Nick Warren

Brief Biography

Based in South Africa, Nick Warren is an internationally published and awarded author, playwright, and TV screenwriter. He is the author of the book, Thirty Years in a Turtleneck Sweater – the story of his growing up as the son of Des Warren, a building worker and political prisoner jailed in the UK for picketing in the 1970’s. This book was published by Random House and won the Youngminds Book of the Year Award in 2005. He lives in Johannesburg where he makes a living as a freelance writer and creative director.

Extended Biography

Having graduated with a BA (Hons) in English from Brookes University Oxford, Nick worked as a labourer on building sites during the day and as a playwright at night. Several of his earliest plays were performed at the Tabard Theatre including The Gaff and Trojan Women, and The Grow Job and Utopia’s Whores were staged at The Man in the Moon in London. The Trojan Women, written with Sam Dowling went on tour to Ireland, Poland, Brazil and Off Broadway in New York.

Nick moved to South Africa in 1993 and began teaching writing to underprivileged students at the Natal Playhouse where he wrote Izinyoni - a local adaptation of The Birds by Aeschylus.

In 1994 he moved to Johannesburg where he began his daytime career as a copywriter at Babington’s and then Y&R Advertising Agencies, all the while continuing with his theatre pursuits.

Having Nutshelled and Shooting Billy the Kid produced at The Market Theatre and teaching writing at the Market Theatre Laboratory.

Immediately following the inauguration of president Mandela, Nick’s radio play, was announced in this memorable fashion: “That was the inaugural speech of South African President, Nelson Mandela. And now, Fruitmachine, by Nick Warren.”

Over the next few years Nick worked as a freelance copywriter for direct clients and ad agencies, a screenwriter on TV shows such as Isidingo, Gaz’lam, the comedy magazine programme, Not Quite Friday Night.

Freelancing as a copywriter and creative director for agencies and direct clients since 1997, Nick also worked as an educational comic book writer and story developer for The Storyteller Group, and as a scriptwriter of for companies in the then burgeoning corporate and industrial theatre industry.

In the early 2000’s Nick worked as a writer and writing mentor for UNICEF, running workshops for writers in their South East Africa region, and as Head Writer for two seasons of the Soul City radio programme.

In 2002 Nick was brought on as Head Writer for the world’s first radio version of Sesame Street – Takalani Sesame. It was during this time, in workshops in New York, that Nick helped create the world’s first HIV positive Muppet, Kami. In the following year Nick was hired as the Series Producer and Head Writer on both the Radio and TV versions of Takalani Sesame, which went on to win several awards in South Africa and around the world.

In 2005 Nick’s book, Thirty Years in a Turtleneck Sweater was published by Random House in the UK, and later won the International Youngminds Book of the Year.

Between 2005 – 2012 Nick worked as Executive Creative Director at experiential agencies, VWV Group and Mann Made Media. During this time he also wrote Dirt as well as Sunday Morning. Both plays won awards, ran for several years and were invited to the Perth Festival and the Edinburgh Festival respectively.

In 2013 Nick finished co-writing Making Mandela the story of the formative events that shaped the rural South African child who was to become the international icon. This play is still being produced at theatres, schools and festivals.

In 2014 Nick took the opportunity to help develop the first season of, Iftah Ya Simsim the Arabic version of Sesame Street in Abu Dhabi, where he ran creative workshops for writers and producers.

In 2015 Nick returned to TV as a senior writer and storyliner for a season of the hit show Rhythm City.

In 2016 Nick wrote Scrooge, a stage adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Dickens and an adaptation of Hemmingway’s, The Old Man and the Sea, for the Contagious Theatre Company. The first script was later reworked in 2017 by the director, Jenine Collocott and cast, James Cairns, Taryn Bennett and Jacques Da Silva for a run at The Theatre on the Square.

To date Scrooge is yet to be staged because nobody will stump up the production budget – [obviously].