The Twits: A Play

by David Wood (Adapter), Roald Dahl

Originally J. Cape, 1980.

Genres: Fiction, Plays, Childrens, Classics, Fantasy, Young Adult, Juvenile

76 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 2000

About the author

DAVID WOOD began writing as a student at Oxford University in the sixties.

He wrote his first play for children in 1967 and has since written over sixty more.
They are performed all over the world and include THE GINGERBREAD MAN (nine London seasons), THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT WENT TO SEE... (six London seasons, co-written with Sheila Ruskin), THE SELFISH SHELLFISH, THE SEE-SAW TREE, SAVE THE HUMAN (from the story he wrote with cartoonist Tony Husband), THE IDEAL GNOME EXPEDITION and THE PLOTTERS OF CABBAGE PATCH CORNER.

His stage adaptations of well-known books include Dick King-Smith's BABE THE SHEEP-PIG, Roald Dahl's THE BFG and THE WITCHES (both of which played long tours and two West End seasons), THE TWITS, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH and FANTASTIC MR FOX, DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD and GEORGE’S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE, HRH The Prince of Wales' THE OLD MAN OF LOCHNAGAR, Michael Foreman's DINOSAURS AND ALL THAT RUBBISH, Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski's MEG AND MOG SHOW (five London seasons for Unicorn Theatre), Philippa Pearce's TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN (which Unicorn Theatre played on tour, in the West End and on Broadway) and Judith Kerr’s THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA.

He was dubbed 'the national children's dramatist' by Irving Wardle in The Times and published, to rave reviews, THEATRE FOR CHILDREN: GUIDE TO WRITING, ADAPTING, DIRECTING AND ACTING (Faber), co-written with Janet Grant, which has become required reading on the subject in the UK and the US, and is now published in China.

He directed many of his plays for his own company, Whirligig Theatre (founded with John Gould in 1979), which for 25 years toured to major theatres nationwide include Sadler's Wells in London.

Film screenplays include SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS and BACK HOME, which won a gold award at the New York Film and TV Festival 1991. Writing for television includes the series CHIPS' COMIC, CHISH 'N' FIPS and THE GINGERBREAD MAN; and TIDE RACE, his filmed drama for Central Television and the European Broadcasting Union, has won several international awards.

For BBC Radio 4 he adapted Arthur Ransome's SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS.

He also writes children's books; with Richard Fowler he has co-created novelty books including BEDTIME STORY, MOLE'S SUMMER STORY, MOLE'S WINTER STORY, SILLY SPIDER, THE MAGIC SHOW, FUNNY BUNNY'S MAGIC SHOW and THE TOY CUPBOARD. He wrote THE PHANTOM CAT OF THE OPERA (illustrated by Peters Day).

David Wood has followed a parallel career as an actor, best remembered as Johnny in Lindsay Anderson's cult film IF... He is married to Jacqueline Stanbury; they have two grown-up daughters, Katherine and Rebecca.

In 2004 he was awarded an OBE for services to literature and drama in the Queen's birthday honours.

In 2006 he wrote THE QUEEN’S HANDBAG, a play to celebrate the Queen’s 80th birthday. It was performed by an all-star cast in Buckingham Palace Gardens at the Children’s Party at the Palace, and seen live on BBC 1 by 8,000,000 television viewers.

from http://www.davidwood.org.uk/all_about...

Reviews

[Jessica Amar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was a good book because Mr and Ms.Twit Learned a lesson. They were being selfish to the animals and that was mean. They were putting glue on the trees so the animals could get stuck on the tree. Then when they get stuck Mr. and Ms.Twit would cook them and eat them.Finlly the animals took action they putted the house up side down and they glued Mr. and Ms.Twit to the house. So it shows that if you do something bad it well come back to you.

[Vera Vadelius · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorites!

[Sydney L]

I loved The Twits by Raold Dahl. It was funny and easy to understand. I recommend it to people who have not yet read it.

[Jenette · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son was an actor in this play 2 years ago. Very funny!

[John tobin · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked the twits when the birds pulled the trick on the twits

[Andrew Garvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Twits, both the book and the two spectacularly vile central characters. This collection of short plays based on, and largely very faithful to the original book is a fun and imaginative look at how Dahl's book can be adapted into short classroom plays. It has useful ideas for staging, costumes and lighting and lively scripts that reflect just how maliciously, darkly entertaining the original book is without trying to sanitise them too much.

[Ties Keijzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and nice book with a lot of fantasie.

[Alicia Barros · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a child and now as an adult it’s still funny 😄

[weda · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was surprisingly a good school book. So it gets higher bc it wasn’t the worst school book.

[Skye Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good if a can read it

[Saanvi Verma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Straight up trash

[Kade Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ame cuando le hizo creer que desaparecería, fue muy divertido.

[Ijk Hallo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny

[júliaa]

sincerament, no me’n recordo ni de q va ni si em va gradar o no.

[Norgbdzi]

This is not a nice platform because you actually can not directly rad the book.

[Aniela Semeniuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of Roald Dahl

[Edwin Montanez · Rating 4 out of 5]

read/ listen to audio book on youtube

[Sam Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The RSPCA would have a field day with Mr and Mrs Twit

[Hayley Tipple · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much to put here….

[MerryMeerkat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star Rating: 3 Stars

Netgalley review.

This was my first introduction to the Vicky Bliss character, so I was really happy to see this available on netgalley. I was especially interested because this one takes place in Egypt. I really, really wanted to and expected to like this book as much as I like the Amelia Peabody series but unfortunately I just didn���t. It���s not a bad book, it���s mostly fun, just not as great as the Peabody books. There are some good quotes though.

One amusing moment of the book is when Vicky Bliss refers to an archaeologist named Amelia P. Emerson (her character from the Peabody series). And later in the book Elizabeth Peters refers to the husband and wife team again, not bothering to name them but implying its them because of their known rigorous standards of recording.

Quotes: ���Bavarians put whipped cream on everything except sauerkraut. That���s one of the reasons why I love Bavaria.��� - Vicky Bliss
���Please, God, I thought, let me be suffering from sunstroke or schizophrenia or something harmless like that.��� - Vicky Bliss

[Lydia ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked it, it was a good bedtime story

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really did not enjoy this book because there is very little normal speaking parts. There is a lot of Mr. Twit do this Mrs. Twit do this. There is a lot of slapstick comedy. I was funny in the start of the book but 10 pages in the book got really boring that I stopped reading this book and started reading a different book I finished the other book and finished the twits. I would not recommend this book.

[Michel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad book. I didn't like it one bit. It might be me but I don't like it when characters talk to the audience. It interrupts the play and makes the people talk and think to much. When I go to a play I want to just sit back and relax. Also I found it too childish. It reminded me of Dora with the way they talked to people. In my opinion it was not a good book by any-means.

[Edwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I was you gise I should stend up and go to the library or by the book is funny. First there are two charecters called Ms twit and Mr twit. They are so mean to monkeys one day he goes to by a rifle and wanted to shhot the bird. I Dont Want To Tell You Everything Because I Am Going To Spoill It!

[Tannet · Rating 4 out of 5]

The twits

The Twits is a good book it is about a grandpa and a grandma who are martyred and do a lot of pranks on each other and all of the good / bad ideas they have there lifestyles are so weird and gross that it is funny

[Emily]

If you play tricks on people they will play 1 back

[Shayaan]

do you know Mrs Twits she got glass eye and put it in Mrs Twits he got so angry and they both had pranks by eachother.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fabulous play that is true to the novel. A prefect play for older high school kids to present to younger kids.

[Lara El-Alfy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book it was very funny and maybe a bit smelly u know what I mean 😅 I love the illustration as well