Tom Morton-Smith
Tom Morton-Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | Thomas Morton-Smith 1980 or 1981 (age 45–46) |
| Occupation | Playwright |
| Alma mater | University of East Anglia London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
| Website | |
| www | |
Tom Morton-Smith (born 1980 or 1981)[1] is an Olivier Award-winning English playwright.
Early life and education
Morton-Smith grew up in the countryside in Sussex.[2] He wrote his first play aged 17 and won a local competition.[3]
Morton-Smith studied drama at the University of East Anglia (UEA) before training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). While a student at UEA, Morton-Smith was a member of Minotaur Theatre Company, with whom he created a new play, Black Boxes and Amber Rooms, for the 2001 National Student Drama Festival.[4][5]
Career
In 2006, Morton-Smith was selected to be part of Future Perfect, a writer's group attached to the Paines Plough theatre company. In 2007, he joined the company as their playwright-in-residence.[6]
His debut stage play, Salt Meets Wound, premiered at Theatre503 in May 2007.[7]
His play Oppenheimer, about the physicist J Robert Oppenheimer and the building of the atomic bomb, was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2015 in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until it transferred to London's West End in April 2015. The play was nominated for Best New Play at the 2016 WhatsOnStage Awards.[8]
In April 2022, it was announced that he would adapt Studio Ghibli's 1988 animated film My Neighbour Totoro for the stage. Produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the film's original composer Joe Hisaishi, the play ran for a fifteen-week limited season at the Barbican Theatre in London from October 2022.[9] The play won five categories at the 2023 WhatsOnStage Awards, having been nominated in nine.[10] It also won six categories (out of nine nominations) at the 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.[11][12] Morton-Smith dedicated his Olivier award to the memory of his stillborn daughter.[13]
Works
Plays
- Salt Meets Wound (2007) (premiered at Theatre503)[14]
- Everyday Maps for Everyday Use (2012) (premiered at the Finborough Theatre, London)[15]
- In Doggerland (2013) (premiered at the Lowry, Manchester)[16]
- Oppenheimer (2015) (premiered at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre)[17]
- The Earthworks (2017) (premiered at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon)[18]
- Ravens: Spassky vs. Fischer (2019) (premiered at the Hampstead Theatre)[19]
- My Neighbour Totoro (2022) (based on the Studio Ghibli film of the same name, premiered at the Barbican,[20] transferred to the Gillian Lynne Theatre)
Radio
- Flesh (2009) (episode 3 of series 2 of The Man in Black, BBC Radio 7)[21]
- The Wind in the Willows: a Weasel's Tale (2025), (after The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, BBC Radio 4)[22]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work(s) | Result | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Papatango New Writing Prize | Everyday Maps for Everyday Use | Runner-up | [23] | |
| 2016 | WhatsOnStage Awards | Best New Play | Oppenheimer | Nominated | [24] |
| 2023 | Laurence Olivier Awards | Best Entertainment or Comedy Play | My Neighbour Totoro | Won | [25] |
| WhatsOnStage Awards | Best New Play | Nominated | [26] | ||
References
- ^ Billington, Michael (23 January 2015). "Oppenheimer five-star review – father of atomic bomb becomes tragic hero at RSC". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ^ Owen-Burge, Charlotte (2 September 2025). "Tom Morton-Smith: When you create something for children, you need to speak to something deeper than distraction". The Skylark. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ^ "Interview with Award-Winning Playwright of In Doggerland - Exeter Phoenix". Exeter Phoenix. 18 November 2013. Archived from the original on 13 December 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ^ "National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) 2001". Bedlam Theatre. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ^ "National Student Drama Festival". www.nsdf.org.uk. Archived from the original on 15 July 2005. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ^ Paddock, Terri; Rock, Malcom (7 May 2007). "Opening: Fame, Child, Terre, Death, Brook Sizwe". whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- ^ Smith, Alistair (16 May 2007). "The Stage / Reviews / Salt Meets Wound". thestage.co.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "WhatsOnStage Awards shortlists are announced | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ "RSC to adapt My Neighbour Totoro for London stage premiere this autumn | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ "The 23rd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards – full list of winners | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. 12 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Stage, Guardian (28 February 2023). "Olivier awards 2023: complete list of nominations". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ "Olivier Awards 2023". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ "Olivier Awards 2023: Paul Mescal, Jodie Comer and Totoro triumph". BBC News. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ Gardner, Lyn (22 May 2007). "Salt Meets Wound". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "Everyday Maps for Everyday Use, Finborough Theatre". theartsdesk.com. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Hickling, Alfred (11 November 2013). "In Doggerland – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Mountford, Fiona (26 May 2015). "Oppenheimer, Vaudeville theatre - theatre review". Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "The Earthworks/Myth, The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon — stimulating". Financial Times. 30 May 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer review, Hampstead Theatre, London, 2019". The Stage. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Akbar, Arifa (19 October 2022). "My Neighbour Totoro review – dazzling staging of the Studio Ghibli classic". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra - The Man in Black - Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, The Wind in the Willows: A Weasel's Tale". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ Denette, Kelsey. "Papatango New Writing Festival 2012 Winners Announced". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ^ "Benedict Cumberbatch and Nicole Kidman take home WhatsOnStage Awards". 21 February 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ^ "Olivier awards 2023: full list of winners". The Guardian. 2 April 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ^ Milward, Tom (12 February 2023). "The 23rd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards – full list of winners". Retrieved 8 March 2026.