no longer available from shops.  But I may have some copies. All good wishes. Yours David

Dear Jane, Thanks for your message.  THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER'S LUNCH is due to be published any day now by J. Weinberger Ltd.  They are at 12-14 Mortimer Street, London, W1T 3JJ. 

Many thanks for your kind words! All good wishes, David

Dear Angela, Richard O'Brien played the Child Catcher.  Richard was the first actor to play the role in the musical theatre version of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG at the London Palladium some years ago.  He is, of course, the famous creator of the ROCKY HORROR SHOW. All good wishes, David

Thank you for your message and kind words about FUNNY BUNNY'S MAGIC SHOW AND MOLE'S SUMMER STORY.  Delighted that your daughter enjoys them. I will send you a separate e-mail with details of how to buy MOLE'S WINTER STORY. You may be interested to know that the first MOLE book, entitled MOLE'S BEDTIME STORY, will be republished in January by Random House. All good wishes, David

Dear Andrew,



Sorry I can't help you on this! My stage adaptation of THE BFG was a play, not a musical. I am not sure which version contained the song you are looking for! But I wish you all the best in your search.



Best wishes,



David

Dear Dorothy Chadburn,



Thank you for your message. Delighted to hear that you are working on BABE, THE SHEEP-PIG.



The costumes for my Regent's Park production belong to the Theatre Royal, Norwich. They were designed by Susie Caulcutt.



As far as I know, they will be returning to Norwich when the production finishes at the end of August. However, Regent's Park will have first option on their use next year. Whether or not all parties will be able to agree to hire them to the Staines Players, I honesty don't know.



I suggest you contact Will Hill at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, and also drop a line to Ian Talbot, the Artistic Director at Regent's Park.



Sorry I cannot help more. But the costumes don't belong to me!



All good wishes,



Yours sincerely



David

Dear Antonella, Thank you for your lovely message. Yes, everything you have read about IF ... is true!  One day I must write down a few more of my memories from filming IF ...  almost 40 years ago.  What a thought!  Delighted you enjoyed looking at my website.  Most of it I write myself, but I have a wonderful web master who designs it! I am afraid that I only rarely perform on television now.  But you might catch the films ACES HIGH and NORTH SEA HIJACK, in which I had nice roles! All good wishes, David

Thank you, Maura.  I will e-mail you about this.  In fact, there is information in the CHILDREN'S BOOKS section about how you can buy the book. Best wishes, David

I will e-mail you about this.  In fact, there is information in the CHILDREN'S BOOKS section about how you can buy the book. Best wishes, David

I will e-mail you about this.  In fact, there is information in the CHILDREN'S BOOKS section about how you can buy the book. Best wishes, David

Thank you, Andy for your message.  Delighted that IF ... is one of your favourite movies. I remember the scene where we stole the motorbike very well.  It was filmed in Wimbledon.  On that day, my mother and stepfather came to watch the filming.  Their blue Morris 1000 car is visible in the road outside the garage! The scene in the Packhorse Cafe was all shot in a day.  It was a real transport cafe.  I seem to remember it was on the A1, but I may be wrong. I'm glad you liked it when I put Mick's saucer on his cup, to keep his tea warm.  That was my own idea, which Lindsay Anderson liked and allowed me to include! Difficult to accept that it was nearly 40 years ago ... All good wishes, David

Dear Ross, Thanks for your message. I'm afraid there are no immediate plans for THE GINGERBREAD MAN. But I will keep you in mind if and when the situation changes! Glad you enjoyed playing Salt. Best wishes, David.

Dear Rosemary, Many thanks for your message. I'm delighted that the books went down well! There are three MOLE titles. Mole's Winter Story, Mole's Summer Story and Mole's Bedtime Story. The first two are both available at £6 each including postage from me. I will email you more details. Mole's Bedtime Story will be republished by Random House in January 2007. Under The Bed is not a pop through the slot book, but it has a big pop-up on the last spread. Not published in the UK (yet, says he hopefully!), I sell the American edition for £6.00. You might find another of our slot books, SILLY SPIDER on the internet - Amazon perhaps. It is no longer published, yet is very popular. No magic shows coming up, sadly. But I am doing an event with some magic and stories at the Hay Festival on Tuesday 30th May. I much enjoyed meeting you all in Plymouth. Thank you so much for your interest! Best wishes, David.

Dear Alan, Thank you so much for your message.  I am delighted that THE GINGERBREAD MAN video is "working" for your son.  Over the years we have presented the stage play in many places and to every kind of audience - children of every ability, and it has always been rewarding to see how the character of the GINGERBREAD MAN, surrounded by giant plates and the other Welsh dresser characters, appeals to virtually all of them!  I remember seeing the play in Japan, and, even though they don't have gingerbread men there (!), the play still worked and the children joined in at the same places. The video version was something of a departure for me, but the animators were so clever and caring that I always felt we had translated the story to the small screen pretty successfully. There were two videos produced.  I am not sure which one your have!  But I am really glad that your son has been enjoying it. All good wishes, David Wood

Dear Joost, Many thanks for your message.  Delighted you like reading my books! I have enjoyed several visits to the Netherlands.  Sometimes there have been productions of my plays in Rotterdam and smaller places. All good wishes, David

Dear Laura, Thank you for your message.  Glad you enjoyed my talk.  There are quite a few books about children's drama, by which I mean drama in which children take part.  Many of these are on sale in the National Theatre bookshop and in the Samuel French Theatre Bookshop.  Look at the Samuel French website and see if there is anything that interests you. Unfortunately, there are not many books about theatre written and performed by adults for children, which is really what I am all about!  This was one reason why I wrote my book!  Some years ago Alan England wrote a book called, I think, THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE or some such.  You will probably find it on the Amazon website.  It is interesting, but maybe a little bit out of date now.  There is also a book published by ASSITEJ, the international organisation representing children's theatre companies and practitioners.  Several of us were asked to write about our work and our companies.  Quite whether it will help you in terms of writing for children, I am not sure.  But it is well worth a look.  It is called THEATRE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE, edited by Stuart Bennett  You could look for it on a website - www.aurocametro.com .  Or you could look on the ASSITEJ website, which is www.assitejuk.org . Good luck with it all! All good wishes, Yours David

Dear Pauline P,



Thank you for your message.



You are right about STV televising ROCK NATIVITY, but video was in its infancy and I don't know if a copy exists, I'm afraid. The show is published by Weinbergers and is still popular with schools and amateur operatic societies. But no commercial recording has ever been released. However, Weinbergers recorded, a few years ago, a demo to send out to prospective producers. The cast were very talented members of the National Youth Musical Theatre, several of whom have successfully turned professional, including Michael Jibson and Akiya Henry. You can hear tracks on the music and video section of my website. Or you could even ask Josef Weinberger Ltd if you could have a CD!!! They are in Mortimer Street, London W1.



The very first production of ROCK NATIVITY was at the Playhouse, Newcastle - the year before the touring production you remember, which opened, as you say, at the Theatre Royal. In the band of the first production was a young guitarist called Gordon Sumner - as I'm sure you know, he married the Virgin Mary (Frances Tomelty), changed his name to Sting, and the rest is history!



Sadly, the touring production never managed to open in the West End of London and an album was never recorded. I wonder if the original STV video tapes survive anywhere.....somehow I doubt it!



I still meet up with Tony Hatch, with whom (with Jackie Trent) I wrote the show, and we are hoping to write another show together, three decades on!!!



All good wishes,



David Wood.

Dear Richard, Thanks for your message.  Yes, I can supply a cassette copy of THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT WENT TO SEE ...  I will send you an e-mail with more details.  Delighted to know you are interested in this musical play, which was my first successful one.  Written with Sheila Ruskin in 1968, based on the verses and stories of Edward Lear, it was commissioned by the Swan Theatre, Worcester.  Then it came to London, and played Christmas seasons in various theatres for about 9 years.  Meanwhile lots of other theatres did their own versions, I am glad to say.  The play is still very much alive, particularly with amateur groups.  I would love to organise a revival.  The recorded version, with Harry Secombe, Roy Castle and Hattie Jacques was a wonderful bonus, thanks to Philips Records! All good wishes, Yours David Wood

Dear Rachael, Many thanks for your message.  So glad that THE DAVID WOOD SONGBOOK brought back memories for you!  It still does the same for me!  Whenever I perform the DAVID WOOD MAGIC AND MUSIC SHOW, I use this tape for the music before the show, during the interval, and after the show!  So I still get to hear it quite regularly!  I still sell copies of the cassette, really I should get round to putting it on CD. Best wishes, David Wood

Dear Jenny Abbott, Thanks for your message.  If only Random House would re-publish SILLY SPIDER!  One of the problems is that the company who published it, Doubleday/Transworld, were taken over by Random House, and although lots of the same editorial staff are there, their publishing programme has changed. This book does appear quite often on Amazon - both new and used copies, I think.  So I would advise you to have a look there! Meanwhile, I hope your copy lasts out a bit longer! All good wishes, David

Dear Jasmin, Thanks for your message.  It may be possible to give you an hour or so.  I will send you a separate e-mail. Meanwhile, good luck with your project. Best wishes, David

Dear Jane, Thank you so much for your lovely message.  It is always a pleasure to hear that these books are popular with children.  Richard Fowler and I try very hard to create novelty books that will be fun and that young children will almost see as a toy!  Something to love!  Hopefully this leads to a real liking for books as they grow older. I am happy to tell you the first Mole book, MOLE'S BEDTIME STORY, will be republished by Random House in September. All good wishes, Yours David