James Stone is a freelance writer and director, based in Sheffield, UK.

He writes pieces and plays, short and long, produced for a wide variety of mediums, including theatre, radio, virtual reality films, augmented reality apps, open air touring and site-specific museum projects.

He directs a broad range of genres in diverse venues, including Shakespeare in gardens, classic comedies and thrillers on cruise ships, murder mysteries in hotels and ghost walks around stately homes.

In April 2018, James’ first original long-from play, Paradise Road was produced by Tales Retold at Sheffield’s Library Theatre.

Since 2022, original works by James have been performed on Ambassador Cruise ships, as part of their Theatre At Sea programme, produced by Peel Entertainment.

LATEST NEWS

Ambassador Cruise Line’s Theatre at Sea programme continues to flourish, keeping James Stone busy writing and directing for Peel Entertainment. In December 2023, he installed his new, original play, The Art of Murder, which will be performed during MV Ambience’s World Cruise in 2024. Set in the vibrant Paris art scene, this dark comedy exposes a world full of larger-than-life characters, peculiar habits, bizarre behaviours and above all, vicious competition to be known and celebrated as the greatest living artist of the day.

In April 2023, following the success of The Curious Case of Miss Gray, a second play was commissioned by Peel Entertainment for Ambassador Cruises. Inspired by M.R. James’ Casting The Runes, James Stone’s modern thriller, Hell Hath No Fury, will premier in the Summer of 2023 on board MV Ambition.

In January 2022, Peel Entertainment commissioned James to write an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s 1890s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, for performance on Ambassador Cruises’ MV Ambience. The Curious Case of Miss Gray, an up-to-date retelling of this gothic classic, will premier in the first season later in 2022, directed by Kirk Jameson.

In January 2020, James was commissioned to write and direct a short, pop-up theatre piece for the Reading Sheffield Project. Sundae Opening will examine the phenomenon of Tuppenny Libraries and their effect on the city’s reading experience. Performances will be in Sheffield libraries in June 2020.

In October 2019 James joined The Sheffield Writers Hub at Kurious Arts. This shared workspace for Sheffield writers is based at Kollider, the new arts hub being developed in the old Castle Co-op building.

In July 2019 James was commissioned by Peel Interactive to write and direct a virtual reality film to promote resilience in vulnerable young people against organised crime. Shooting is scheduled for December.

See Blog for the latest details.