Swallows and Amazons

Helen Edmundson is the winner of The John Whiting Award for her play The Clearing and has written numerous adaptations and original pieces for the stage. These include Anna Karenina, The Mill on the Floss and War and Peace for the hugely successful touring theatre company, Shared Experience. She is the award-winning author of Coram Boy, seen in two consecutive seasons at the National Theatre, and received unanimous acclaim for her adaptation of Calderón de la Barca's Life is a Dream at the world famous Donmar Theatre. Her adaptation of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons received five star reviews at the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End in 2011 and embarks on a nationwide tour in 2012.Neil Hannon is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter, best known as the creator and frontman of the chamber pop group The Divine Comedy.Arthur Ransome (1884 -1967) was an author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. The books remain so popular that they provide a basis of a tourist industry around Lake Windermere and Coniston Water.