The Wild

It’s Christmas Eve and the predicted snow has begun. There’s a salmon quiche for dinner, followed by pavlova. The usual Cooper family banter. Wine and After Eights.

Then, a knock on the window. The Stranger has come for Gavin.

Who wants to play a game?

Based on the short story Wodwo by Mark Haddon – itself inspired by folklore – The Wild by Simon Stephens is a twisted tale of power, fate and one man’s undoing.

The reading of The Wild will be followed by a Q&A with Simon Stephens and Mark Haddon.

Contains gun violence.

Simon Stephens

Simon Stephens is a celebrated playwright and screenwriter whose work is marked by emotional clarity, intelligence and a deep interest in the extraordinary within ordinary lives. He is best known for his acclaimed stage adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, directed by longtime collaborator Marianne Elliott, which won multiple Olivier and Tony Awards and continues to be produced worldwide. His Olivier Award-winning Vanya, starring Andrew Scott, played at the Lucille Lortel in New York, and An Ark recently opened at The Shed in New York – the first play written for augmented reality.

Other plays include: Cornelia Street (Atlantic Theater Company), Morning Sun (Manhattan Theatre Club), Light Falls (Royal Exchange Manchester), Heisenberg (MTC/Broadway), Song from Far Away (Hampstead Theatre/Young Vic), Birdland (Royal Court), Carmen Disruption (Almeida), Blindsided (Royal Exchange Manchester), Morning (Lyric Hammersmith), Three Kingdoms (Lyric Hammersmith), Wastwater (Royal Court), Punk Rock (Lyric Hammersmith), Marine Parade (Brighton Festival), Sea Wall (Bush Theatre), Harper Regan (National Theatre), Pornography (Traverse/Birmingham Rep), Motortown (Royal Court), On the Shore of the Wide World (Royal Exchange Manchester), One Minute (Traverse/Bush Theatre), Country Music (Royal Court), Christmas (Bush Theatre), Port (Royal Exchange Manchester/National Theatre), Herons (Royal Court), and Bluebird (Royal Court).

Mark Haddon

Mark Haddon is the author of the internationally acclaimed novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, winner of 17 awards including the Whitbread Book of the Year, later adapted for the stage by Simon Stephens for the National Theatre before transferring to the West End and Broadway. He also wrote Polar Bears for the Donmar Warehouse, which received the Media Ability International Award. His screen work includes Coming Down the Mountain (BBC), Microsoap (BBC, BAFTA Best Children’s Drama), and an adaptation of Raymond Briggs’ Fungus the Bogeyman for the BBC. For radio, he wrote Coming Down the Mountain (BBC Radio 4, Sony Bronze Award) and 1,000 Ships (BBC Radio 4). His novels include The Porpoise, The Red House, and A Spot of Bother (winner of the Costa Novel of the Year), and he has published two short story collections, The Pier Falls and Dogs and Monsters. His latest book is Leaving Home, an illustrated memoir published by Chatto & Windus.

Lily Dyble

Lily is the winner of the 2025 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award.

As director: My Pet Star (also book and lyrics) at the Marlowe Theatre; A Very Expensive Poison and Fun Home at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts; Sweeney Todd at the Egg, Theatre Royal Bath; Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes for Opera Holland Park and Waterperry Opera Festival and on UK tour; The Water Diviner’s Tale for Opera North; and Forbidden Touch (as co-director) for Welsh National Opera and the National Opera Studio.

As associate director: The Producers in the West End; Here We Are at the National Theatre; Richard II and Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre; Abigail’s Party at Theatre Royal Stratford East; The Baker’s Wife at Menier Chocolate Factory; A Night at the Opera at the Royal Opera House and Nevill Holt Festival; and With All Our Hearts in the West End. Forthcoming work includes Death of a Salesman on Broadway.