Daniel Ward
Actor
Agent
Assistant
Biography
Daniel Ward is a versatile actor and writer. Recent theatre credits include: Cat on A Hot Tin Roof (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester); Rebellion and War Of The Roses (RSC); Nora: A Doll’s House (Citizen’s Theatre); The Amen Corner (National Theatre). Recent screen credits include: Mood (BBC); This Is Going To Hurt (BBC), A Bird Flew In and Everything Now (Netflix).
Daniel’s debut play, The Canary And The Crow, which he both wrote and starred in, opened to a critically acclaimed run at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival before embarking on a UK tour and winning the 2020 George Devine Award. His theatre writing has gone from strength to strength, with Everything I Own, Ribena and Tactile Nature enjoying critically-acclaimed runs at Hull Truck Theatre, Theatre Royal Stratford East and Theatre Centre respectively.
Daniel led Tambo And Bones, in the role of Bones, at Theatre Royal Stratford East in 2023 and finished leading the UK tour of the show. He starred in The Architect as part of the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival. Both projects were directed by Matthew Xia.
He is currently filming for series 15 of the much-loved crime series Death in Paradise (BBC) set in the Caribbean as the semi-regular, Solomon, and on-stage, touring Matthew Xia’s production of Small Island.
Credits
Stage
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| TAMBO & BONES UK TOUR | Bones | Matthew Xia | Actors Tour Company |
| THE ARCHITECT | Male Lover | Matthew Xia | Actors Touring Company and Greenwich and Docklands International Festival |
| TAMBO & BONES | Bones | Matthew Xia | Theatre Royal Stratford East |
| CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF | Gooper | Roy Alexander Weise | Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester |
| REBELLION & WAR OF THE ROSES | Buckingham | Owen Horsley | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2.22 A GHOST STORY | Ben | Matthew Dunster | Runaway Entertainment LTD |
| THE CANARY AND THE CROW | The Bird | Paul Smith | Arcola Theatre |
| THE CANARY AND THE CROW | The Bird | Paul Smith | Middlechild Theatre and Paines Plough |
| NORA: A DOLL'S HOUSE | Daniel | Elizabeth Freestone | Citizen's Theatre |
| AWAKE IN PROGRESS | Performer | Elizabeth Bacon and Joel Samuels | Vaults Festival |
| HEARING THINGS | Innocent/Patrick | Jim Pope | Omnibus Theatre |
| ABIGAIL'S PARTY | Tony Cooper | Amanda Huxtable | Hull Truck |
| DIVAS | Damien | Paul Smith | Fine Mess Theatre |
| THE BABERSHOP CHRONICLES | Kwabena/Muhammed/Wole | Simon Godwin | Fuel Theatre |
| THE AMEN CORNER | Ensemble | Rufus Norris | National Theatre |
| THE THIN LINE INBETWEEN | Leon | TOm Attenborough | Old Vic New Voices/Waterloo East |
| THERE'S NO DRAMA WITHOUT CONFLICT | Jay | Hamish Macdougall | 24 Hour Plays: Old Vic New Voices |
| THE IRONS | Rob Marshall | Lauren Bracewell | Tristan Bates Theatre |
| OUR COUNTRYS GOOD | Black Caesar/Aborigine | Lauren Bracewell | Tristan Bates Theatre |
| A GLORIOUSLY MUCKY BUSINESS | Phil | Elizabeth Freestone | LAMDA |
| ARCADIA | Jellaby | Sarah Esdaile | LAMDA |
| DEALER'S CHOICE | Sweeney | Aaron Mullen | LAMDA |
| SOME VOICES | Dave | James Kerr | LAMDA |
| THE SEAGULL | Yevgeny Dorn | Jenny Lipman | LAMDA |
| ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL | First Lord Dumaine | John Link | LAMDA |
| THE DOUBLE DEALER | Lord Touchwood | Nicky Henson | LAMDA |
| MEDEA | Chorus | John Baxter | LAMDA |
| THE WHITE DEVIL | Brachiano | Colin Cook | LAMDA |
| TARTUFFE | Tartuffe | James Kerr | LAMDA |
| EYE'BALLS | Mr Brown | Gbolahan Obiesesan | National Youth Theatre |
| FATHERS INSIDE | Dom | Jim Pope | Playing Up |
| TORY BOYZ | Ray | Guy Hargreaves | National Youth Theatre |
| MEASURE FOR MEASURE | Angelo | Joel Scott | National Youth Theatre |
| WHITE BOY | Ensemble | Juliet Knight | National Youth Theatre |
Television
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Death in Paradise | Solomon Clarke | Various | Red Planet Pictures for BBC One |
| EVERYTHING NOW | Coach Amos | Charlie Manton | Netflix |
| MOOD | Dionn | Stroma Cairns and Dawn Shadforth | BBC Three |
| THIS IS GOING TO HURT | Paul | Tom Kingsley | Sister Pictures Ltd. |
Short Film
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| PALACE | Jake | Joseph Bull & Luke Seomore | Unit9 |
| THE RIVERS MOUTH | Mike | Deborah Paige | LAMDA |
Film
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| A BIRD FLEW IN | Rick | Kirsty Bell | Goldfinch Entertainment |
Workshop
| Production | Character | Director | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| MASTERCLASS | Othello | Danny Sapani | Theatre Royal Haymarket |
| THE EVENTS | Choir | Ramin Gray | ATC Theatre |
| POMEGRANTE | Naz | Stef O'Driscoll | Old Vic New Voices |
Biography
Daniel is a writer and actor from South London. A graduate of the NYT and LAMDA, he has performed in theatre’s all over the country whilst continually writing and honing his artistic voice. This led to his debut play THE CANARY AND THE CROW which opened at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe 2019 to rousing accolades and sold out performances. It went on to receive the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence before embarking on a UK tour, which included a run at Theatre Royal Stratford East, and ended 2020 on a high by winning Daniel the George Devine Award.
He is currently developing an exciting selection of new work across theatre, film and television.
Praise for THE CANARY & THE CROW –
“a vibrant schooling in identity issues” The Guardian
“…an absolute banger of a Fringe piece with some solid laughs provided throughout – Middle Child continuing to prove itself as a company worth listening to, and Ward a powerful voice for contemporary theatre-making.” WhatsOnStage.com
“…makes a socio-political point without ever feeling like a lecture or a lesson, particularly difficult to do given the setting. And while harbouring a poignant message, Ward’s exuberance and infectious smile are more than enough to get the audience to its feet with joy and jubilation.” BroadwayWorld.com
“…a driving energy that pulls you along, led by a masterful, intensely personal performance by Ward himself.” BritishTheatre.com
“Ward’s script doesn’t provide a solution but instead inspires the solidarity that is necessary to overcome these divisions. The audience was on their feet before the show was even finished in this outstanding piece of politically charged theatre” The List
Credits
In Development
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
THE CANARY & THE CROW 2022 |
Maia Pictures / C4 |
– TV adaptation of Daniel’s hit play |
|
WOKESVILLE 2022 |
SLNda |
– Original feature |
|
TERMS & CONDITIONS 2022 |
Stratford East |
– Original play commission |
Theatre
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
RIBENA 2023 |
Theatre Royal Stratford East | |
|
EVERYTHING I OWN 2021 |
Hull Truck Theatre |
– Original short play commission |
|
TACTILE NATURE 2020 |
Theatre 503 & Theatre Centre |
– Was one of nineteen of the UK’s on-the-rise theatre writers to write a short play as part of ImagiNation |
|
THE CANARY & THE CROW 2019 |
Middle Child Theatre |
– Writer/Performer |
