A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE

Goodnight Mister Tom

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  6f, 7m

David Wood, Michelle Magorian

Goodnight Mister Tom
Adapted by David Wood
From the novel by Michelle Magorian

Goodnight Mister Tom is a tale of two broken souls at very different ends of the age scale that celebrates the value of love and proves that friendship knows no barriers.

Goodnight Mister Tom

Request licence
Get the Script
  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    6f, 7m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptations (Literature)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for all audiences
Accolades
Accolades

  • The play won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and Family in 2013.

Licence details
  • Minimum Fee: £69 per performance plus VAT when applicable.
  • Optional Music/Media Fee: £18 per performance

Details

Summary
One of the most uplifting stories ever written, Michelle Magorian’s stunning Goodnight Mister Tom is brought gloriously to life in this stage adaptation by David Wood – the UK’s ‘National Children’s Dramatist’ (The Times).
Set during the dark and dangerous build-up to the Second World War, Goodnight Mister Tom follows sad young William Beech, who is evacuated to the idyllic English countryside and builds a remarkable and moving friendship with the elderly recluse Tom Oakley. All seems perfect until William is devastatingly summoned by his mother back to London.

Cast Attributes
  • Ensemble cast
  • Reduced casting (Doubling Possible)
  • Flexible casting
  • Roles for Children
  • Room for Extras
  • Parts for Senior Actors
Keywords
  • Time Period 1940s / WWII
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Play w/ Music
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

‘…works like a charm…the play will speak to children, without question – but it may well be adults, looking back at a long-ago England while catching reactions of their own younger, fearful selves, it moves the most. Recommended.’ Daily Telegraph

‘…tugs the heart strings…moments of enchanting comedy…splendidly faithful to the book…a big success.’ Independent
 
‘It ends as children’s theatre should: adults audibly snivelling and children breathlessly attentive. Here’s a suggestion: ever since the role of children’s laureate was created, the title has gone to novelists, a poet and the illustrator Quentin Blake. It should now go to a playwright, to acknowledge that theatre too has a vital role. David Wood has been making quality children’s plays for 43 years. Herewith my nomination.’ The Times

Videos

  • Goodnight Mister Tom trailer

  • Podcast interview with David Wood

Materials

Scripts

Available Formats:
Get the Script

Authors

David Wood

David Wood

David Wood has been called “the national children’s dramatist” (London Times). His plays are performed worldwide, and include The Gingerbread Man, The Plotters of Cabbage Patch Corner, Save the Human, Aladdin, Hijack Over Hygenia, Jack the Lad, Larry the Lamb in Toytown, Old ...

View full profile
Author

Michelle Magorian

Community

Now Playing

Community Experiences

Related