David Farmer

David Farmer

Director, Drama Resource

David Farmer inspires, motivates and educates teachers about the power of drama to transform learning. Following a stand-out career as a theatre director and producer of shows and workshops for children and young people across the world, he is an in-demand speaker, trainer and writer.

David Farmer’s plays have been performed in residence at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith (2000) and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester (2001) as well as the Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House (2003) and at numerous theatres and festivals across the UK. Tours in the USA and Canada include festivals and residencies in New York, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Vancouver and many other cities.

In 2014 David directed ‘The Legend of the Rood’, a series of four Mystery Plays performed by the villagers of Bergh Apton in Norfolk. He developed and directed Kure Kure/Faraway featuring Anna Mudeka for UK tours in 2019/20.

‘David Farmer’s direction encourages a sense of wonder and wit’ – Sunday Telegraph
Total Theatre Award Nominee for My Uncle Arly with Hoipolloi Theatre.

David Farmer inspires, motivates and educates teachers about the power of drama to transform learning. Following a stand-out career as a theatre director and producer of shows and workshops for children and young people across the world, he is an in-demand speaker, trainer and writer. David is the author of several best-selling books on drama, including 101 Drama Games and Activities and Learning Through Drama in the Primary Years as well as numerous plays and articles. In 2013 he was Writer in Residence at Time and Tide Museum, Great Yarmouth.

Winner of the Best Resource for Teachers Award from the English Speaking Union for his online course Drama Games for Language Teaching (2018) and shortlisted for the Outstanding Drama Education Resource in the Music and Drama Awards 2020.

David Farmer’s plays have been performed in residence at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester as well as the Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House and at numerous theatres and festivals across the UK and USA. In 2014 he directed ‘The Legend of the Rood’, a series of four Mystery Plays performed by the villagers of Bergh Apton in Norfolk. He directed Kure Kure/Faraway featuring Anna Mudeka for UK tours in 2019/20.

‘David Farmer’s direction encourages a sense of wonder and wit’ – Sunday Telegraph
Total Theatre Award Nominee for My Uncle Arly with Hoipolloi Theatre.

David Farmer works worldwide with teachers, students and drama practitioners. He has trained teachers at international schools, conferences and universities in South Africa, Argentina, Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal (Erasmus collaboration), Slovakia, Switzerland and Turkey and toured his theatre productions and workshops across the USA and Canada, including New York, Los Angeles, Colorado and Vancouver. He has recently presented seminars and workshops in Amsterdam, Ankara, Buenos Aires, Salzburg, Santorini and Vienna.

David has managed educational arts projects for the Natural History Museum, Forest Enterprise, Norwich Writers’ Centre, Creative Partnerships and Norfolk Arts Partnership. He was an adviser for Shakespeare Schools’ Festival on their teacher training programme. He visits schools across the UK to deliver INSET and CPD sessions and is a training consultant at the Norwich Institute of Language Education. He has taught and presented at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Anglia Ruskin University and at numerous conferences across the world.

101 Drama Games and Activities

101 Drama Games and Activities

‘Belongs amongst the top 10 books any director or drama teacher should own.’ – English Touring Opera

101 More Drama Games and Activities

101 MORE Drama Games and Activities

‘This book cheered me up. Buy it and smile. There will be a lot of laughter in your classroom.’
– National Drama Magazine.

Learning Through Drama in the Primary Years

Learning Through Drama in the Primary Years

Full of easily accessible advice… clear explanations and inventive suggestions.’
– National Drama Magazine.

Playful Plays Volume 1

Playful Plays Volume 1

‘It offers teachers an off-the-shelf, ready-to-go, high-quality rehearsal process ideal for primary-aged students.’ – Teaching Drama Magazine.