Tom Morton-Smith

English playwright

Tom Morton-Smith (born 1980) is an Olivier Award-winning English playwright.

## Biography

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Morton-Smith studied drama at the University of East Anglia before training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

In 2006, he 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.[1]

His debut stage play, Salt Meets Wound, premiered at Theatre503 in May 2007.[2]

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.[3]

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.[4] The play won five categories at the 2023 WhatsOnStage Awards, having been nominated in nine.[5] It also won six categories (out of nine nominations) at the 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.[6][7] Morton-Smith dedicated his Olivier award to the memory of his stillborn daughter.[8]

## Works

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### Plays

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* Salt Meets Wound (2007) (premiered at Theatre503)[9]
* Everyday Maps for Everyday Use (2012) (premiered at the Finborough Theatre, London)[10]
* In Doggerland (2013) (premiered at the Lowry, Manchester)[11]
* Oppenheimer (2015) (premiered at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, then transferring to the Vaudeville Theatre)[12]
* The Earthworks (2017) (premiered at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon)[13]
* Ravens: Spassky vs. Fischer (2019) (premiered at the Hampstead Theatre)[14]
* My Neighbour Totoro (2022) (based on the Studio Ghibli film of the same name, premiered at the Barbican)[15]

## References

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1. ^ Paddock, Terri; Rock, Malcom (7 May 2007). "Opening: Fame, Child, Terre, Death, Brook Sizwe". whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
2. ^ Smith, Alistair (16 May 2007). "The Stage / Reviews / Salt Meets Wound". thestage.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
3. ^ "WhatsOnStage Awards shortlists are announced | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
4. ^ "RSC to adapt My Neighbour Totoro for London stage premiere this autumn | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
5. ^ "The 23rd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards – full list of winners | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. 12 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
6. ^ Stage, Guardian (28 February 2023). "Olivier awards 2023: complete list of nominations". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
7. ^ "Olivier Awards 2023". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
8. ^ "Olivier Awards 2023: Paul Mescal, Jodie Comer and Totoro triumph". BBC News. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
9. ^ Gardner, Lyn (22 May 2007). "Salt Meets Wound". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
10. ^ "Everyday Maps for Everyday Use, Finborough Theatre". theartsdesk.com. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
11. ^ Hickling, Alfred (11 November 2013). "In Doggerland – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
12. ^ Mountford, Fiona (26 May 2015). "Oppenheimer, Vaudeville theatre - theatre review". Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
13. ^ "The Earthworks/Myth, The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon — stimulating". Financial Times. 30 May 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
14. ^ "Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer review, Hampstead Theatre, London, 2019". The Stage. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
15. ^ 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.

## External links

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* Author's website

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* WorldCat

Artists|

* MusicBrainz