Neil Gaiman is a storyteller. He is the No.1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling writer of more than 45 books, graphic novels, and short stories, as well as the creator of films and television for all ages. Many of Neil Gaiman’s books, including Stardust and Coraline, have been made into films or theatre productions; Neverwhere has been adapted for TV and radio; American Gods is an Emmy-nominated television series and the National Theatre production of The Ocean at the End of the Lane (UK National Book Awards 2013 Book of the Year) transferred to the West End in 2021 for a successful run, before announcing a UK and Ireland tour which will begin in December 2022. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is the first major play adaptation of Neil’s work. His work in TV includes as the showrunner for the adaptation of Good Omens (co-authored with the late Sir Terry Pratchett); as a writer on two episodes of Doctor Who; and appearances in The Simpsons as himself as well in Arthur, The Big Bang Theory and Lucifer. The TV series The Sandman is an adaptation of his bestselling sequence of graphic novels. According to the BBC, The Sandman is one of the ‘100 Novels That Shaped Our World’ and all three seasons of the Audible adaptation have been New York Times and Amazon Bestsellers. Neil Gaiman has been awarded a Writers for Writers Award, a Hugo Award, Locus and Bram Stoker awards, and is the first author to have won both the Carnegie and Newbery Medals for the same work. In 2017, he became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. He received a Doctor of Letters from the University of St Andrews, is a Professor in the Arts at Bard College and is a Royal Society of Literature fellow. neilgaiman.com  

Joel is a playwright and dramaturg whose work for theatre includes The Ocean At The End of the Lane for the National Theatre; The Great Elephant Chase at Burgtheater, Vienna; Berberian Sound Studio at the Donmar Warehouse; The Little Match Girl for Shakespeare’s Globe and Bristol Old Vic; I Want my Hat Back for the National Theatre which received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Family and Entertainment Show; This Changes Everything for Tonic Theatre which was nominated for a WGGB ‘Best New Play’ Award; A Series of Increasingly Impossible Acts for Secret Theatre at the Lyric, Hammersmith and on UK tour; I Caught Crabs in Walberswick at the Pleasance, Edinburgh, on UK Tour and at the Bush; Food which won a Fringe First Award at the Traverse, Edinburgh and Mikey the Pikey at the Pleasance, Edinburgh. Work for screen includes Skins and The Reward which won the RED Connector Grand Prize in 2008. Joel has also adapted the Radiohead album OK Computer for BBC Radio 4.

Katy Rudd’s work in theatre includes Camp Siegfried at the Old Vic; The Almighty Sometimes at the Royal Exchange; A Curious Night at the Theatre at the Apollo; and The Butterfly at Salisbury Playhouse. As associate director theatre includes Groundhog Day (also on Broadway; Olivier Award for Best New Musical), Lungs and The Master Builder at the Old Vic; Pinocchio, Husbands and Sons and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (also on UK tour) at the National; Linda and The Twits at the Royal Court; and Mojo in the West End. As assistant director work includes Into the Woods at Regent’s Park; The Playboy of the Western World at the Old Vic; and The Constant Wife at Salisbury Playhouse.

Fly Davis trained at RADA and Motley School of Design. Her work in theatre includes Beginning (also West End, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and on UK tour), The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Pericles at the National Theatre; Caroline, or Change at Studio 54 and in the West End; Groan Ups on UK tour; Appropriate at the Donmar Warehouse; Vassa and Shipwreck at the Almeida; Tao of Glass at Manchester International Festival; and The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other at Edinburgh Royal Lyceum.

Samuel Wyer is a theatre designer, puppet maker and illustrator. As designer his work includes, Lazuli Sky at Sadler’s Wells with Birmingham Royal Ballet; Wolf, Witch, Giant, Fairy at the Royal Opera House with Little Bulb; Alice’s Adventures Underground, The Terrible Infants, The Trench and Dinner at the Twits for Les Enfants Terribles; Marvin’s Binoculars and WILD! at the Unicorn; and The Elephantom at the National Theatre and for Gyre & Gimble. As costume and puppet designer, his theatre includes She Described it to Death at the Royal Opera House; and The Wizard of Oz at the Birmingham Rep. As puppet designer his theatre includes The Boy in the Dress for the RSC; How to Hide a Lion at Polka; Raymond Briggs’ The Bear for Pins and Needles.

Steven Hoggett’s recent work as movement director/ choreographer include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway, in the West End and internationally;Angels in America on Broadway; The Crucible on Broadway;The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (also West End and on Broadway), The Ocean at The End of the Lane and The Light Princess for the National Theatre; The Last Ship, Rocky, American Idiot and Peter and the Starcatcher on Broadway; Brooklynite for Vineyard Theatre; Let the Right One In  for National Theatre of Scotland and at St Anne’s Warehouse; The Glass Menagerie at A.R.T., on Broadway and at Edinburgh International Festival; Once at A.R.T., on Broadway and in the West End; Saint Joan at the Public Theater; and as associate director / movement, Black Watch for National Theatre of Scotland and at St Anne’s Warehouse. As director, recent work includes Social! Distance Dance Club at Park Avenue Armory; and Close to You: Bacharach Reimagined at New York Theatre Workshop and in the West End. Hoggett was a director and founding member of Frantic Assembly Theatre Company, and with Scott Graham co-wrote The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre (Routledge).

Jherek Bischoff is a composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumental performer. His work in theatre includes Andersen’s Stories, The Sandman, The Flying Classroom, Johnny Breitwieser and The Journey. His symphonies include Jump!Star and his ballets include Wash of Gray for Pacific Northwest Ballet. His work has been performed by orchestras and ensembles including The National Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Stargaze and yMusic, and he has collaborated with David Byrne, Robert Wilson and Anna Calvi amongst others. His compositions include work for Kronos Quartet, Lincoln Center, St Ann’s Warehouse and the Royal Conservatory. Jherek Bischoff’s releases include Cistern, Composed, Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire Walk with Me and Strung Out in Heaven: A Bowie String Quartet Tribute (co-release with Amanda Palmer). His work for TV and film includes The Devil Makes Three, The Beauty of Decay, New Amsterdam, Glow, The Grave of St Oran, Dog Days, A Futile and Stupid Gesture, Thank You For Coming, Blunt Talk and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.

Paule Constable trained at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her recent work in theatre includes The Normal Heart, The Visit, or the old lady comes to call, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, ‘Master Harold’… and the boys, Nine Night (also West End), Pericles and Follies at the National Theatre; …and breathe at the Almeida; Tenebrae: Lessons Learnt in Darkness (co-creator and lighting designer) at Brighton Festival; The Nico Project at Manchester International Festival; The Cherry Orchard at ITA, Amsterdam; Local Hero at Edinburgh Royal Lyceum; The Meeting at Chichester; ear for eye at the Royal Court; Les Misérables in Concert (at the Sondheim and Gielgud), Les Misérables and The Moderate Soprano in the West End.

Ian is an award-winning sound designer and with extensive credits in the UK and internationally. Hi work has included The Ocean At The End Of The Lane, Translations, Small Island, Angels in America (also Broadway), Husbands and Sons for the National Theatre; Camp Siegfried at the Old Vic; 2:22 at the Noël Coward; Company and Hangmen on Broadway and in the West End; Uncle Vanya at the Pinter Theatre and Audible Play; The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe at the Bridge Theatre and Leeds Playhouse; Europe, Elegy, Roots and The Weir at the Donmar Warehouse; True West at the Vaudeville; Heisenberg at Wyndham’s; Fatherland at the Lyric, Hammersmith and The Royal Exchange, Manchester; Junkyard at Bristol Old Vic and on tour; Fracked! at Chichester Festival Theatre and on tour; Before I Leave at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff; Before the Party, Uncle Vanya, Children’s Children and Mrs Klein at the Almeida; Jerusalem at the Apollo; This House at the Garrick and on tour; Absent Friends at the Pinter; Love’s Sacrifice for the Royal Shakespear Company; The Nether at Duke of York’s; The River on Broadway; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, All My Sons and To Kill a Mockingbird at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre; and The Machine at Manchester International Festival and in New York.

Ian has received Tony nominations for his work on Broadway, most notably for Rock & Roll, Jerusalem and Angels In America. He was the recipient of both an Olivier and Drama Desk Award for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which has played at the National Theatre and toured venues worldwide. Ian has been a member of the Autograph team since 2009. autograph.co.uk

Jamie Harrison is co-artistic director of Vox Motus and has co-created, co-directed, and designed all of the company’s work, most recently Bedknobs and Broomsticks on UK tour with Disney / Michael Harrison Entertainment, Flight (Critics’ Awards for Theatre Scotland, Best Design; Herald Angel; New York Times Theatre moments of 2018) at Edinburgh International Festival and Dragon (UK Theatre Awards, Best Production for Children and Young People), a collaboration between Vox Motus, National Theatre of Scotland and Tianjin People’s Theatre, China. Other recent work includes set and illusion design for Mozart’s The Magic Flute for Ex Machina and Quebec Opera Festival; magic and illusion design for The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Pinocchio at the National Theatre. He created the magic and illusions for the multiple Olivier and Tony award-winning production Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in London’s West End, on Broadway, in San Francisco, Melbourne and Hamburg. Harrison also designed the puppets and illusions for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Jamie Harrison has won several international awards for his work including a special citation from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle and the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle ‘Excellence in a Theatre Specialism’ Award. In 2017 he was the recipient of the Edinburgh International Magic Festival’s Great Lafayette Award for outstanding contribution to stage magic. Jamie Harrison trained as an actor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Finn Caldwell is a director, designer and performer and co-artistic director of Gyre & Gimble, a theatre company specialising in puppetry. His work in theatre includes Angels in America, The Light Princess and War Horse at the National. As puppetry director and co-designer work includes Life of Pi at Sheffield Crucible and in the West End; The Wicker Husband at the Watermill; The Grinning Man at Bristol Old Vic and in the West End; Dr Seuss’ The Lorax at the Old Vic and Toronto; and Running Wild at Chichester, on UK tour and Regent’s Park. Other theatre work includes The Bear for Pins and Needles; The Tempest at Birmingham Royal Ballet; Alice’s Adventures Underground and Adventures in Wonderland for Les Enfants Terrible; Ariodante at Festival Aix; and Shrek the Musical in the West End and on tour. As movement director, theatre includes Groundhog Day at the Old Vic and on international tour. As co-director and puppetry designer theatre includes Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons: A Reimagining at Shakespeare’s Globe; The Hartlepool Monkey for Fuel; and The Elephantom at the National and in the West End, for Gyre & Gimble. As director his work includes Ex Machina at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art; First Hippo on the Moon for Les Petits; and Lardo at the Old Red Lion.

Naomi Downham is currently Senior Casting Assistant at the National Theatre. She works across all three theatres on the South Bank as part of the National Theatre’s Casting department. Most recent work as a casting director includes The Crucible at the National Theatre; Athena at The Yard; and Hamlet and Jekyll & Hyde on school tours for the National Theatre. Work as casting associate includes The Corn Is Green, The Normal Heart, Death of England: Face to Face (film) and The Ocean at the End of the Lane (also West End) for the National Theatre. 

Sophie Moniram’s work as director includes Favour (co-director) at the Bush ; POT at Ovalhouse, Stratford Circus and on national tour; The Diary of a Hounslow Girl (at valhouse and on national tours with Black Theatre Live and House Theatre; Homo Sacer for Old Vic 12; Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters and dirty butterfly at Guildhall; As You Like It, The Winter’s Tale, ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore, Women Beware Women and Falling at LAMDA; Midsummer Roman Feast for the RSC; F**king Outside the Box at VAULT Festival; The Five Stages of Waiting at Tristan Bates; Creditors at The Cockpit; The Star-Spangled Girl and Purgatorio at Karamel Club; Noah at the Young Vic; and a series of short plays written by prisoners for Synergy Theatre Projects. Work as an  associate, resident, or staff director includes The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the National Theatre and the Duke of York’s; The Greatest Wealth at the Old Vic; The Visit, or the old woman comes to call at the National Theatre); Myth at the RSC; and Yerma at the Young Vic and screened on National Theatre Live.

Tim Blazdell’s work as design associate includes opening and closing ceremonies for various events, including the Expo2020 Dubai Opening Ceremony, Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games Turkmenistan and the Winter Olympic ceremonies in Sochi. TV as design associate includes Spongebob Squarepants the Musical: Live on Stage!. Work in theatre as video designer includes This House and London Road for the National Theatre; Only Fools and Horses, the Musical at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Work as set designer includes Romeo and Juliet for Secret Cinema. Tim Blazdell has composed various works including Fallen Fruit, Declining Solo and Near Gone for Two Destination Language. As a digital artist, Blazdell has created work for Victoria’s Secret, Disney, X Factor, The Shard, Punchdrunk and Emma Hart.

Jessica Williams trained at London Contemporary Dance School (BA) and Trinity Laban Conservatoire (Transitions Dance Company). Work as a director includes Blood Harmony and Petrichor for ThickSkin; A Walk is Not a Walk for the Lyric Belfast; and Sorry, I Disappeared, an audio play for Derby Theatre. Work as a movement director includes, Celebrated Virgins at Theatr Clwyd; The Boy with Two Hearts at Wales Millennium Centre and the National Theatre; Constellations for NCPA Mumbai; Merched Caerdydd for Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at the English Theatre Frankfurt; Our Country for Wilderness Theatre and The Public, New York; Tuck and A Good Clean Heart for Neontopia and Wales Millennium Centre; Harder Better Faster Stronger for Hijinx and Frantic Assembly at The Galleri Caernarfon. Work as associate director or associate movement director includes The Ocean at the End of the Lane and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for the National Theatre; Beginning the National Theatre and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch; I Think We Are Alone and The Unreturning for Frantic Assembly on UK tour; Wonderland at Nottingham Playhouse; and Praxis Makes Perfect for National Theatre Wales.

Rob Casey is the co-founder of Ammonite, a company specialising in the technical development and support of a diverse range of live entertainment. Ammonite’s credits include Frozen in Denver, on Broadway, on US tour, in Australia, the West End, Tokyo and Germany; Back to the Future in Manchester and London; Beauty and the Beast on UK tour and in the West End; The Lehman Trilogy on Broadway; Bat Out of Hell in Manchester, the West End, Toronto, on US tour and in Las Vegas; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the West End, on Broadway, in Australia, San Francisco and Germany; Les Misérables in the West End and on UK tour; Les Misérables: The Staged Concert in the West End; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in the West End, on Broadway, on US and UK tours; and The Jungle in the West End and San Francisco. As an associate lighting designer, Casey’s work includes Hugh Jackman on international tour; Local Hero in Edinburgh; Pericles, wonder.land (also in Paris), The Light Princess and James I/II/III (also Edinburgh International Festival and on UK tour) at the National Theatre; Chess at London Coliseum; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Peter and Alice, Privates on Parade and Wolf Hall in the West End; The Audience and King Charles III in Sydney, New York and the West End; Red Shoes, The Phantom of the Opera and Sleeping Beauty on UK and US tours; A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Barbican and on world tour; Tarzan in Germany; Half a Sixpence and Barnum at Chichester; and Red Velvet at the Tricycle and in New York.

Chris Reid is an award-winning sound designer based in London, with over 20 years’ experience working on a variety of theatrical productions in the West End, on Broadway and around the world. His work in theatre as sound designer includes Triple Threat at the Z, Virginia Beech; The Inheritance (Drama Desk Award, Tony and Olivier award nominations) at the Young Vic, in the West End and on Broadway; Hamlet for the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company at RADA; Macbeth at the National Theatre of Scotland and on Japanese tour; Vincent River at the Old Red Lion; and Pinocchio, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Demon Barber, Tam O’ Shanter and Of Mice and Men at Perth Theatre. Work as associate sound designer includes Beginning at the National Theatre; The Jungle in New York and San Fransisco; Black Watch at the National Theatre of Scotland and on international tour. Billy Elliot the Musical in Japan, South Korea and Australia; Series 3 Presentation at the Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris; Charles III in the West End and on Broadway; and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, The Audience, Summer and Smoke, Mary Stuart, Skylight and Labour of Love in the West End. As Head of Sound work includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bridge; Glasgow Girls at Theatre Royal Stratford East; The Bee on international tour; Vixen in Trento, Italy; The Not-So Fatal Death of Grandpa Fredo at Societaetstheater Dresden, Germany; and Jerusalem, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Billy Elliot the Musical and The Scottsboro Boys in the West End. crsounddesign.com

John Bulleid is an illusion designer, actor and magician with work behind multiple Olivier Award-winning productions. He holds the title of Associate of the Inner Magic Circle with Silver Star, and trained as an actor at The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Recent work includes Into the Woods at Theatre Royal Bath; Ride at Charing Cross Theatre; The Magician’s Elephant at the RSC; and A Christmas Carol at Nottingham Playhouse and Alexandra Palace. Bulleid is illusions and magic assistant on Harry Potter and The Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre. Further illusion design work includes The Worst Witch (Olivier Award, Best Family Show) at Northampton, on UK tour and at the Vaudeville; Death of a Salesman (Olivier nomination, Best Play Revival) at the Piccadilly; Oi Frog! (Olivier nomination, Best Family Show) at the Lyric; Our Lady of Kibeho (Olivier nomination, Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre) at Northampton and Stratford East; Dick Whittington at Theatre Royal Stratford East; The Canterville Ghost at the Unicorn; Witches of Eastwick at Cirkus, Stockholm; When Darkness Falls at Park Theatre; Doctor Who: Time Fracture for Immersive London; #WeAreArrested at the RSC and Arcola; Sherlock Holmes: The Final Curtain at Theatre Royal Bath; The Invisible Man and Partners in Crime at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch; Beauty and the Beast at Watford Palace; The Star at Liverpool Everyman; The Inn at Lydda at Shakespeare’s Globe; Dirty Dancing at Secret Cinema; Dracula in Thailand; The Gypsy Thread at the National Theatre Studio; The Ladykillers and The Secret Adversary at the Watermill; Thark at Park Theatre; Alice in Wonderland at Brewhouse, Taunton; Murder Most Fowl at Quay Arts Centre; and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Theatre in the Forest. Work as magic associate includes The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the National Theatre; Prince of Egypt at the Dominion; White Christmas at Curve, Leicester; and A Very Very Very Dark Matter at the Bridge. Short films include You and Universe and Loo.

Gareth Aled trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Work as puppetry director includes Al Adiyat/Expo 2020 Dubai for Nick Barnes Puppets/Artists In Motion; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the Bridge; and War Horse on UK and international tour for the National Theatre (as resident puppet director). As associate puppet director, work includes The Ocean at The End of the Lane at the National Theatre and in the West End; and The Wicker Husband at the Watermill. Gareth Aled directed Romeo and Juliet at Emil Dale Academy. As an actor, work includes Curtain Up at Theatr Clwyd; Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Rose; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Leeds Playhouse; Running Wild at Regent’s Park and Chichester; The Machine Stops for York Theatre Royal and Pilot; The Magic Flute for Complicité; War Horse at the National Theatre; The Heart of Robin Hood at the RSC; 150 and Branches for National Theatre Wales.

Having worked as an actor for ten years, Kate Godfrey trained as a voice coach at The Central School of Speech and Drama from 1995–6. She has worked at Mountview Theatre School, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the National Theatre and the RSC. Her work in theatre includes War Horse, One Man Two Guvnors, 3 Winters and The Red Lion at the National Theatre; Venice Preserved, The Provoked Wife, King John and A Museum in Baghdad at the RSC; and various productions in the West End. Recent work includes productions at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, Chichester Festival Theatre, and as voice coach to Jodie Comer on Prima Facie in the West End. Work in film includes Callas Forevera (as dialogue coach to Fanny Ardant) and The December Boys (as dialect coach to Daniel Radcliffe).

Nicky Cox trained at Dartington College of Arts. Her work as a director includes The Bah Humbug Club at the Lichfield Garrick; Edifying Eddy  for The Unruly Regiment; Georgie the Knight and the Armour Too Bright for the Royal Shakespeare Company; Titania’s Dream at Compton Verney; Hidden Histories of New Place for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust; Signifying Nothing for Shakespeare Stripped; The Norman Conquests Trilogy, The 39 Steps, One Man, Two Guv’nors, Toad of Toad Hall, Brief Encounter and The Hound of the Baskervilles at The Bear Pit; Macbeth, Twelfth Night and Love Bites for Westcountry Theatre Company; The Winter’s Tale, The Crucible, Mother Courage, A Christmas Carol and Henry V  for Stage One Youth Theatre; and Man to Man for Wooden Fish Theatre Company, Cork. She worked as associate director on Twelfth Night for the Royal Shakespeare Company: First Encounters National Tour, and her work as an assistant director includes Tartuffe, Three Letters and Kingdom Come for the Royal Shakespeare Company; A Midsummer Night’s Dream – A Play for the Nation  for Mechanical Scenes, Royal Shakespeare Company and The Bear Pit; and Much Ado About Nothing for Westcountry Theatre Company, Minack Theatre. Nicky Cox is an Associate Learning Practitioner for the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as working as a freelance events host with clients including Historic Royal Palaces, Stratford Literary Festival, Emma Bridgewater’s Festival in a Factory and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has also worked as an actress, touring schools and open-air venues across the Southwest.

John Maddox founded Suspended Illusions Ltd after a decade of touring the world with theatre shows and circuses. Suspended Illusions designs, builds and integrates custom magic illusions, wire flying rigs and special effects for live performance. Their systems have been toured extensively throughout Europe and North America. His work for theatre includes Othello, Peter Pan, A Taste of Honey and The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the National Theatre; Newsies at Troubadour Wembley Park; Henry V at the Donmar Warehouse; Brian & Rodger and Habeas Corpus at the Menier Chocolate Factory; Dystopian Dream, a collaborative piece choreographed by Wang Rameriz and music by Nitin Sawney at the Sadler’s Wells and on international tour; The Secret Life of Humans in London and New York; and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (also on UK tour) and The Windsors: Endgame in the West End. John Maddox has also created effects for Sigur Rós’ world tour, Nick Mohammed and several magicians.