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 forNational 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 Noёl 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.